It’s been a miserable month for Trevor Story, but Sunday was the latest sign that the shortstop’s long dormant bat may be coming to life.

Two days after hitting a towering home run to help the Boston Red Sox win their series opener, Story made the difference again in Sunday’s 3-1 win over the Atlanta Braves, going 2 for 3 with a three-run double in the top of the first inning along with an excellent defensive gem to help wrap things up in the bottom of the ninth.

Story’s early knock gave Garrett Crochet all the support he needed, as the left-hander held the Braves to just one run over seven dominant innings while striking out 12.

For Story, Atlanta has been a breath of fresh air.

Over the 33 games between April 19 and the end of this past week’s Milwaukee series on May 28, Story batted .154 with only two extra-base hits. But since then the shortstop now has two extra-base hits in his last three games, including the bases-loaded double that put the Red Sox on the board in the top of the first.

Story’s double went 413 feet and scored Rafael Devers, Abraham Toro and Marcelo Mayer to make it a 3-0 game right out of the chute.

Atlanta was notably where Story broke out of one of his previous worst slumps back in 2022. After struggling for the first month and a half of his first season in Boston, the shortstop went 3 for 9 with a home run and four RBI over two games. From that series until he suffered a broken wrist after being hit by a pitch just prior to the All-Star break Story hit 15 home runs with 48 RBI over a 57 game stretch, during which the club went 36-21.

The Red Sox would surely take a similar heater now.

Boston’s bats didn’t get much done the rest of the game, but Crochet made sure to keep the Braves at bay. The lone damage came when Marcell Ozuna tagged the lefty for a solo home run his first time up to give him 11 home runs in 24 career games against Boston.

Despite that, Crochet cruised through the first two innings, striking out four of the first seven batters he faced.

Crochet faced more pressure starting in the third as the Braves got runners on the corners in three straight innings. The lefty was able to work his way out of trouble each time, first striking out Ozuna to end the third before getting a pair of punch outs to end the fourth after initially putting two on with nobody out.

The fifth wasn’t quite as tall an order, getting a routine groundout after Ozuna reached on a bloop single. That was another recurring theme for Crochet, as the Braves had three separate batters reach on shallow bloopers that just barely fell in front of the Red Sox outfielders.

There was nearly a fourth as well, though rookie Kristian Campbell was able to make an impressive backhanded grab in shallow right with his back to the infield in the bottom of the fourth.

The Red Sox ace finished strong by retiring the last seven batters he faced, coming back out for the seventh with 99 pitches before striking out the side. Crochet finished with one run allowed on five hits and two walks with 12 strikeouts, a new season-high.

Reliever Greg Weissert held up by retiring Austin Riley, Ozuna and Matt Olson in the bottom of the eighth, and Aroldis Chapman closed things out for his ninth save of the season.

With the win the Red Sox (29-32) take the three-game series and have now won two of three since dropping five straight entering the weekend. The team now returns home to Boston for a brief homestand against the Los Angeles Angels, which begins Monday at 7:10 p.m. ET.

Slaten to IL

Prior to the game, the Red Sox bullpen took another hit.

Right-hander Justin Staten, one of the team’s most important set-up men, was placed on the 15-day injured list with right shoulder inflammation. To fill his spot on the active roster the Red Sox recalled right-hander Luis Guerrero from Triple-A.

The Red Sox also called up outfielder Nate Eaton, optioned utility man Nick Sogard to Triple-A and designated catcher Blake Sabol for assignment.

Slaten has been one of Boston’s most reliable high-leverage relievers this season, posting a 3.47 ERA over 23 1/3 innings in 24 appearances through the first two months. Since enduring a rough stretch at the beginning of May the 27-year-old had gone 10 consecutive outings without allowing an earned run, and nine straight without being charged with a run of any kind prior to his most recent appearance in Milwaukee.

Guerrero has appeared in five MLB games this season and has allowed one earned run in 5 1/3 innings.

Campbell’s 1B debut delayed

Over the past couple of days Cora indicated that Kristian Campbell would make his debut at first base in Sunday’s series finale, but when the lineup was announced the rookie was still in his usual spot at second base.

Speaking to reporters in Atlanta, Cora said he changed his mind because of the way Abraham Toro has been hitting recently.

“Today, it seemed like a good day but Toro is pushing the envelope,” Cora said, per MassLive’s Chris Cotillo. “He’s putting good at-bats and we need him in the lineup.”

Toro, who came into the day batting .296 with an .833 OPS in 17 games, batted cleanup on Sunday. He went 2 for 4 with a run scored.

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