BOSTON — The Red Sox will use their top three starting pitchers against the Yankees this weekend at Fenway Park.
Lucas Giolito will start Friday, while Brayan Bello will pitch Saturday and Garrett Crochet will start the series finale Sunday.
Boston has Monday off. The Sox will need a starter Tuesday against the Athletics at home. Lefties Payton Tolle, Connelly Early and Kyle Harrison are all candidates to pitch.
“We’ll decide Sunday,” manager Alex Cora said before Boston’s game against New York on Friday. “We’re actually talking about it. Bres (chief baseball officer Craig Breslow) will come down after batting practice and go over how we’re going to use them. By Sunday, we’ll have an answer.”
The 23-year-old Early made his MLB debut Tuesday in West Sacramento vs. the A’s. The southpaw tied a Red Sox franchise record by striking out 11 batters in his first career game, and he did it in five scoreless innings.
The 22-year-old Tolle started Wednesday and allowed two runs in 2 innings. Boston planned for him to pitch only once through the Athletics lineup because it was his first time pitching on regular rest (four days between starts) this season.
The 24-year-old Harrison pitched in relief Wednesday after Boston promoted him before that game. The lefty, whom Boston acquired from the Giants in the Rafael Devers trade June 15, tossed 3 scoreless innings.
There’s always a possibility the Red Sox could give starts to two of the three young left-handed pitchers this coming week, if they want to give Giolito, Bello or Crochet an extra day of rest.
Giolito prefers to pitch on regular rest and has had better results throughout his career when he does. He would be on regular rest Wednesday. The Red Sox could then pitch one of their lefties Thursday to give both Bello and Crochet an extra day of rest, or Friday to give just Crochet an extra day.
Harrison said the Red Sox have not yet talked with him about his role.
“Not yet,” Harrison said. “I think that’s something that’s up in the air and they’ll talk to me about. Still just ready to help this team in any way possible.”
Harrison threw seven cutters in his Red Sox debut Wednesday. It’s a pitch Boston emphasized the past few months at Triple-A Worcester.
“That’s something they wanted me to throw a lot and I got very comfortable with it,” Harrison said. “I threw it a couple of times last outing and it’s a pitch that I have to throw more and more just to get more comfortable with it. And location is everything with that pitch. That’s what I’ve learned.”
Harrison has pitched at Fenway Park before. He started for the Giants here against the Red Sox on May 2, 2024, allowing one run and striking out seven in 5 innings.
“This place is awesome,” Harrison said. “I got the chance to pitch here last year and it’s probably my favorite start.”
If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our User Agreement and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy.