MINNEAPOLIS -- Don't tell Chris Young that David Price has not yet done anything to help the Boston Red Sox win a game this season.
Entering this three-game series against the Minnesota Twins, Young had gotten 11 plate appearances in the past 12 games, his butt stapled to the bench as the Red Sox's young outfield of Andrew Benintendi, Jackie Bradley Jr. and Mookie Betts received almost all the playing time. But that didn't stop Young from notching a two-run, pinch-hit single in the ninth inning to tie Friday night's game or from slugging two homers Saturday in only his second start in the past two weeks.
"That's probably the hardest thing to do in baseball," Young said of being productive despite playing only sparingly. "I think everybody knows that."
Fortunately for the Red Sox, Young has a foolproof way of staying prepared. Every five days, when Price throws a simulated game in his recovery from a spring training elbow injury, Young steps into the batter's box, tracking pitches and even taking a few hacks.
"Talk about a Cy Young-caliber pitcher that I'm able to stand in [against] and watch every five days right now to where I can see 95 [mph] coming across the plate and try to get my timing going a little bit," Young said after the Red Sox exploded for eight runs in the second inning of an 11-1 rout of the Twins on Saturday. "The last sim game he threw, I think I was able to get six, seven at-bats. And he's in game mode. If anybody has seen him throw a simulated game, he's not just up there getting work in, he's in game mode -- and it makes me in game mode. It helps us both out."
With one swing in his only at-bat, Young accounted for nearly all of the Red Sox's offense in Friday night's 4-3 loss to the Twins. And having seen the Sox score three or fewer runs in eight of their previous 15 games, manager John Farrell knew something needed to be done.
Farrell shuffled the batting order Saturday morning, moving Betts back into the leadoff spot followed by Dustin Pedroia and Xander Bogaerts and shifting Benintendi into the cleanup spot. Betts, Pedroia and Bogaerts -- in that order -- represented the alignment for most of last season, when the Red Sox led the American League in scoring by more than 100 runs.
One notable difference: David Ortiz batted cleanup, and judging from the pictures he posted on Instagram, he's having too much fun hanging with Tom Brady at the Kentucky Derby to consider coming out of retirement to help the cause.
On Saturday, at least, the Red Sox didn't need him. Young, filling in for the slumping Bradley, hit a solo homer against Twins starter Nick Tepesch in the second inning before the Red Sox took advantage of a two-out error by shortstop Jorge Polanco. They scored seven more runs in their biggest inning of the season en route to a season-high 11 runs on 16 hits.
In all likelihood, rearranging the top of the batting order won't have a long-term benefit, not without Ortiz's big bat in the middle of everything. But the 33-year-old Young, an everyday player for the first nine years of his career, can continue to provide a spark, especially because Bradley is stuck in a 6-for-43 slump since returning from the disabled list and has one hit in his past 18 at-bats.
"He's always engaged and relaying information to use while we're out there, kind of giving us what the pitcher's tendencies are," Benintendi said. "He's always involved. When he gets the call to get in the lineup, he's prepared. He's ready as if he's been playing every day. It kind of speaks to the kind of player he is."
Farrell said he hasn't decided whether Young will start again in Sunday's series finale -- "Oh, I haven't thought about tomorrow's lineup yet,” he said -- but it's hard to imagine putting Young's bat back on the bench.
It was telling, in fact, that righty-swinging Young started in place of lefty-hitting Bradley against Tepesch, a right-handed pitcher. With Twins ace Ervin Santana, another right-hander, scheduled to start Sunday, Farrell could choose to give Bradley another day off. Otherwise, Betts could get a breather after going 0-for-5 Saturday and 6-for-37 (.162) over his past 10 games.
"A guy of [Young's] caliber and what he's done over a long period of time in his career, to have him on your bench or on your roster in some ways is a luxury," Farrell said. "But he's such a pro, and he stays prepared even when he's not playing every day. And I think you don't get those games like today without that approach to the game."
Credit Price with an assist for helping Young stay ready.