Red Sox face tough lineup decisions

BOSTON -- After Monday’s optional workout in Fenway Park, Boston Red Sox Manager Terry Francona met with coaches, scouts and front-office executives to discuss roster and lineup issues for the World Series against the Colorado Rockies.

Ace Josh Beckett will start Game 1 against Colorado’s Jeff Francis on Wednesday night, and Curt Schilling and Daisuke Matsuzaka will start Games 2 and 3, though not necessarily in that order.

Boston must determine whether knuckleball-throwing Tim Wakefield, who sat out the division series because of a back injury and gave up five runs and five hits in 4 2/3 innings of his only American League Championship Series start, is sound enough to pitch in the World Series. If not, left-hander Jon Lester will start Game 4.

But the toughest question facing the Red Sox is what to do with first baseman Kevin Youkilis when the Series shifts to Denver, where there will be no designated hitter, for Games 3, 4 and 5.

Designated hitter David Ortiz can play only first base, so if Francona wants to keep his No. 3 hitter in the lineup, Ortiz would take Youkilis’ spot. Youkilis, though, was the team’s best hitter during the ALCS, batting .500 with three home runs and seven runs batted in.

Youkilis also plays third base, but the Red Sox have an excellent hitter there -- Mike Lowell, who had 120 RBIs during the season and batted .333 with a homer and eight RBIs in the ALCS.

Youkilis has played 18 games in his career in the outfield, all in left field in 2006, but the Red Sox are set in left. That’s cleanup batter Manny Ramirez’s spot.

One possible solution would be to start Youkilis in right field and move right fielder J.D. Drew to center, but that could compromise Boston defensively in the outfield expanses of Coors Field, not so much because of Drew, who is an outstanding defender, but because of Youkilis, who has never played right field and looked a little unsure of himself in left last season.

“Those are some things that we’re going to look at [Monday],” Francona said. “We haven’t had the luxury of sitting around for a week. We got done [Sunday] night at midnight, so we need some time to get our house in order.”

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By the time Game 1 starts, the Rockies will have had eight days off since they completed their National League Championship Series sweep of Arizona, and who will they get in their first action against live pitching in more than a week?

Beckett, the most dominating starter of the postseason, with a 3-0 record, 1.17 earned-run average, 26 strikeouts and one walk in 23 innings.

Asked whether he almost felt sorry for Colorado’s hitters, Boston second baseman Dustin Pedroia said, “Heck no, man. Are you kidding me? We’re trying to win the World Series. They have nine days off, and I guess that’s an advantage for us, but we have some knick-knack injuries, some people beat up, and that’s an advantage for them. They got to rest their bullpen, get everyone healed up, but I don’t feel sorry for them.”

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Boston center fielder Coco Crisp made a superb running catch of Casey Blake’s drive in right-center field before slamming into the wall to end Game 7, hobbling off the field while the Red Sox celebrated. But Francona said Crisp’s knee is fine.

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mike.digiovanna@latimes.com