Connelly Early (5-3, 3.26) gets the ball for Boston against a Rays bullpen game fronted by Ian Seymour (3-0, 5.23) as the opener, with Mason Englert lined up for bulk innings behind him. Early has owned Tampa Bay so far in his short career — 1.64 ERA and 12 K in 11 innings across two starts against them.
Both lineups are stuck in the mud. The Rays have scored 3 or fewer runs in 8 of their last 13 games and just dropped the Marlins series after getting outscored 15-2 by Detroit before that. Boston is somehow worse on the power front, dead last in MLB with 48 home runs, and has scored more than 3 runs in fewer than half of their games this year.
The Red Sox limp in 27-36, riding the back of a series loss to the Yankees that included Saturday's bizarre 0-0 tie. Tampa is still 37-25 and atop the AL East, but they've lost 4 of 5 and Kevin Cash is openly saying the quiet part: "We've got some guys that are going through it right now... we're just not clicking for whatever reason."
- Day-To-DayHobie Harris RP — Harris was optioned to Triple-A Rochester on Saturday, Jesse Dougherty of The Washington Post reports.
- 10-Day-ILNick Sogard 3B — Sogard is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Guardians, Tim Healey of The Boston Globe reports.
- 10-Day-ILRoman Anthony LF — Anthony (finger) felt discomfort while hitting off a tee Thursday and has been shut down from swinging, Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com reports.
- 15-Day-ILJovani Moran RP — The Red Sox placed Moran on the 15-day injured list Saturday, retroactive to Friday, with left elbow inflammation, Tim Healey of The Boston Globe reports.
- 15-Day-ILGarrett Whitlock RP — Whitlock (knee) will embark on a rehab assignment with Triple-A Worcester on Saturday, Tim Healey of The Boston Globe reports.
- 60-Day-ILPatrick Sandoval SP — Sandoval (biceps) walked one over 1.1 innings for Triple-A Worcester on Friday.
- 60-Day-ILGarrett Crochet SP — Crochet (shoulder) was diagnosed with a low-grade lat strain Tuesday, Christopher Smith of MassLive.com reports.
- 60-Day-ILTrevor Story SS — Story underwent surgery to repair a sports hernia Thursday and will be sidelined 6-10 weeks, Tim Healey of The Boston Globe reports.
- Day-To-DayChandler Simpson LF — Simpson (thumb) is not in the Rays' starting lineup against the Marlins on Sunday, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.
- Day-To-DayAustin Vernon RP — The Rays have shut Vernon down from throwing due to right elbow soreness, per MLB.com.
- Day-To-DayTre' Morgan 1B — Triple-A Durham placed Morgan on the 7-day injured list with a quad injury, Sam Dykstra of MLB Pipeline reports.
- Day-To-DayAlfredo Zarraga RP — no
- 10-Day-ILJonny DeLuca RF — DeLuca is expected to miss 6-to-8 weeks after an MRI revealed a Grade 1 right hamstring strain, Ryan Bass of Rays.tv reports.
- 10-Day-ILJake Fraley RF — Rays manager Kevin Cash said Monday that Fraley (hernia) will require surgery and will face a recovery timeline of 6-to-8 weeks, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.
- 15-Day-ILCraig Kimbrel RP — Kimbrel (wrist) threw a bullpen session Saturday and is close to facing hitters, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.
- 15-Day-ILJonathan Heasley RP — Heasley cleared waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A Durham on Saturday, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.
Boston's injury list is a horror show — Crochet, Houck, Crawford, Sandoval, and Oviedo are all on the shelf, Trevor Story just had sports hernia surgery, and Roman Anthony got shut down from swinging. Tampa isn't whole either, with Chandler Simpson day-to-day on the thumb, Jonny DeLuca and Jake Fraley out long-term, and Craig Kimbrel still working back from a wrist issue.
Pinnacle has Boston at -117 with a 7.5 total — a tight number that makes sense for two offenses this allergic to scoring. Early's track record against this lineup plus a Rays bullpen game is exactly the spot a 27-36 team can steal one. If the Sox actually hit, they win this. The track record on the second half of that sentence is not great.