What happened: The Red Sox open a stretch of 33 games in 34 days on Friday with a doubleheader against the Rays, with Garrett Crochet, Ranger Suarez and Connelly Early all unavailable on the injured list. Boston plans to pair Brayan Bello with lefty opener Eduardo Rivera for one game of the doubleheader, then again Tuesday against the Orioles.
Why it matters: With only two off days scheduled before August 20, Boston's four healthy rotation regulars — Jake Bennett, Sonny Gray, Payton Tolle and Patrick Sandoval — must report/article/red-sox-injury-update-roman-anthony-swinging-pain-free-croch-2026-05-28">Crochet, who was previously tracking toward a return</a>, remains out. Keeping Bello in the bulk role rather than pushing another starter onto short rest is central to the plan.
By the numbers: Eleven pitchers have started at least one game for Boston this season: three are on the IL (Crochet, Suarez, Early), four are tied to the Bello-opener plan (Bello, Jovani Moran, Tyler Samaniego, Eduardo Rivera), and four are healthy rotation regulars (Bennett, Gray, Tolle, Sandoval).
What to watch: Rivera and Bello are set to piggyback again July 21 against Baltimore, with a possible return from the injured group as soon as July 27.