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As Red Sox shuffle rotation plan, top prospect likely to face Yankees on Thursday
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- As Red Sox shuffle rotation plan, top prospect likely to face Yankees on Thursday
BOSTON — A day after Sonny Gray hit the injured list with a hamstring strain , the Red Sox shuffled their starting rotation for the rest of the week.
Righty Brayan Bello — who was scheduled to pitch Thursday's series finale against the Yankees — was pushed back a day and will now start Friday night as Boston opens a road trip in Baltimore . The Red Sox don't have a starter listed for Thursday. While manager Alex Cora said that there are "a lot of people" in the mix to make that start, sources said lefty Payton Tolle is likely to pitch against New York .
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Garrett Crochet will get an extra day of rest and pitch Saturday in Baltimore with rookie Connelly Early getting the nod for Sunday at Camden Yards. That would line up Ranger Suárez , who is starting Wednesday, for Tuesday's series opener against the Blue Jays at Rogers Centre. Boston's next off day is next Thursday (April 30).
Bello, Crochet and Early will all get an extra day of rest before facing the Orioles.
"The schedule worked to our advantage in this situation," Cora said. "Sonny's banged up, so it makes sense to have somebody else start tomorrow and push everybody back. We'll take advantage of that one and then the next off day on Thursday."
Thursday's game will represent the first time all season the Red Sox have had to use a starter outside of the five members of their Opening Day rotation. The overwhelming favorite to pitch remains Tolle, who has not pitched in 10 days and instead has been in limbo as he awaits a major league call-up. Because he has not pitched since throwing 75 pitches against Columbus on April 12, Tolle might be limited against New York. So far, the 23-year-old has impressed in 15 innings with the WooSox , allowing five earned runs while striking out 19 batters and walking just four.
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Tolle was supposed to pitch for Worcester over the weekend in Nashville but had his outing pushed back as the Red Sox laid contingency plans with iffy weather in the Boston area. Games went on as scheduled and Tolle remained in limbo. He's not listed on Worcester's probables for the rest of the week.
"Obviously, he's not throwing or scheduled right now," manager Chad Tracy said Tuesday. "You tell him to prepare for your next start. That's the best you can do.
"We were still preparing him to pitch on Sunday until we were told not to. All you can do is prepare a guy for the next outing and keep him in the right headspace. Whenever it is and whenever he's called upon, he'll be ready to go."
Cora said "yes" when asked if lefty Eduardo Rivera, who was called up Wednesday, was a candidate to pitch Thursday but it seems much more likely the Red Sox will use him in a long relief role. The Red Sox could choose to send Rivera down after Wednesday's game to make room for Tolle or make a move involving another reliever like Tyler Samaniego or Ryan Watson.
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"He has thrown the ball well and he can give us innings," Cora said of Rivera. "That's the reason it's him."
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