The Boston Herald
April 12, 2002
After using the same lineup for the first two games against Kansas City, Sox manager Grady Little shuffled things last night, moving hot-hitting Shea Hillenbrand from seventh to second.
Hillenbrand hadn't batted second in any batting order since his first professional season with the Single-A Lowell Spinners in 1996.
``I didn't think I was playing today because I instinctively looked at the bottom of the lineup card and didn't see my name,'' Hillenbrand said. ``I never expected to see it at the top.''
Hillenbrand went 1-for-4 with a two-run home run off Chad Durbin in the second inning and is batting .370 on the season.
The homer also extended his hitting streak to seven games, bringing him to within two games of tying his season-opening nine-game hitting streak of 2001. Hillenbrand, who made the jump from Double-A Trenton last year, became the first Red Sox rookie to hit safely in his first nine games to open the season since Ted Williams in 1939.
``He's putting the ball in play and is swinging the bat good,'' Little said. ``Maybe he can give us some activity there at the top.''
Little has used five different lineups in seven games.
``We're going to test drive a few things early in the season,'' he said.