BOSTON -- Newly acquired Brent Lillibridge, who got his first taste of action with the Red Sox on Monday night as a ninth-inning defensive replacement in right field, drew his first start Tuesday, playing center field and batting ninth against Toronto.

“Try to see how he fits in as part of the team,’’ manager Bobby Valentine said. “Let his teammates see him play. He’s had some success against this guy (Toronto pitcher Aaron Laffey) in the past. Maybe we’ll find a little something.’’

Lillibridge has faced Laffey in only one game in the big leagues, and that was in 2009, when he singled three times in four trips while a member of the White Sox and Laffey was pitching for the Indians.

Lillibridge came to the Red Sox with pitcher Zach Stewart in the Kevin Youkilis trade Sunday. Stewart is with Pawtucket and is scheduled to make his first start for the PawSox Wednesday night against Charlotte, the Triple-A team he had just joined after the White Sox sent him down June 19. Before the trade, he was scheduled to face the PawSox on Friday night.

Lillibridge has played all three outfield positions as well as all four infield positions in his five seasons in the big leagues -- he broke in with Atlanta in 2008 and was with the White Sox the last four seasons. He has started 21 games in center field and scouts call him an above-average defensive outfielder.

His versatility, he said Tuesday, is what has kept him in the big leagues.

“Hopefully that’ll help get me in the lineup here too," he said. “I don’t have any expectations other than being a part of this team and helping us try to win.

"I just want to get out there and get a chance to play. I'm excited. I want to be out there and show the guys what I can do. I know what I can do. Obviously I am here because they know what I can do and hopefully it helps us win the game tonight."