Red Sox at Braves
Matt Wisler is considered a key to the starting rotation Atlanta hopes will return it to postseason competition at some point in the future, and the 23-year-old is getting his chance to face some of top hurlers in baseball early this season. Wisler takes the mound Tuesday against David Price when the Braves host the Red Sox, five days after matching Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw in a game Atlanta lost in extra innings.
Boston captured Monday’s series opener 1-0, and one night after having to cover 8 2/3 innings in an extra-inning triumph at Houston, the Red Sox bullpen fired 2 2/3 hitless innings. Jackie Bradley Jr. homered for the game’s only run, giving the Boston center fielder 10 homers in his last 63 hits dating back to last season. Atlanta lost its sixth in a row and has scored 11 runs during the skid, dropping its fifth one-run game of the season. The Braves failed to hit a home run for the 14th consecutive game, matching the 2007 Angels for the longest such powerless stretch since the wild card was introduced in 1997.
TV: 7:10 p.m. ET, MLB Network, NESN (Boston), FSN South (Atlanta)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Red Sox LH David Price (2-0, 7.06 ERA) vs. Braves RH Matt Wisler (0-1, 3.10)
Price looks to rebound after a brutal outing in his fourth start with Boston, a 3 2/3-inning stint Thursday against Tampa Bay in which he gave up eight runs on eight hits in a no-decision. Signed to a seven-year, $217-million deal in the offseason, the 30-year-old has surrendered 13 runs in 8 2/3 innings in two no-decisions, bailed out by a Red Sox offense scoring 21 runs in those two games. Price is 2-1 with a 1.89 ERA in three starts lifetime against Atlanta.
Wisler seeks his first victory of the season but has been as solid as any Atlanta starter to this point, holding the Dodgers to one unearned run on four hits in 6 2/3 innings Thursday in his matchup with Kershaw. He gave up three runs on four hits in six innings to lose at Washington on April 13, and opened his season with a no-decision against the Cardinals, giving up four runs in 6 2/3 innings. Wisler earned his first career save April 17 at Miami, pitching a perfect 10th inning.
WALK-OFFS
1. Boston 1B Travis Shaw was thrown out trying to steal in the first inning Monday; the Red Sox are 16-for-18 on stolen-base attempts this season.
2. Atlanta 3B Adonis Garcia made his seventh error in 18 games Monday, hours after manager Fredi Gonzalez said Garcia would start playing left field against right-handed starters.
3. Red Sox RF Mookie Betts’ streak of reaching base in the first inning ended at five games with a leadoff groundout.