Red Sox at Braves lineups: Headed south

The Red Sox, losers of five straight games, head to Atlanta to face the Braves tonight behind Garrett Whitlock (7:20 p.m., NESN+, TBS out-of-market).

If there’s been a bright spot in this otherwise horrid year, it’s Whitlock, the scrap-heap Yankee turned lights-out reliever turned top-shelf starter. So at least tonight’s game has that going for it, which is nice. Kyle Wright starts for the defending World Series champions, who are once again led by Ronald Acuña Jr., one of the game’s top stars, who missed nearly the entire title run and the start of this season following an injury in early 2021.

But, of course, our eyes will be on Boston’s bats, which refuse to come alive as the calendar turns to mid-May. Needless to say, it stinks on ice. Maybe the National League is just what the Sox need to turn their fortunes around. Or maybe it’s just a change in batting order, with J.D. Martinez and Xander Bogaerts switching places. Whatever it is, I hope it’s tonight.