Spencer Strider is the headliner. He missed the start of the year with an oblique, looked shaky in his May 3 debut at Coors, and has since rattled off a 3.00 ERA with a 27/12 K/BB across 4 starts. His last time out he punched out 9 Marlins over 6.1 innings. The stuff is back. The walks are still a thing, but you take it.
Ranger Suarez has been the lone bright spot in a Boston rotation that's lost Garrett Crochet, Tanner Houck, Kutter Crawford and Patrick Sandoval to the IL. A 2.40 ERA through 7 starts is exactly what Boston paid for last winter, and he's coming off the kind of stretch that includes 8 shutout innings against Detroit. The watch item: he got pulled on May 3 with right hamstring tightness, so the leg is worth monitoring.
- Day-To-DayBlake Burkhalter (RP) — Triple-A Gwinnett placed Burkhalter on the 7-day injured list March 27 with back spasms, Jonathan Mayo of MLB Pipeline reports.05/08
- 10-Day-ILDrake Baldwin (C) — Baldwin was diagnosed with a Grade 1 right oblique strain Tuesday, Daniel Alvarez-Montes of ElExtraBase.com reports.05/19
- 10-Day-ILKyle Farmer (DH) — Farmer went 1-for-3 with a double, a run scored and two RBI in Sunday's rout of the Guardians.05/18
- 10-Day-ILSean Murphy (C) — Manager Walk Weiss said Tuesday that Murphy (finger) is expected to be sidelined at least eight weeks, Grant McAuley of the Marietta Daily Journal reports.05/12
- suspensionJurickson Profar (LF) — Profar will miss the full 2026 season after the appeal of his 162-game PED suspension was denied Thursday, Jeff Passan of ESPN.com reports.05/08
- 60-Day-ILAJ Smith-Shawver (SP) — Manager Walt Weiss said Friday that Smith-Shawver (elbow) has been throwing bullpen sessions, and the next step in his rehab is to face live hitters, Grant McAuley of the Marietta Daily Journal reports.05/22
- 60-Day-ILHurston Waldrep (SP) — Atlanta manager Walt Weiss said May 13 that Waldrep (elbow) has felt fine since he began throwing bullpen sessions earlier in the month, Mark Bowman of MLB.com reports.05/21
- 60-Day-ILJoe Jimenez (RP) — Atlanta manager Walt Weiss revealed Wednesday that Jimenez underwent another surgery on his left knee 3-to-4 weeks ago, Grant McAuley of the Marietta Daily Journal reports.05/13
- 60-Day-ILSpencer Schwellenbach (SP) — Schwellenbach (elbow) received a positive update when evaluated last week and is expected to start a throwing program soon, Chad Bishop of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.05/12
- 60-Day-ILDanny Young (RP) — Atlanta transferred Young (elbow) to the 60-day injured list Saturday.05/08
- 60-Day-ILJoey Wentz (RP) — Atlanta placed Wentz (knee) on the 60-day injured list Tuesday.05/08
- Day-To-DayHobie Harris (RP) — Harris was optioned to Triple-A Rochester on Saturday, Jesse Dougherty of The Washington Post reports.05/08
- 10-Day-ILTrevor Story (SS) — Story underwent surgery to repair a sports hernia Thursday and will be sidelined 6-10 weeks, Tim Healey of The Boston Globe reports.05/22
- 10-Day-ILRoman Anthony (LF) — Red Sox president Sam Kennedy clarified Friday on WEEI 93.7 FM that Anthony is dealing with a sprained ligament on the base of his right ring finger, Rob Bradford of WEEI.com reports.05/22
- 15-Day-ILGarrett Crochet (SP) — Crochet (shoulder) will face hitters Tuesday, Tim Healey of The Boston Globe reports.05/23
- OutBrendan Rodgers (2B) — Rodgers (shoulder) re-signed Friday with the Red Sox on a two-year, minor-league contract, Chris Hatfield of SoxProspects.com reports.05/08
- 60-Day-ILRomy Gonzalez (1B) — Gonzalez (shoulder) has started hitting flips, MLB.com reports.05/24
- 60-Day-ILKutter Crawford (SP) — no05/22
- 60-Day-ILTanner Houck (SP) — Houck (elbow) has been making throws out to 105 feet three days per week, MLB.com reports.05/15
- 60-Day-ILTriston Casas (1B) — The Red Sox transferred Casas (abdomen/knee) from the 10-day injured list to the 60-day IL on Wednesday.05/08
- 60-Day-ILPatrick Sandoval (SP) — The Red Sox transferred Sandoval (biceps/elbow) from the 15-day injured list to the 60-day IL on Monday.05/08
- 60-Day-ILJohan Oviedo (SP) — Oviedo (elbow) will be reevaluated by Dr. Keith Meister in two weeks to determine his progress, Marcos Grunfeld of ElEmergente.com reports.05/08
The injury card is the story of Boston's season. Trevor Story just had sports hernia surgery and is out 6-10 weeks. Roman Anthony's finger ligament has him on ice. Triston Casas is still gone. The lineup the Sox roll out tonight is a shell of what they envisioned in March, and they're asking it to chase a Braves team that's basically been the best club in baseball for a month.
Pinnacle has the Braves at -112 as small road favorites with the total at 8. That feels about right — Strider vs. Suarez should keep runs down, and the market is essentially calling this a coin flip on the moneyline despite the 14-game gap in the standings. Translation: respect Suarez at Fenway, but the Braves are the better team and everyone knows it.