The Boston Red Sox might not have to worry about facing Nolan Arenado when they begin a three-game series against the visiting Arizona Diamondbacks on Monday night.
Arenado hit two home runs to lead Arizona’s 10-3 victory over Atlanta on Saturday, but he pulled out of Sunday’s 5-3 loss to the Braves with what the team called left trunk discomfort. He left the game after grounding out in the top of the fourth inning.
Arenado said he initially felt the pain while bending over in the batter’s box, and it felt worse after he swung. He’s scheduled to have an MRI on Monday to determine the extent of the injury.
“It doesn’t feel great,” Arenado said. “I felt it before the at-bat, but it didn’t feel like pain or anything. Then, when I swung, I was like ‘ahh.’ It wasn’t getting drastically worse, but it doesn’t feel right. So I thought I would let them know.”
Arenado, a 35-year-old third baseman, is an eight-time All-Star and a 10-time Gold Glove winner. He’s hitting .241 with 20 home runs and 62 RBIs this season.
“He’s having a tremendous year,” Arizona manager Torey Lovullo said. “I thought about giving him the day off (Sunday), but he hit two home runs (Saturday) and had a really nice day. He didn’t want it, nor did he ask for it, but it’s one of those things where you’ve got to be careful in different situations. He’s just been playing hard, but something didn’t feel right, so he spoke up.”
Boston, meanwhile, is coming off Sunday’s 8-3 loss at Pittsburgh. It was the team’s seventh defeat in the last nine games. The Red Sox were held to five hits, one of which was Connor Wong’s three-run home run.
Boston will return home after going 2-5 on a seven-game road trip. The Red Sox scored more than four runs just once on the trek.
“I do feel like, before the hot streak (a stretch of 27 victories in 30 games), there were plenty of games where we weren’t even really generating a ton of traffic for a good chunk of the game,” Red Sox interim manager Chad Tracy said. “So I still think we’re doing a much better job as far as swing decisions and getting people out there (on base). We just got to get them in, and we will.”
The Red Sox will be without two key pieces for the near future as outfielder/designated hitter Masataka Yoshida (left hamstring strain) and right-handed reliever Justin Slaten (elbow inflammation) were placed on the injured list Sunday.
Yoshida is batting .274 with five home runs and 28 RBIs this season, and Slaten is 2-4 with a 4.60 ERA in 36 relief appearances.
Arizona left-hander Mitch Bratt (1-1, 3.74 ERA) will face the Red Sox for the first time in his career on Monday. His ERA was 6.32 after he allowed five runs in five innings against the Washington Nationals on July 25, but he has given up three earned runs in 18 innings since.
It’s expected to be a bullpen game for Boston, with left-hander Alec Gamboa (0-0, 1.59) getting the start. It will be his first career appearance against Arizona. Several media outlets have reported that right-hander Brayan Bello (4-6, 4.84) likely will pitch the bulk of the innings out of the bullpen.
Bello has a 10.35 ERA over eight appearances spanning 35 2/3 innings this season as a starter but has been incredibly effective as a bulk reliever, with an 0.75 ERA over 48 innings.
–Field Level Media
