Red Sox manager Alex Cora didn’t sound optimistic Sunday that left-handed reliever Joely Rodriguez will return to the Boston bullpen for the stretch drive, although Cora is getting one piece of the pitching staff back.

In fact, Cora said there’s “a good chance” that a hip injury could sideline Rodriguez for the rest of the season. He was placed on the 15-day injured list on July 31, retroactive to July 29.

“He had a setback, actually with his hip, so we’re going to stay away from him for a while,” Cora told reporters Sunday morning before Boston’s game against the Detroit Tigers. “It’s tough, because he was throwing the ball well. It’s kind of like the upper hip, and we’ve got to stay away from him for a while.”

The Red Sox signed Rodriguez, 31, to a one-year $2 million contract that includes a $4.25 million club option for 2024. He started the season on the injured list with a strained right oblique, the returned with left shoulder inflammation.

“We’ve just to make sure we get him right and see where it takes us,” Cora said.

Rodriguez has a 6.55 ERA in 11 games with the Red Sox, allowing nine runs (eight earned) in 11 innings. He has struck out 14 and walked six.

He joined the Red Sox after stints with the Philadelphia Phillies, Texas Rangers and both the New York Mets and Yankees. He has a career record of 5-9 and a 4.70 ERA in 168 games with one save.

The Red Sox on Sunday activated right-hander Garrett Whitlock from the 15-day injured list and optioned right-hander Kyle Barraclough to Triple-A Worcester following Saturday night’s game against the Detroit Tigers.

Whitlock, 27, was placed on the IL on July 3 because of right elbow inflammation. Used exclusively as a starter this season, he is 4-3 with a 5.23 ERA in 51 2/3 innings over 10 games.

Whitlock’s role will change as he will be used as a multi-inning reliever for the rest of the season.

“It’s important,” Cora said. “Now, we can balance the bullpen. Usage-wise, it’s been a challenge the last 10-12 days with so many close games. Now, adding him to the equation and using him the way we did before (as a) multi-inning guy, it’s going to take care of everybody, and we’ll take care of him. We feel very comfortable with the way the bullpen is right now and, hopefully, it works.”

Barraclough, 33, signed with the Red Sox in June and is 1-0 with a 2.70 ERA in 3 1/3 innings in two relief appearances.

–Field Level Media

The Arizona Diamondbacks on Sunday activated catcher Gabriel Moreno from the 10-day injured list after his recovery from left shoulder inflammation.

In a corresponding move, the Diamondbacks designated veteran catcher Carson Kelly for assignment.

The team also selected the contract of right-hander Bryce Jarvis from Triple-A Reno and optioned right-hander starter Ryne Nelson to Reno.

Moreno, who last played on July 22, is batting .270 with three home runs and 28 RBIs in 222 at-bats over 74 games. Moreno, 23, also has 11 doubles.

Kelly, 29, hit .226 in 32 games. He had been with the team since 2019 after his first three seasons with the St. Louis Cardinals. He is a career .223 hitter with 44 home runs and 163 RBIs in 448 career games.

Jarvis, 25, will be making his major league debut when the Diamondbacks insert him in the lineup. The Diamondbacks selected him in the first round (18th overall) of the 2020 MLB Draft out of Duke. He’s rated the franchise’s No. 30 prospect by MLB Pipeline.

Jarvis has appeared in 25 games (19 starts) between Reno and Double-A Amarillo and is a combined 9-6 with a 5.26 ERA, 53 walks and 110 strikeouts in 102 2/3 innings.

Nelson, 25, is 6-7 for Arizona with a 5.47 ERA, 37 walks and 82 strikeouts in 125 innings over 24 starts this season.

–Field Level Media

Los Angeles Angels two-way phenom Shohei Ohtani asked to miss his next scheduled start from the mound due to arm fatigue, manager Phil Nevin said Sunday.

Ohtani, who is 10-5 with a 3.17 ERA in 22 starts this season, was slated to pitch on Wednesday against the Texas Rangers in Arlington, Texas. Nevin said that the right-hander will return to the rotation during a series against the visiting Cincinnati Reds that begins Aug. 21.

“I’ve told you guys many times he knows his body better than anybody,” Nevin said Sunday. “I trust him when he talks about it. He’s assured me there’s no pain, there’s no injury. He’s got some regular arm fatigue that some go through at times. I trust him when he tells me this and he’ll be ready for his next time out.”

Ohtani will not take any time off as the team’s designated hitter, Nevin said.

“He feels good at the plate,” Nevin said. “He feels healthy swinging at bat. It’s just the (throwing) right now, he’s got some normal arm fatigue that happens at times.”

Ohtani won his third straight decision on Wednesday after allowing one (unearned) run on three hits in six innings of a 4-1 victory over the San Francisco Giants.

Ohtani, 29, is 2-0 in his last three outings after permitting just one unearned run on seven hits in 19 innings.

At the plate, Ohtani is hitting .305 — good for fourth in the American League — and leads the league with 40 home runs, 74 walks and a .407 on-base percentage. He stands atop the majors with a .661 slugging percentage and is tied for the lead in triples with seven entering play Sunday.

Also on Sunday, the Angels reinstated right-hander Griffin Canning from the injured list.

Canning, who had been dealing with right calf tightness, is 6-4 with a 4.46 ERA in 16 starts this season.

The 27-year-old is 18-17 with a 4.65 ERA over 59 career games (57 starts) with the Angels since debuting in 2019. He missed the 2022 season with a stress fracture in his lower back.

–Field Level Media

The Philadelphia Phillies recalled Luis Ortiz from Lehigh Valley on Sunday and optioned fellow right-hander Yunior Marte to the Triple-A club.

Ortiz, 27, has notched a 3.94 ERA with one save but without a decision in 11 games this season with the Phillies. He also posted a 3-0 record with three saves and a 4.06 ERA in 24 games (one start) in 2023 with the IronPigs.

Marte, 28, is 1-1 with two saves and a 5.14 ERA in 36 relief appearances this season with Philadelphia. He was acquired by the Phillies from the San Francisco Giants in exchange for left-hander Erik Miller on Jan. 8.

–Field Level Media

Three games in New York have provided the cure for whatever ailed the Atlanta Braves.

Fresh off a historic doubleheader, the Braves will look to close a four-game sweep of the Mets on Sunday night in New York.

Yonny Chirinos (5-4, 4.83 ERA) is scheduled to start for the Braves against fellow right-hander Kodai Senga (8-6, 3.24).

The Braves followed a 7-0 victory in the series opener on Friday with a dominating performance in the doubleheader on Saturday. They cruised to a 21-3 rout in the opener and posted a 6-0 win in the nightcap.

The 24-run differential in a doubleheader was the third-largest in franchise history and the largest for a Braves team since 1900. The then-Boston Beaneaters outscored the Cincinnati Reds by 32 runs on Aug. 21, 1894, and beat the then-St. Louis Browns by a combined 26 runs on Sept. 3, 1896.

Ozzie Albies homered in both games Saturday and finished with eight RBIs for Atlanta. The Braves went deep six times in the opener — including two by major league home run leader Matt Olson and one by Nicky Lopez, who finished 4-for-6 with five RBIs and then tossed a hitless bottom of the ninth.

Lopez is the first player to have at least four hits and five RBIs while producing a scoreless outing on the mound since the RBI became an official stat in 1920.

As impressive a day as Atlanta had offensively, manager Brian Snitker was even more pleased with starting pitchers Allan Winans and Spencer Strider each throwing seven scoreless innings. Braves starters entered Saturday with an 11.18 ERA over the previous seven games, a span in which the team went 3-4.

“Getting two seven-inning starts is awesome,” Snitker said. “Both of those guys (were) huge, from where we were from the last week.”

The 27 runs surrendered by the Mets on Saturday tied a team record for the most allowed in a single day. The dismal performance in the doubleheader continued a nightmarish season for New York, which posted a 101-61 record last year and lost the NL East tiebreaker to the Braves.

The Mets have been under .500 every day since losing 6-4 to the Braves on June 6. New York was swept in that three-game series despite holding a lead of at least three runs each night.

The Mets haven’t led at all during this series. New York was blanked in Friday’s opener despite coaxing nine walks and recording seven hits.

“Give their pitchers a lot of credit, but it’s going to make it hard to be competitive in those games against that quality of team unless we figure out a way to score some runs,” Mets manager Buck Showalter said.

Chirinos didn’t factor into the decision last Tuesday despite giving up six runs over five innings in the Braves’ 8-6 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates. He won his lone career appearance against the Mets on May 16 after allowing three runs in 4 2/3 innings of relief for the Tampa Bay Rays in their 8-5 victory.

Senga earned the win last Monday after allowing two runs over six innings in the Mets’ 11-2 victory over the Chicago Cubs. He has yet to face the Braves in his career.

–Field Level Media

Tied for the National League lead in losses and in search of his first win in three months, Colorado Rockies right-hander Kyle Freeland will take the mound on Sunday looking for just a little help from his friends.

Freeland (4-12, 4.84 ERA) has not exactly experienced bad luck over his past 13 winless starts, posting a 6.12 ERA in the stretch. But he hasn’t received much run support either. Heading into Saturday’s play, Freeland’s 2.26 run-support average since his last win on May 14 was second lowest in baseball.

Now comes a test against the red-hot Los Angeles Dodgers on Sunday, who have a seven-game winning streak with victories in 11 of their 12 games in August. They are 19-8 in the second half and have opened up an 8 1/2-game lead in the National League West.

Freeland will be tasked with trying to avoid a four-game sweep at the hands of the Dodgers. The visit to Los Angeles started out so promising for the last-place Rockies, who pushed the Milwaukee Brewers into extra innings twice in their most recent series after taking two of three at St. Louis to begin the current 10-game road trip.

Colorado rookie Ezequiel Tovar hit a home run on the first pitch of the game Saturday, but the club did not score again in a 4-1 loss to Los Angeles. Tovar has 12 home runs.

“We talked about the threat of power with Tovar and it showed in the first inning,” Rockies manager Bud Black said. “He has double-digit homers. So he’s got some pop and I think, as his career really gets going, I think you’ll see more homers. He’s having a good year and I’m really proud of him.”

Freeland enters off a no-decision at Milwaukee on Tuesday when he pitched well by allowing three runs over six innings. The outing helped Colorado to a 7-3 victory when they scored four runs in the 10th inning.

The Colorado native is 5-9 lifetime against the Dodgers in 22 starts and has a 4.65 ERA.

The Dodgers will counter with left-hander Julio Urias (9-6, 4.39), who finally appears to be in top form after struggling with inconsistency, not to mention a hamstring injury, this season.

Urias enters off 14 2/3 consecutive scoreless outings, earning the win against both the Oakland Athletics on Aug. 3 and the Arizona Diamondbacks on Tuesday. He has given up a combined seven hits in 11 innings over those starts, and he held the Toronto Blue Jays scoreless over the final 3 2/3 innings of the Dodgers’ 8-7 win on July 25.

“The results have been positive, but mostly just feeling like myself,” Urias said in Spanish. “Feeling like myself mechanically. Feeling like with all three of my pitches I can make an adjustment. That’s what I’m liking and I’m hoping I can keep that constant.

“There’s some things I still have to work on. Some pitches, first-pitch strikes I’m not always locating. (I’m) looking at the video to see what I can work on with that. But the truth is, I really like how I’ve done.”

Urias is 6-2 lifetime against the Rockies in 20 appearances (17 starts) and has a 4.58 ERA.

Los Angeles’ 4-1 victory over Colorado on Saturday came behind home runs from Will Smith, James Outman and Amed Rosario. Enrique Hernandez had two hits. Rosario and Hernandez have been key contributors since both were acquired just before the trade deadline.

–Field Level Media

With the Arizona Diamondbacks’ nine-game losing streak over, the team is now in search of its first series victory in nearly one month.

The Diamondbacks will attempt to do precisely that on Sunday when they host the San Diego Padres in the rubber match of the three-game set in Phoenix. Arizona is bidding to win its first series since taking two of three against the Atlanta Braves from July 18-20.

The Diamondbacks rode the arm of right-handed ace Zac Gallen to end their skid Saturday night in a 3-0 victory over San Diego. The Padres also are in a slump with losses in five of their past six games.

“We stuck to the game plan and made some adjustments along the way, but Zac is one of the best preparation guys out there,” Arizona catcher Carson Kelly said of Gallen, who allowed four hits in six innings with eight strikeouts and one walk.

Saturday’s victory occurred with more than 60 former Diamondbacks in attendance to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the franchise.

“It’s special to win this game,” Kelly said. “It’s special to learn from those guys. It’s what it’s all about, giving back to the next generation.”

San Diego will turn to Seth Lugo (4-6, 4.19 ERA) on Sunday against fellow right-hander Brandon Pfaadt (0-6, 7.16)

Pfaadt, 24, is in search of his first career major-league victory after 10 starts and two recalls from Triple-A Reno in his rookie season.

He will face the Padres for the first time.

Lugo is 0-2 with a 4.01 ERA in 11 career appearances (two starts) against Arizona. He has 29 strikeouts and five walks against the Diamondbacks in 24 2/3 innings.

In San Diego’s 10-5 win over Arizona on Friday night, the Padres equaled their run total in a four-game losing streak entering the game.

The Padres’ top four batters — Fernando Tatis Jr., Manny Machado, Juan Soto and Xavier Bogaerts — were a combined 10-for-19 at the plate Friday after going 5-for-59 in the four-game losing streak.

They were 5-for-15 on Saturday night, but Machado had three of those hits.

San Diego is 0-for-15 with runners in scoring position in the three losses during its current five-game road trip.

The Padres were held to five hits on Saturday by Gallen and relievers Miguel Castro, Kevin Ginkel and Paul Sewald, the latter acquired at the trade deadline from the Seattle Mariners.

“We just didn’t get too many good swings, period,” San Diego manager Bob Melvin said. “Manny had some really good swings today, but other than that, we had a couple of baserunners early and couldn’t do anything.”

Arizona manager Torey Lovullo said the Diamondbacks made personnel moves before Saturday’s game in attempt to “spark us here.”

They optioned third baseman Emmanuel Rivera while also designating outfielder Kristian Robinson for assignment, transactions that paved the way for infielder Buddy Kennedy to return to the big leagues after he played 30 games with the Diamondbacks last season.

Kennedy, recalled from Triple-A Reno, was in the lineup at third base and batted sixth in the order on Saturday night against the Padres.

He did not record a hit and walked in four plate appearances.

“We are looking for ways to create some offense and get some run-scoring opportunities going and push us in the right direction,” Lovullo said. “Buddy will get this opportunity and see where it takes us.”

–Field Level Media