Trevor Story made his Red Sox Spring Training debut Wednesday, batting sixth and playing second base, as Boston faced the Atlanta Braves in Grapefruit League action at JetBlue Park.
Story, who recently signed a six-year contract with the Red Sox in Major League Baseball free agency, went 1-for-2 with a single, a walk and an RBI in three plate appearances.
His single — a line-drive base hit into left field off Dylan Lee — came on a 1-1 pitch with runners at second and third. It plated J.D. Martinez to extend Boston’s lead to 8-1 in the fourth inning.
Yolmer Sánchez replaced Story as a pinch-runner, ending the latter’s afternoon as the Red Sox ease him into game action. Story is scheduled to work on the back fields at Fenway South on Thursday before playing in games Friday and Saturday.
The Red Sox begin their regular season April 7 against the New York Yankees in the Bronx, and manager Alex Cora seemingly offered a glimpse Wednesday of what Boston’s Opening Day lineup might look like.
Story, a right-handed hitter, batted between Alex Verdugo (a lefty) and Bobby Dalbec (a righty) as the Red Sox took their swings against right-hander Ian Anderson. The top four consisted of Kiké Hernández, Rafael Devers, Xander Bogaerts and J.D. Martinez. Jackie Bradley Jr. and Christian Vázquez rounded out the lineup after Dalbec.
The Red Sox are scheduled to face a right-hander on Opening Day, with Gerrit Cole toeing the rubber for the Yankees. It’s possible Cora shuffles the lineup against left-handers — perhaps flip-flopping Verdugo and Story — but Boston’s batting order definitely looks even-more legit on paper in wake of adding Story, a two-time All-Star with the Colorado Rockies who started off on the right foot Wednesday after a hectic first week with the Red Sox in which he and his wife welcomed a new baby into the world.
