"Carl Crawford struggled against Kansas City pitching in the last two games and Red Sox manager Terry Francona didn't see matters improving with lefty Bruce Chen on the hill last night at Fenway Park.

After watching Crawford go 1-for-11 with six strikeouts, Francona shuffled the outfield, starting Darnell McDonald in right in place of Josh Reddick and Yamaico Navarro in left for Crawford.

In 24 at-bats against Chen, Crawford is 4-for-23 (.174) with two home runs and four RBI. Reddick has never faced Chen

"He hasn't had much success against this guy and we have a quick turnaround and I think it makes sense," said Francona as the Sox play this afternoon in the series finale. "The last couple of nights he's been jumping a little bit."

Crawford hit in 6-of-8 games since coming off the disabled list on July 18. He had gone a respectable 10-for-35 (.286) with two doubles, five RBI, five runs, three walks and three stolen bases. Crawford went on the DL on June 18 after suffering a strained hamstring on the base paths.

Francona insisted that there was noting physically wrong with Crawford.

"He's been running more now than before," said Francona."