The Boston Red Sox will attempt to extend their three-game winning streak when they play a day-night doubleheader against the visiting St. Louis Cardinals on Sunday.
The teams were scheduled to play the second game of their three-game series on Saturday, but that contest was postponed because of rain following a delay of just over two hours. The game was moved to Sunday since this is St. Louis’ only trip to Boston this season.
The first game of the doubleheader is scheduled to begin at 1:35 p.m., and Game 2 will start at 7:10, as originally scheduled.
Trevor Story has five hits, including two home runs, and five RBIs during Boston’s winning streak. His batting average is up to .250 after he began the season with one hit in his first 11 at-bats.
Story, plagued by injuries during the last three seasons, hit a three-run home run in the first inning of Friday’s 13-9 victory over St. Louis. His play at shortstop helped improve a Red Sox defense that was below par last season, when Story was limited to 26 games.
“Yeah, he wants it — he wants it bad,” Boston manager Alex Cora said. “He feels like he hasn’t done his job the last few years. He’s been hurt. That’s it. And that’s what I’ve tried to remind him. My job as a manager is to take care of him. We have to.
“It was good the other day when he didn’t play. He came into the office and said, ‘I’m ready to play.’ I said, ‘I know that, but we’ve got other players.’ We have to play this for the long run. Hopefully, we can accomplish that.”
There’s nothing wrong with the St. Louis offense. The Cardinals collected 13 hits Friday and had at least 10 hits in each of their seven games this season. St. Louis also has scored at least four runs in each game.
Brendan Donovan and Ivan Herrera each homered for the Cardinals in the loss on Friday. Herrera has four home runs in his past two games.
“He’s swinging the bat with some real confidence, and he’s staying within himself,” St. Louis manager Oliver Marmol said. “The ball is traveling a long way. To go (to the opposite field Friday), that was good to see. He pulled some (home runs) the other day, so he’s using the whole field now.”
Boston will send 6-foot-5 left-hander Sean Newcomb (0-1, 9.00 ERA) to the mound for Game 1 on Sunday. He earned a spot in Boston’s rotation after multiple starters suffered injuries during spring training.
Newcomb has a 10.13 ERA in eight games against the Cardinals (one start), but he did not figure in any of the decisions. Boston has not named a starting pitcher for Game 2.
Right-hander Andre Pallante (1-0, 3.60) is scheduled to start Game 1 for St. Louis, which has lost three of its past four games after a season-opening sweep of the Minnesota Twins. Pallante is 1-1 with a 2.16 ERA in three career appearances (one start) against Boston.
Righty Miles Mikolas (0-0, 3.38) is listed as the probable starter for St. Louis in Game 2. Mikolas is 1-0 with a 1.64 ERA in his two career starts against the Red Sox.
Boston’s Rafael Devers began the season with 15 strikeouts in five games. Since then he’s 5-for-11 with one strikeout in three games.
–Field Level Media
