The injury bug has hit the Red Sox hard this season, but Brayan Bello can help Boston weather the storm in the middle game of their series against the Cleveland Guardians at Fenway Park.
The right-hander was optioned to Triple-A Worcester on Monday, but manager Alex Cora and chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom made it clear the transaction had nothing to do with his performance.
Bello's last start was April 23 against the Milwaukee Brewers, where he struck out three batters in 4 2/3 innings and gave up three runs off five hits. Garrett Whitlock alleviated concerns over his elbow injury, and Cora hoped his 15-day injured list stint won't take him out for more than two starts. But Bello can affirm his status in the Red Sox starting rotation with a stronger outing against the Guardians.
Cleveland handled Boston in the first game of the series Friday, but the Red Sox will switch things up. Triston Casas will sit out, which moves Justin Turner to first base, and Masataka Yoshida to designated hitter -- he remains second in the batting order. Raimel Tapia will patrol left field, and Christian Arroyo will start at shortstop. Connor Wong is the backstop for Bello, rotating in for Reese McGuire.
Saturday afternoon's first pitch is scheduled for 4:10 p.m. ET, and you can watch all of the action on NESN, beginning with "Red Sox First Pitch" at 3 p.m.
Here are the full lineups for Saturday's Red Sox-Guardians matchup.
BOSTON RED SOX (13-14)
Alex Verdugo, RF
Masataka Yoshida, DH
Justin Turner, 1B
Rafael Devers, 3B
Jarren Duran, CF
Raimel Tapia, LF
Enmanuel Valdez, 2B
Christian Arroyo, SS
Connor Wong, C
Brayan Bello, RHP (0-1, 9.82 ERA)
CLEVELAND GUARDIANS (13-13)
Steven Kwan, LF
Amed Rosario, SS
José RamÃrez, 3B
Josh Naylor, 1B
Josh Bell, DH
Oscar Gonzalez, RF
Andrés Giménez, 2B
Mike Zunino, C
Myles Straw, CF
Zach Plesac, RHP (1-1, 6.50 ERA)
