Sonny Gray takes the mound for Boston looking every bit like the ace this rebuilding roster needed, while Sam Aldegheri gets the ball for an Angels team desperate for literally anything to go right. It's a mismatch on paper between a guy having a career year and a young lefty still figuring out the league, but Los Angeles has been better at home than the record suggests.
The bigger story in Anaheim is who's not pitching or hitting. Mike Trout has been out since mid-June with a hamstring strain, though he's reportedly closing in on a return with an eye on getting back before the All-Star break. Logan O'Hoppe is day-to-day behind the plate too, which thins out an already shorthanded lineup. Boston's own injury report reads like a hospital chart, but Gray's price on the mound still makes Boston the shorter side here.
Both rosters are dealing with turnover well beyond the injury list. Boston fired manager Alex Cora in April and handed the reins to interim skipper Chad Tracy, who's leaning on a wave of call-ups just to field a lineup. The Angels, meanwhile, are staring at a possible sell-off after moving on from GM Perry Minasian, with names like Reid Detmers and Jo Adell already floated as trade chips before the deadline.
Momentum is not on the Angels' side walking into this one. They've dropped 4 straight, including a stretch where Seattle outscored them by a combined margin that included a 1-0 shutout loss. Boston's been up and down too, but at least the Red Sox rotation has quietly been one of the better units in baseball over the last month, with Gray leading the charge.
- 10-Day-ILNick Sogard 3B — Sogard (oblique) will begin a rehab assignment Thursday, Gabrielle Starr of the Boston Herald reports.
- 10-Day-ILIsiah Kiner-Falefa 2B — Kiner-Falefa underwent a CT scan on his left forearm Thursday which revealed a stress reaction, MLB.com reports.
- 10-Day-ILMarcelo Mayer 2B — The Red Sox placed Mayer on the 10-day injured list Friday with a stress reaction in his left forearm, Mac Cerullo of the Boston Herald reports.
- 15-Day-ILConnelly Early SP — Early has been diagnosed with left posterior elbow inflammation following an MRI, Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic reports.
- 60-Day-ILPatrick Sandoval SP — Sandoval (biceps) is an option to replace Connelly Early (elbow) in Boston's rotation, Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic reports.
- 60-Day-ILRoman Anthony LF — The Red Sox transferred Anthony (finger/wrist) from the 10-day injured list to the 60-day IL on Sunday.
- 60-Day-ILGarrett Crochet SP — Crochet (shoulder/lat) has not yet been cleared to resume a throwing program following a scheduled re-evaluation Monday, Tim Healey of The Boston Globe reports.
- 60-Day-ILTrevor Story SS — Story (abdomen) has begun jogging and swinging off a tee, MLB.com reports.
- Day-To-DayLogan O'Hoppe C — O'Hoppe is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Athletics.
- 10-Day-ILMike Trout CF — Angels manager Kurt Suzuki said Friday that Trout (hamstring) is improving in his recovery and is "really close" to returning from the 10-day injured list, Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com reports.
- 10-Day-ILAdam Frazier 2B — Frazier (elbow) resumed throwing Wednesday, per MLB.com.
- 10-Day-ILSebastian Rivero C — Rivero was removed from Tuesday's game against the Astros with an apparent left hand injury, Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com reports.
- 10-Day-ILGustavo Campero C — The Angels selected Campero's contract from Double-A Rocket City and placed him on the 10-day injured list Saturday due to a fractured hand.
- 15-Day-ILGrayson Rodriguez SP — Rodriguez (back) struck out four and allowed one earned run on five hits and one walk across four innings Sunday in his rehab start for Single-A Rancho Cucamonga.
- 60-Day-ILBen Joyce RP — Joyce (shoulder) faced hitters in a live bullpen session Friday, Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com reports.
- 60-Day-ILTravis d'Arnaud C — D'Arnaud (foot) was able to catch from a pitching machine Sunday and has continued to do swinging and throwing in his workouts, Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com reports.
Aldegheri, for what it's worth, isn't just a name-filler on the mound. He's the first pitcher born and raised in Italy to reach the majors, and he picked up a win in his last outing by working around traffic over 5 innings. He'll need a similar outing here just to keep this one competitive against a Boston lineup that, even shorthanded, has enough thump to make Angel Stadium loud for the wrong team on a holiday night.