Mass. native Sean Newcomb on the mound, Jarren Duran makes spring debut, Story batting second and at DH

Feb 25, 2025

The Red Sox and Yankees game was canceled on Monday afternoon due to rain. The team had pushed the first pitch back from 1:05 p.m. to 4:05 p.m. due to inclement weather in the area. The game will not be rescheduled.

Boston will take a ride to North Port, Florida, to play the Braves at CoolToday Park on Tuesday afternoon. The first pitch is scheduled at 1:05 p.m.

Due to the rainout on Monday, the Red Sox aren’t altering their pitching schedule and will not be pushing right-hander Tanner Houck to Tuesday. Instead, he threw indoors after the game was called and the Sox made slight alterations to their Tuesday pitching probables.

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Initially, righty Brian Van Belle was the scheduled starter for the game with the Braves. Van Belle made his first appearance of the spring when he started the exhibition game versus the Northeastern University Huskies. The righty went 1 2/3 innings with one hit and two runs, both unearned, along with one walk and three strikeouts.

The Red Sox shuffled the deck and will start left-hander Sean Newcomb. Boston signed the southpaw to a minor league deal that included an invite to spring training.

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Newcomb attended Middleborough High School and was a first-round pick (No. 15 overall) by the Angels before he was shipped to the Braves for shortstop Andrelton Simmons ahead of the 2016 season.

While in Atlanta, Newcomb made 161 appearances, including 58 starts, recording a 4.52 ERA from 2017 to 2022. The former top prospect made 30 starts for the Braves in 2018, posting a 3.90 ERA, 4.14 FIP, and 160 strikeouts while owning a 12-9 record. Newcomb has also spent time with the Cubs and both Bay Area teams, the Giants and Athletics. He spent most of 2023 at the Giants Triple-A affiliate and then was traded to the A’s. The southpaw posted a 6.30 ERA in 10 innings before he was released in July.

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The Red Sox are also expected to have right-handed relievers Luis Guerrero, Robert Stock, Noah Davis, and Wyatt Mills.

The veteran Mills saw game action for the first time since 2022 when he pitched against Northeastern, tossing one inning while striking out one and earning a hold in the Red Sox' 5-2 win. Mills had been out of action the last couple of years after undergoing Tommy John surgery in 2023 and rehabbing in the Sox’ system.

Jarren Duran is in the lineup after being scratched over the weekend dealing with a sore calf.

Duran’s sore calf was not anything serious and wasn’t expected to sideline him very long. The All-Star MVP was initially set to play on Monday, but with the inclement weather in Fort Myers, Cora elected to give his leadoff man another day off.

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Vaughn Grissom will bat fifth and play second base as he fights for a spot on the Opening Day roster. Since he was acquired from the Braves for Chris Sale prior to last season, Grissom has dealt with injuries that impacted his spot on the Red Sox’ roster.

The addition of Alex Bregman and the emergence of top prospect Kristian Campbell will make Grissom’s path to the starting second base job cloudier.

Grissom came into camp looking noticeably stronger by adding muscle to his frame and is trying to make the most of his spring training chances after not being able to participate last year.

“Totally different,” Grissom said to reporters in camp. “I came in last offseason, and I was hurt a little bit and underweight probably from what I was used to, and just trying to deal with things and get by, really. Now I feel a lot stronger. I feel like my body's underneath me. I have good weight, just strong and quick and all the good things. It feels good.”

What went well on Sunday?

Garrett Crochet made his spring Red Sox debut on Sunday, and fans quickly got a glimpse at the dominant left-handed hurler. He was electric in the first inning, striking out three Blue Jays hitters while working around a walk. In total he went 1 2/3 innings striking out four with the lone free pass on 27 pitches.

“Mechanically, he’ll be OK,” Alex Cora told reporters following the Sox’ 8-7 loss. “I think his stuff will play. We got that one out of the way. Now we just build up to be ready for Texas (on Opening Day).”

Alex Bregman, who entered the game feeling a “little jittery,” settled in quickly with a 3-for-3 performance that included a double and a homer. He was a triple shy of hitting for the cycle in his Red Sox spring debut.

“We’ve been working hard on some mechanical things that I was doing early in my career that I kind of stopped doing the last few years,” Bregman said after the game to reporters.

“I was a little more turned in, and my hands were launching from a lot further back over the last few years. So we tried to kind of keep them inside my frame today, and it felt good to square a few balls up.”

Key stats, information and Red Sox lineup

Walker Buehler will throw a two-inning live bating practice today from JetBlue Park. In addition to the new righty, rehabbing starter Lucas Giolito and Justin Slaten will also throw bullpens.

Once a highly touted pitching prospect in the Red Sox system, right-handed pitcher Bryan Mata has had his eyes set on making his big league debut; instead, he’s struggled to stay healthy.

A hamstring strain limited the hard-throwing righty to just 22 2/3 innings between four levels of the Red Sox system last year. Mata is once again dealing with a hamstring issue at the start of camp.

While on WEEI’s The Greg Hill Show, Bregman explained why he thinks he’s been so dominant playing at Fenway Park over the years:

"I think when it's a Monday in Boston and it's still sold out, 'Sweet Caroline' is playing, and the crowd is going crazy on a Monday or a Saturday night or whatever, it's just an elite atmosphere that gets you up for every single game, and definitely played a big role in why I wanted to go to Boston. The fans are incredible. I feel like every game means something during the regular season, and I feel like that's a healthy pressure."

Bregman was asked about the competition for third base this spring training.

"It's an honor to be Raffy's teammate...I feel like this has been talked about way more in the media than it has in the clubhouse,” said Bregman. “We've just been keeping our head down, getting to work. Like you said, I'll play anywhere, I truly mean it. Wherever AC tells me to play, I'll be ready to play."

Red Sox (1-1) lineup vs. the Braves (0-2)