Two of the three players to watch (Story and Devers) are on the IL and won’t be playing in this series.
Martinez missed the first four games after the All Star break and has gone 0 for 10 in the three games since his return.
Hernandez has been on the 60 day IL and will not be playing. Cora said he might start swinging a bat soon, but I wouldn’t be looking at him as a trade option for the Brewers unless there is reason to believe he will be back soon. He was off to a bad start before he was hurt.
Between the injuries and a number of players having subpar seasons (Dalbec, Verdugo, Arroyo (also injured)) it’s almost remarkable that the Red Sox are at .500 considering the division they play in. They are 12-29 against AL East teams and 38-21 against everyone else. They had a great June (20-6) but have struggled in July (7-17) against mostly division rivals, though they did rebound to split 4 against the Guardians this week after losing 9 of 10 to the Rays, Yankees, and Jays.
Their pitching can be atrocious at times, as evidenced by giving up 55 runs in 3 consecutive games (14, 13,and 28) against the Yankees and Jays last week.
The Brewers are catching the Bosox at a good time, but they are still a formidable team. Controlling Bogaerts and Martinez, and hoping JBJ doesn’t pull the standard “former Brewer” act will be key.