The Boston Red Sox will wish their series win against the Cleveland Guardians hadn’t been so costly. Though Alex Cora’s squad should be content with their offensive output and clutch performances that sunk their fellow Wild Card-hopefuls, their concerns about the endurance of Garrett Crochet and the health of Roman Anthony may overshadow their success.

The Boston Red Sox took two out of three games against the Cleveland Guardians this week. After finding creative, gritty ways to win their first two matchups, the Red Sox were just now on the business-end of a brutal blowout at Fenway Park tonight. Though the wins are much needed following the Sox’ inability to capitalize against the Pittsburgh Pirates over the weekend, this series victory came with a heavy blow to their lineup.

After tweaking his back on a cut-and-miss in Tuesday’s game, RF Roman Anthony has been diagnosed with a left oblique sprain. Anthony is set to receive an MRI Wednesday morning to assess the extent of the damage, but early evaluations estimate Boston’s rookie phenom will miss 4-6 weeks of action.

The Sox now sit 4.5 games ahead of the Seattle Mariners in the second AL Wild Card spot behind the New York Yankees. Though Roman Anthony’s injury has undoubtedly cast a cloud upon the season’s outlook down the stretch, the reality is that the Red Sox are closing in on their return to playoff baseball.

9/1 CLE 4 – 6 BOS: Bello Persists Through Sub-Par Outing, Story “Crushes” a Solo HR in 3-Hit, 2 RBI Performance

SP Brayan Bello faced early attrition in his 23rd start this season, allowing 4 hits, 2 BBs, and 3 ERs in the first two innings. The 26-year-old righty settled in after the rough start, allowing just 2 hits and 1 BB through the next 3 innings (final line: 5 IP, 6 hits, 3 BBs, 3 ERs, 4 Ks). Though Bello dipped beneath the quality performance that has come to be expected from him this season, he was able to limit the damage in a couple key spots. This included retiring three straight in the top of the second inning to stymie the Guardians’ 3-run rally and retiring the always-dangerous 3B José Ramírez with runners on second and third base in the top of the fourth inning to escape the frame unscathed.

Manager Alex Cora pushed the right buttons by summoning C Carlos Narváez from the bench to pinch-hit for 1B Nathaniel Lowe against lefty RP Nate Sabrowski. The former Yankee returned his manager’s faith by cracking a 2-run single that gave Boston the lead in the bottom of the 5th inning. Narváez has now collected 42 RBIs this season, a respectable total for the Venezuelan rookie.

Fenway Park was the host of another “Weirdest Home Run Ever” submission during the Sox’ Monday afternoon meeting with the Guardians. SS Trevor Story hit a 306-foot floater that popped out of the glove of Jhonkensy “Big Christmas” Noel, grazed Pesky’s Pole, ricocheted off a small child’s head, bounced along the right field fence, and was eventually snatched by Noel’s bare hand. The play was initially ruled a foul ball by 1B Umpire Derek Thomas, but a well-timed coach’s challenge by Cora saw the play reviewed by the Replay Command Center in New York. Five minutes and many slow-motion replays later, Trevor Story was awarded his 23rd home run of the year and Boston was leading Cleveland 6-3. Though his bizarre home run got most of the public attention, the rest of Story’s afternoon is worth its own fanfare. The former Colorado Rocky logged 3 hits, 1 HR, 1 BB, and 2 RBIs in the winning effort, including a clutch RBI single that tied the game 3-3 after Bello’s rough 2nd inning.

9/2 CLE 7 – 11 BOS: Crochet Bailed Out by Offensive Onslaught, Nightmare Injury to Anthony Looms Large

The good: the Red Sox won this game. The bad: their ace got torched and their unicorn Rookie of the Year candidate injured his back. Let’s start with the bad, then circle back to the good. Because, you know, finish with positivity and all that.

SP Garrett Crochet seemed to really struggle with his command in Tuesday’s contest, constantly leaving his secondary pitches hanging over the plate. Unfortunately, the Guardians offense did not miss the opportunity to punish Crochet’s mistakes. The unraveling occurred in the 6th inning, starting with C Austin Hedges crushing a 90-mph middle-middle cutter. DH David Fry followed suit by pulling a two-run blast into the Monster seats, then switch-hitting SS Brayan Rocchio topped both of his teammates by launching a three-run bomb off a hanging middle-middle breaking ball. Boston entered the 6th inning with a 5-1 lead but left it trailing Cleveland 7-5. This was easily Crochet’s worst day in a Red Sox uniform, rivaled only by the 4 IP, 7 hit, 5 ER stumble he had against the Houston Astros on August 11. The Cy Young hopeful had done a tremendous job of limiting hard contact all year, so it was jarring to see him give up 4 HRs in one outing (the last time he gave up more than 2 HRs in a game was in a 2.1 IP, 9 hit, 7 ER, 4 HR meltdown against the Chicago Cubs on August 8, 2024). Crochet, who currently leads the league in both innings pitched (178.1) and strikeouts (218), tried to quell any concerns about his health following his uncharacteristic battering, “Even my teammates are asking, like ‘Hey, how are you feeling?’ But no, I truly do feel really good, taking care of my body in between starts and just doing everything I can to be prepared to help this team down the stretch.” The Red Sox have to believe in Crochet’s words, as they will need their ace to return to form if their playoff aspirations are to be realized.

If only beliefs, hopes, and dreams could repair a tweaked oblique. RF Roman Anthony, who had been on a lethal tear at the plate over the last month (.304 BA, 6 HRs, 13 RBIs in August), was pulled from the game with “left oblique tightness” after whiffing on a lower-inside breaking ball from SP Slade Cecconi. Not ideal, considering the 21-year-old missed a couple games in August with a similar back injury. Even less than ideal, the Red Sox just recalled IF Nick Sogard from Worcester which indicates that Anthony is likely headed to the 10-day IL. There is no silver lining here: if the Red Sox are going to find success down the stretch, they will need their young talisman to lead the charge for their offense. Boston fans, players, and coaches alike will have to wait with bated breath for more details to come regarding the extent of Anthony’s injury after his reported MRI on Wednesday. Already shorthanded in the outfield due to RF Wilyer Abreu’s absence since August 17 with a calf strain, the Red Sox have to hope that both players return sooner rather than later to keep their hopes for October baseball alive.

Update: RF Roman Anthony was placed on the 10-day IL with an oblique strain. Though Alex Cora did not give a timeline for his return, Anthony is expected to miss 4-6 weeks. He is unlikely to see regular season action again in 2025 but may be available in the Wild Card series if the Red Sox are still playing.

I hear you asking, “So Crochet got his teeth kicked in and Anthony hobbled off like my Aunt Nancy with her cracked hip…How exactly did the Red Sox win this game, again?” Well, the Sox’ bats were up to the task. After some crafty small-ball from 2B Romy Gonzalez knotted the game up at 1-1, a worm-killing high-bouncer from CF Ceddanne Rafaela scored two runs before RF Roman Anthony (pain) singled in another to give the Sox a 4-1 lead after two innings. Rafaela really needed something to go his way, as the defensive specialist had been scuffling at the plate since the All-Star break (more on this in a bit). Nathanial Lowe kept the Fenway party rolling with a majestic solo shot (his 18th this season) off Cecconi in the third. The big first-baseman has been impressive since getting claimed off waivers from the Washington Nationals, now logging a .333 BA with 8 HRs in 12 games with the Sox.

After the Guardians slapped Crochet around and hung a grotesque 7 runs on the Fenway scoreboard, Alex Cora looked to his now-sans-Anthony lineup to respond. CF Ceddanne Rafaela delivered in a moment that bore an uncanny resemblance to his walk-off blast against Tampa Bay’s CP Pete Fairbanks on July 11 that secured an 8-win streak at Fenway for the Red Sox. Rafaela’s two-run shot tied the game 7-7 in the bottom of the sixth before 3B Alex Bregman gave Boston the lead by legging out an RBI infield single. LF Jarren Duran and SS Trevor Story delivered a couple of run-scoring doubles to put the game out of reach in the eighth. Not to be lost in this shuffle was the offensive breakout of DH Masataka Yoshida, who went 3-4 with a double. 10 different Red Sox batters collected hits in this contest, and 7 of them collected RBIs in what was a complete team effort. If the Red Sox are going to mitigate the impact felt by Anthony’s loss, they will have to string together more of these collective offensive efforts.

9/3 CLE 7 – 1 BOS (In Progress): Bullpen Openers Get Embarrassed, Sox Throw in the Towel Early

The Red Sox decided to catch up on their community service this Wednesday evening, courtesy of the bullpen openers. RP Brennan Bernardino, RP Jordan Hicks, and RP Steven Matz threw batting practice for the Guardians’ lineup in what I can only assume was an act of charity for Cleveland’s offense. Between the three of them, they gave up 6 ERs in the first two innings of the contest. Throw in a controversial catcher’s interference error charged to C Connor Wong and a non-controversial dropped fly ball error charged to LF Jarren Duran, and you’ve got a runaway game. If I had to choose a scapegoat here, I could easily nominate Hicks for his travesty of an appearance (0.1 IP, 4 hits, 4 ERs, 1 HR). Why he continues to get chances in a Red Sox uniform, I can only speculate. In 18.1 IP for Boston, Hicks has allowed 13 ERs, 12 BBs, and 2 HRs. That’s good for a minty-fresh 6.38 ERA and -0.7 WAR, folks.

Speaking of pitchers with negative WAR, Cora just signaled the bullpen to bring on former-SP-now-RP Dustin May in what is now a 7-1 game in the seventh inning. There may be two more innings left in this contest, but the competitive portion of tonight’s event is long over.

Update: No Miracles tonight. May gave up another run in the eight inning. End result CLE 8 – 1 BOS.

What’s Next?

The Red Sox are off on Thursday while travelling to Arizona for the start of a 6-game road trip out west. Up first is a three-game series with the 70-71 Arizona Diamondbacks. Though the Snakes may be feeling an organizational boost following their $500 million deal with the state of Arizona, Manager Torey Lovullo’s squad have had another letdown season two years removed from their 2023 National League-winning campaign. Arizona currently sits in fourth place in the NL West and 5.5 games out of the final NL Wild-Card spot behind the New York Mets. Rookie SP Payton Tolle will take the mound in Friday’s matchup, looking to pick up right where he left off in his debut against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Fenway.