FINAL: Red Sox 7, Braves 1 - Stellar Pivetta and Sox singles down Atlanta

WHO: Braves (64-34) at Red Sox (53-47)
WHEN: 7:10 p.m. 
WHERE: Fenway Park, Boston.
SERIES TO DATE: Series tied, 1-1.
STARTING PITCHERS: RHP Charlie Morton (3-3, 5.35 ERA) vs. RHP John Schreiber (1-0, 2.12)
TV/RADIO: ESPN, WEEI-FM 93.7

LIVE BOX

LINEUP 

Red Sox 

Duran CF

Turner DH

Devers 3B

Yoshida LF

Duvall RF

Casas 1B

Arroyo 2B

Wong C

Chang SS

Schreiber SP

BRAVES

Acuña Jr. RF

Albies 2B

Riley 3B

Olson 1B

Murphy C

Ozuna DH

Rosario LF

Arcia SS

Harris II CF

Morton SP

PRE-GAME NOTES

The Red Sox activated RHP John Schreiber from the injured list and RHP Brayan Bello from paternity leave, setting up a corresponding roster move addressing the roster crunch in the middle infield previewed by SS Pablo Reyes' call-up from Triple-A Worcester over the weekend. Schreiber will start and pitch one inning tonight, Alex Cora told reporters pre-game. 

“We thought about starting Nick but Schreiber has to pitch regardless,” Cora said. “If we’re up 10 or up one. So why not pitch him right away, get that inning and we’ll decide what we do after that.”

Boston reportedly traded IF/OF Kiké Hernández to the Dodgers, who he played for from 2015-2020 before signing with the Red Sox in 2021. Hernández keyed that team's ALCS run by hitting .408 with a 1.260 OPS, belting five home runs in a memorable October while comfortably replacing Jackie Bradley Jr.'s center field defense. Hernández hit just .222 in 2022, returning on a one-year, $10 million extension for an ill-fated move to the infield this year. 

The Boston Globe reported Boston acquired two upper-level minor league relief pitchers from Los Angeles, RHP Nick Robertson and RHP Justin Hagenman. Chaim Bloom thanked Hernández for his time with the Sox, saying ahead of next week's trade deadline that the Sox don't intend to pursue rentals, and the competitive balance tax is a consideration, but the team won't pass up enticing long-term opportunities at the deadline over the tax. 

Cora said pre-game that LHP Chris Sale will throw a live bullpen sessions at Triple-A Worcester on Thursday, and if that goes well, he'll begin a rehab assignment next week. Sale (shoulder) went on the IL on June 2. Trevor Story (elbow), Reese McGuire (oblique) and Corey Kluber (shoulder) will continue their rehab assignments in Worcester this week, while Tanner Houck (facial fracture) and Garrett Whitlock (elbow) will throw bullpens.

WHAT'S UP 

The Red Sox have won back-to-back games following a 3-game losing streak from 7/18-21...The Sox own MLB’s best record since 6/30 (13-5) and the AL’s best since 6/14 (20-12)...At 53-47 (.530), Boston is tied with NYY and PHI for MLB’s 13th-best record...They’re 2.5 games back from the AL’s 3rd wild card position...The Red Sox took the rubber match vs. the Mets on Sunday, 6-1...They recorded 15+ hits for the 8th time, tied for 2nd most in MLB (TEX-10)...The Red Sox will wear their Nike City Connect Series uniforms tonight...They are 19-4 when wearing them since their unveiling in April 2021, having won each of their last 7 games, beginning 7/28/22 (4-0 in 2023)...The Red Sox have won 7 of their last 8 home games, outscoring opponents 53-29 in that span...In 9 home games during July, the Sox are batting .321 with an .881 OPS (32 XBH: 19 2B, 3 3B, 10 HR)....At home, the Sox lead the majors in AVG (.292) and OBP (.358)...They also rank 3rd in runs scored per game (5.6), OPS (.828) and SLG (.470)...The Red Sox unveiled their 2024 Spring Training schedule today...Their spring slate will begin on 2/23/24 against the Northeastern Huskies at JetBlue Park...The Sox and Tampa Bay Rays will play a pair of Spring Training contests at Estadio Quisqueya in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic from 3/9-10/24...Boston completes its 2024 Spring Training schedule with 2 games against the Texas Rangers at Globe Life Field in Arlington, TX from 3/25-26/24...The Red Sox ranked 27th in MLB with a 5.09 ERA at the end of play on 5/15, but they rank 2nd in the AL and 5th in the majors with a 3.78 ERA since then...Overall, the Sox rank 17th in the majors in ERA (4.33)...Since making his 1st relief appearance of 2023 on 5/21, Nick Pivetta leads the majors (min. 30.0 IP) in opponent AVG (.121) and WHIP (0.81)...In that time, he leads the AL in strikeout rate (38.1%) and ranks 2nd in ERA (2.25)...The Red Sox are tied for the AL lead with 20 steals in July (20-for-23)...Overall, the Sox rank 2nd in the AL and 6th in the majors in stolen base % (82.8, 72-for-87)...

The Braves and Red Sox split the two games at Truist Park, with Atlanta outscoring Boston, 11-8...RHP Charlie Morton has made 14 career starts against Boston, going 8-1 with a 3.95 ERA (35 ER/79.2 IP)...The 6-foot-5, 235-pound right- hander pitched against the Red Sox earlier this season, May 9 at Truist Park, and allowed just two runs over 6.0 innings to earn the win..Morton's .889 winning percentage against Boston is best among active pitchers in baseball to make at least 10 starts vs. the Red Sox... Atlanta rallied with three runs in the top of the eighth inning on Sunday to beat Milwaukee, 4-2...The win snapped the Braves' two-series losing streak...Atlanta took two-of-three games from Milwaukee this weekend, and has won seven consecutive series away from home...The Braves last dropped a set on the road in Oakland, losing two-of-three from May 29-31...The Braves are a majors-best 32-15 (.681) on the road this season, and their 32 wins away from home are tied with Baltimore for most in the majors...Atlanta's current winning percentage of .681 on the road stands as the single-season franchise record in baseball's modern era (since 1900)...The Braves 3.45 ERA (157 ER/409.0 IP) on the road is lowest in baseball, and their 5.43 runs per game trail just the Dodgers (5.77) and Rangers (5.45)...The Sox are 6-5-1 in Interleague series this year, including 5-0-1 on the road and 1-5-0 at home...They are 15-20 in games vs. NL clubs (11-6 road, 4-14 home)...