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Pedroia, Ortiz move up in lineup with Victorino out

ST. LOUIS -- The Red Sox will again go to battle without Shane Victorino in Game 5 of the World Series as the right fielder continues to deal with an ailing back.

In addition, manager John Farrell made some tweaks to his lineup, moving Dustin Pedroia up to the No. 2 spot, where Victorino, who is available off the bench, usually hits. David Ortiz will bat third, meaning that the red-hot slugger will be up one spot sooner in his attempt to continue to torment the Cardinals.

"[Victorino's] available off the bench, but we didn't want to get into a situation, not knowing how long he could go, that we'd end up losing a player," said Farrell. "We can use him a little more at our discretion that way."

Ortiz is 8-for-11, with four walks and a 2.114 OPS, in the World Series.

"I feel like we need to lengthen out the lineup behind David a little bit more than maybe we've been doing," Farrell said.

Jonny Gomes, who hit the big three-run homer in Game 4, will bat cleanup and play left field. Gomes was a last-minute addition to the lineup in place of Victorino on Sunday.

Daniel Nava will again patrol right field and bat fifth. Nava batted second in Game 4.

David Ross will start for the second straight game behind the plate, and for the third time in the Series.

With an off-day on Tuesday, there would seem to be a strong chance Victorino could return to the lineup for Game 6.

"Yes," Farrell said. "Very good chance."

Ian Browne is a reporter for MLB.com. Read his blog, Brownie Points, and follow him on Twitter @IanMBrowne.
Read More: Boston Red Sox, Dustin Pedroia, Shane Victorino, David Ortiz