ATLANTA — As the Red Sox navigate their first game with Trevor Story on the injured list Saturday, they’ll go with a familiar depth option at shortstop and their hot-hitting recent call-up behind the plate.
Interim manager Chad Tracy has Andruw Monasterio once again starting at shortstop and Mickey Gasper catching lefty Payton Tolle in the second game of a three-game series against the Braves, who at 31-14 have the best record in baseball. Masataka Yoshida is the designated hitter (hitting fifth) after being out of the lineup Friday. Marcelo Mayer is at second base against righty Bryce Elder.
Advertisement
Tracy was clear Monasterio and call-up Nick Sogard will be the primary options at shortstop in the near-term as the club figures out how long Story will be out. Story started 39 of Boston’s first 44 games at shortstop before landing on the IL Saturday and Monasterio has started the other five.
Gasper will get his second start behind the plate with a familiar pitcher in Tolle, who he caught Sunday at Fenway. Gasper is hitting .412 (7-for-17 with two doubles) since being called up late last week. Tracy likes pairing him with Tolle because of their previous work together at Triple-A and in spring training.
“It felt like a good day for Narvy (Carlos Narváez) to be off,” said Tracy. “Narvy has played two in a row including when we had traveled here with a 3:30 a.m. arrival. You can’t ignore what Mickey’s done. I’ve told you guys about the bat and he has shown that here. And again, the natural lane with Tolle, who he knows.”
The Red Sox have lost four of five and are in a two-game rut after losing, 3-2, in extra innings Friday night. They’ll look to bounce back but have a tough assignment against Elder, a breakout star who has the best ERA in the National League (1.81) through 54 ⅔ innings.
Advertisement
First pitch is at 7:15 p.m. ET.
BOSTON RED SOX (18-26) vs. ATLANTA BRAVES (31-14) · TRUIST PARK · ATLANTA, GA · GAME 45
FIRST PITCH: 7:15 p.m. ET
TV CHANNEL: NESN
RADIO: WEEI 93.7 FM
PITCHING PROBABLES: LHP Payton Tolle (1-2, 2.78 ERA) vs. RHP Bryce Elder (4-1, 1.81 ERA)
RED SOX LINEUP:
BRAVES LINEUP:
More Red Sox coverage
Read the original article on MassLive. Add MassLive as a Preferred Source by clicking here.