BOSTON — In his first game action since mid-September, Trevor Story is back in the heart of the Red Sox lineup as he makes his season debut against the Royals on Tuesday.
Story is hitting third against Kansas City righty Brady Singer after being activated from the 60-day injured list Tuesday. With Justin Turner (heel soreness) out of the lineup, manager Alex Cora decided to throw Story right into the third spot in his return. Story is starting at shortstop for the first time as a member of the Red Sox after logging 94 appearances at second base in 2022.
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In a much-different Red Sox lineup last year, Story hit third just twice. He saw the bulk of his starts hitting sixth (50 games) while hitting fifth 18 times, leading off 15 times and mixing in at other spots (three times hitting second, twice hitting cleanup).
“There you go, kid,” Cora joked. “Go play.”
Turner missed four consecutive games last week after suffering a heel bruise in Boston’s July 31 loss to the Mariners. He was just 2-for-10 in the last three games and is still not 100%. Cora said Turner will likely avoid the injured list but will likely be out of the lineup for a couple days as he recovers.
“He’s a little banged up,” Cora said. “We’re probably gonna stay away from J.T. today, tomorrow and maybe the last game of the series. Hopefully, we can get him ready for the weekend. With that, we’ll talk to Trevor on a daily basis to see how he feels… We’ll make sure it’s a day-to-day thing.”
With Turner out, Masataka Yoshida is the designated hitter with (from left to right) Jarren Duran, Adam Duvall and Alex Verdugo starting in the outfield. Monday hero Pablo Reyes is at second base after surviving Tuesday’s roster crunch. Verdugo is hitting seventh. Connor Wong is doing the catching with Kutter Crawford (2.18 ERA in 4 starts since the All-Star break) taking the ball against the last-place Royals.
Tuesday, though, is all about Story. First pitch is at 7:10 p.m. ET.
“Hopefully, he hits three out of the ballpark today and he goes off right away,” Cora said. “He’s an All-Star caliber player, one of the best offensive shortstops in the league three years ago, two years ago, whatever it was. Hits the ball in the air, can run the bases well and he’s a great defender.
“We’re talking about one of the best shortstops in the big leagues the last 8-10 years, whatever it is. We just have to make sure we keep him healthy, take the right steps and everybody around here is patient with him. He hasn’t played in a while and it’s still the big leagues. We’re pretty confident he’ll get his rhythm soon. Hopefully, it’s today right away. He’s a good player. He’s a great addition for us.”
KANSAS CITY ROYALS (36-78) @ BOSTON RED SOX (58-54) · FENWAY PARK · BOSTON, MA
FIRST PITCH: 7:10 p.m. ET
TV CHANNEL: NESN
LIVE STREAM: fuboTV – If you have cable and live in the New England TV market, you can use your login credentials to watch via NESNon mobile and WiFi-enabled devices. If you don’t have cable, you can watch the game via fuboTV, in New England | Watch NESN
RADIO: WEEI 93.7 FM
PITCHING PROBABLES: RHP Brady Singer (7-8, 5.10 ERA) vs. RHP Kutter Crawford (5-5, 3.62 ERA)
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RED SOX LINEUP:
1. LF Jarren Duran
2. DH Masataka Yoshida
3. SS Trevor Story
4. 3B Rafael Devers
5. 1B Triston Casas
6. CF Adam Duvall
7. RF Alex Verdugo
8. 2B Pablo Reyes
9. C Connor Wong
ROYALS LINEUP:
1. 3B Maikel Garcia
2. SS Bobby Witt Jr.
3. 2B Michael Massey
4. C Salvador Perez
5. LF MJ Melendez
6. DH Edward Olivares
7. 1B Matt Beaty
8. RF Drew Waters
9. CF Kyle Isbel
