The Boston Red Sox’s starting rotation has been unstable recently. Sonny Gray came off the injured list last week, Brayan Bello was moved to the bullpen in favor of an opener, Ranger Suárez is dealing with a hamstring issue, and Garrett Crochet remains unavailable.
After the Red Sox lost 4–1 to the Tampa Bay Rays on Sunday, interim manager Chad Tracy outlined the team’s rotation plans for the upcoming home series against the Philadelphia Phillies at Fenway Park.
According to Tracy, Bello will once again follow an opener in Tuesday’s series opener. Boston has yet to name the opener, but the approach worked well for Bello in his last start on May 5, when he came on in the second inning and threw seven innings of one-run ball against the Detroit Tigers.
The Red Sox are hoping for a similar performance from Bello, who currently holds a 9.12 ERA when starting games.
Tracy confirmed that Gray will start on Wednesday, exactly one week after he returned from the IL with five scoreless innings against the Tigers. Gray will aim to build on that outing versus Philadelphia.
Tracy also noted that Suárez will start Thursday’s series finale. Suárez hasn’t pitched since May 3 because of hamstring tightness, and his turn was skipped over the weekend, but he’s expected to be ready to face his former team on Thursday.
“Everything is fine with Suárez, so he’s scheduled to throw on Thursday,” Tracy told MassLive’s Chris Cotillo on Sunday.
That’s a positive development for Boston, as Suárez has been one of the club’s top starters this season, posting a 2.77 ERA and a 0.95 WHIP over seven starts.
Meanwhile, the Phillies will send Zack Wheeler to the mound on Tuesday, followed by Andrew Painter on Wednesday and Jesús Luzardo on Thursday.
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