Lowell finds lineup rotation ‘kind of weird'

(NECN: Boston, Mass.) – Mike Lowell was out of Boston’s lineup to start the game against the Detroit Tigers on Tuesday night, sitting on the bench in favor of the third base-first base combination of Kevin Youkilis and Victor Martinez. Until Youkilis was ejected for charging the mound after being hit by a pitch. “I think I still do things, even though I’m not playing that day, to get myself ready in case I need to go in the game,” Lowell said. “I think the situation we have right now is kind of unique and kind of weird.” The rotation among the players at the corner infield positions has been an exercise in juggling for manager Terry Francona, attempting to find enough at bats for players at those positions. Youkilis, an All-Star, logs time at both first and third base. Martinez finds at bats at catcher and first base. Casey Kotchman and Lowell have been restricted to their respective positions of first and third base. On Tuesday night, the fill-in Lowell made a case for him to remain in the lineup. Batting in Youkilis’ spot following the ejection, Lowell hit two home runs, leading the charge for Boston’s offense in a 7-5 win. “I feel like I’ve been swinging the bat really well,” Lowell said. “When you’re swinging the bat well, I don’t think you ever want to be out of the lineup. I take it as what it is, but I’m trying to make their decision as tough as possible.” The Red Sox had trailed 3-0 in the second inning when Youkilis charged the mound and ignited a bench-clearing brawl. After that, Jason Bay tied the game with a three-run home run. Did the brawl spark Boston’s offensive surge? “I think we see it after the fact, yeah,” Lowell said tongue-in-cheek. “We got their starter out of the game after two innings. If we get a 1-2-3 inning after that, it doesn’t really do (anything). I guess we’ll chalk it up to it definitely, absolutely did because Jason Bay went deep, we tied it up and then we went ahead.” Boston remained five-and-a-half games back from the Yankees in the AL East standing following Tuesday night’s win.