Red Sox vs. Blue Jays lineups: Mike Napoli back at first

Mike Napoli is well enough to take the field Wednesday night, playing first base and batting sixth for the Red Sox as they try to put another brutal pitching implosion behind them and take a series win over Toronto.

Boston Red Sox (11-10)

1. Mookie Betts, CF
2. Dustin Pedroia, 2B
3. David Ortiz, DH
4. Hanley Ramirez, LF
5. Pablo Sandoval, 3B
6. Mike Napoli, 1B
7. Brock Holt, RF
8. Xander Bogaerts, SS
9. Ryan Hanigan, C

Starting Pitcher -- Rick Porcello

Toronto Blue Jays (10-11)

1. Devon Travis, 2B
2. Josh Donaldson, 3B
3. Jose Bautista, DH
4. Edwin Encarnacion, 1B
5. Kevin Pillar, CF
6. Michael Saunders, RF
7. Dalton Pompey, LF
8. Josh Thole, C
9. Ryan Goins, SS

Starting Pitcher -- R.A. Dickey

If anyone was supposed to be the anchor for this rotation coming into the season--perhaps not the best pitcher, but the one who could be relied on for at least a solid night--Rick Porcello was it. And to some extent he's at least been the best of the five at providing that. He's never gone fewer than five innings, even when allowing eight runs to Baltimore, and he even has an eight-inning performance against the Nationals to his name.

But where the others have had standout performances to go with their disasters, Porcello has not. With the lineup producing right now, that might not be the biggest problem. If the Red Sox could be guaranteed eight innings or one run from their starter tonight, one has to imagine they'd take the innings in a heartbeat given how things went for Clay Buchholz yesterday. That perhaps makes Porcello the ideal starter for tonight, at least if we're ignoring the fact that the real ideal starter would probably be "almost anyone from any other rotation".

Exciting times in Boston, eh?

First pitch is at 6:10 p.m. with broadcasts on NESN and WEEI.