Kevin Youkilis will return to the Red Sox on Friday after missing the last three games with back spasms. He returned to the cleanup spot for Boston against Baltimore. "He makes the offense go," hitting coach Dave Magadan said. "He grinds out his at-bats. When he's in there, you can almost count on him eating up 25 pitches during his four at-bats. That's a heavy burden for any pitcher. He's not only making the opposing pitcher work, but he has the potential to drive the ball out of the park. He's an elite middle of the lineup batter. The times we go without him, it's tough on us." The Red Sox lead the AL Wild Card race by six games over the Rangers.