Red Sox vs. Nationals lineups: Sox go for sweep without Sandoval, Ortiz

Xander Bogaerts is back in the lineup, but Pablo Sandoval and David Ortiz will miss out Wednesday afternoon as the Red Sox go for a sweep of the Washington Nationals.

Boston Red Sox (6-2)

1. Mookie Betts, CF
2. Dustin Pedroia, 2B
3. Hanley Ramirez, LF
4. Allen Craig, 1B
5. Mike Napoli, DH
6. Shane Victorino, RF
7. Xander Bogaerts, SS
8. Brock Holt, 3B
9. Sandy Leon, C

Starting Pitcher -- Wade Miley

Washington Nationals (2-6)

1. Yunel Escobar, 3B
2. Ian Desmond, SS
3. Jayson Werth, DH
4. Bryce Harper, RF
5. Ryan Zimmerman, 1B
6. Wilson Ramos, C
7. Tyler Moore, LF
8. Dan Uggla, 2B
9. Michael Taylor, CF

Starting Pitcher -- Gio Gonzalez

With a tough lefty on the mound in Gio Gonzalez, today is as good a day as any for the Red Sox to get Allen Craig a start in place of David Ortiz, to say nothing of letting Pablo Sandoval stay off his foot for a little longer. With an off-day on Thursday, it even ends up one of those 72-hour breaks the organization has loved to give out since the days of Terry Francona.

The last time the Red Sox went for a sweep, things did not end well. Or begin well, for that matter. Hopefully Wade Miley is up for a better outing than Clay Buchholz had. He'll have to get by with a slightly diminished infield defense, and comes up against a Nationals team that maybe is feeling a little more lively in the aftermath of their 6-run inning against Justin Masterson (even if it came in a loss). Never a good idea to give a team that's supposed to do big things their first taste of blood.

First pitch is at 1:35 p.m. with broadcasts on NESN and the MLB Network.