Red Sox vs. Mariners lineups: Victorino bats second, Ortiz sits

It's not exactly the perfect time to get David Ortiz a day off given that he's coming off a couple of strong days at the plate--the first he's had in a while in the midst of a dire May. Hopefully, though, that momentum will survive the layoff. In the meantime, it gives the Red Sox a chance to get Hanley Ramirez out of left field for a game.

With Ortiz out of the lineup, the Sox will also shift Shane Victorino way up to second, bumping Pedroia into the vacated three-hole. It's an aggressive move coming after just a few successful games from Victorino in his return to action, but it does come against a lefty, and having those three games to go on is certainly better than nothing.

The real question today, though, will be what Steven Wright can do on the mound. He's more of a placeholder than anything else at the moment--not so much for Justin Masterson as for whichever of the Pawtucket trio of Eduardo Rodriguez, Brian Johnson, and to a lesser extent Henry Owens demands a shot first. But if the knuckleballer can put up some solid results, maybe he'll hold on if the other underperforming members of Boston's rotation don't step up in the mantime.

First pitch is at 4:10 p.m. ET with broadcasts on NESN and WEEI.