Red Sox lineup: Triston Casas sits; 3-for-31 (.097) since Aug. 28; Brayan Bello vying for another stellar start against Orioles
The Red Sox failed to sweep the last-place White Sox over the weekend, dropping the finale 7-2 and taking two of three games. Boston will now turn their attention Orioles, beginning a three-game series on Monday from Fenway Park.
The Sox entered the ninth inning of the series finale tied 2-2 but unfortunately right-handed reliever Zack Kelly imploded in the frame giving up five runs off five hits with one intentional walk while recording just one out. He surrendered four singles and one double in the inning.
“Just unlucky and obviously didn’t make pitches when I needed to,” Kelly said to reporters following the game. “I’ve pitched worse than that and given up zero runs.”
Boston will turn to Brayan Bello in the series opener; the righty is 3-2 with a 3.71 ERA in five career starts versus the Orioles. Bello flirted with a no-hitter in his last outing against Baltimore hurling six innings allowing just one run on two hits while striking out six.
The righty dazzled with his changeup over the course of his outing, throwing the pitch 29% of the time, according to Baseball Savant. His fastball sat regularly between 93 and 97 mph while tossing 16 sliders and getting 15 swings and misses, including eight on his impressive changeup.
“The changeup was really working, and I just didn’t want to change things up because it was going so well,” Bello said.
Romy Gonzalez is back in the lineup batting fifth and playing second base. He is coming off a 3-for-4 game against the White Sox this weekend; the versatile infielder recorded a double, an RBI, two runs scored, with three stolen bases.
Gonzalez set a career high in stolen bases and a season high in hits. It was also his fifth-career three-hit game; the last time coming against the Royals last season.
Connor Wong will start again at first base for the slumping Triston Casas. Over the last 11 games dating back to Aug. 28, Casas is 3-for-31 (.097). Prior to that, he was 15-for-42 (.357) in his first 11 games coming off the 60-day injured list.
Wong has hits in his last two games; he’s 4-for-8 with two doubles, one homer with two RBI and a run scored over those games. Sunday was the fifth game this season where he had three or more hits, his last coming on Aug. 2 against the Rangers.
Trevor Story is playing his third consecutive game at shortstop since his activation off the 60-day injured list. He is 2-for-7 with an RBI and will bat seventh in the lineup.
The Orioles will counter with left-handed pitcher Cade Povich who is 2-7 with a 5.76 ERA this season. Povich posted a career-high 10 strikeouts in 7 1/3 innings in his most recent outing, a 9-0 win over the White Sox last Tuesday.
Pregame roster moves and notes
The Red Sox traded WooSox utilityman Eddy Alvarez to the Mets on Sunday for cash considerations. This year, Alvarez has hit all over the lineup, posting a .247 batting average with 18 homers, 26 doubles, one triple, 77 RBI, 48 walks, 18 stolen bases with a .348 on-base percentage, .463 slugging, and a .811 OPS over 114 games.
Liam Hendriks is the Red Sox’ nominee for the 2024 Roberto Clemente Award, recognizing the player who best represents the game of baseball through extraordinary character, community involvement, philanthropy, and positive contributions both on and off the field.
This is Hendriks' 6th time being nominated for the award (also 2017 and '19 with the Athletics, and 2021-23 with the White Sox).
Cam Booser made a rehab appearance on Saturday for Double-A Portland at New Hampshire, retiring three of his four batters faced. He hurled an inning surrendering one hit with one strikeout, throwing 14 pitches and 10 for strikes.
Key stats and Red Sox lineup
Orioles vs. Bello: Colton Cowser 3-8, Gunnar Henderson 3-13, Jackson Holliday 0-2, Eloy Jiménez 3-3, Nick Maton 1-2, James McCann 0-1, Cedric Mullins 4-9, Ryan O’Hearn 2-8, Emmanuel Rivera 1-3, Adley Rutschman 1-10, Anthony Santander 1-12
Red Sox vs. Povich: Triston Casas 2-3, Rafael Devers 0-3, Jarren Duran 0-3, Romy González 1-3, Danny Jansen 0-5, Tyler O’Neill 1-3, Ceddanne Rafaela 1-2, Rob Refsnyder 1-3, Connor Wong 0-2
Red Sox (72-71) lineup vs. the Orioles (82-62):
Jarren Duran CF
Rafael Devers 3B
Rob Refsnyder RF
Tyler O’Neill DH
Romy Gonzalez 2B
Connor Wong 1B
Trevor Story SS
Danny Jansen C
Ceddanne Rafaela CF
SP: RHP Brayan Bello (12-7, 4.75 ERA)
The first pitch is at 7:10 p.m. and can be seen on NESN, FuboTV, or Sling, and it can be heard on WEEI 93.7 FM.
