The numbers are pretty stark when it comes to the Red Sox and star rookie outfielder Roman Anthony, the No. 1 prospect in baseball for most of the past year-plus. The team called him up back on June 9, and after nearly three weeks of scuffling at the plate, he clicked in with a 3-for-6 game on June 28, in which he hit two doubles and scored twice in a 15-1 rout.
From that game through the 56 games that followed, the Red Sox batted .268 as a team, with a .335 on-base percentage and a .454 slugging percentage. Their batting average ranked third in baseball in that span, and they were fourth in runs scored (5.5 per game) as well. Boston was 38-19 over that run, tied for tops in the A.L. wild-card race and with a 6.0-game playoff cushion.
And then, on what seemed like a harmless swing-and-miss on September 2 against the Guardians, Anthony clutched at his back and headed quickly to the locker room. He had pulled an oblique muscle, and has not played since.
Since then, the Red Sox have scored just 70 runs in 16 games, 19th in MLB. They’re batting .253, which is down to 12th. And they’ve gone 7-9, a stretch that has the team’s playoff standing now in question.
Roman Anthony Injury ‘Derailed’ Red Sox
Former Red Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon, who does analysis for the team’s NESN broadcasts, can sense the impact of Anthony’s injury. Papelbon was with the Red Sox for seven seasons and was the closer on the 2007 World Series champs.
“One player can derail a team tremendously, especially if it’s a leadoff hitter like Roman Anthony was, and someone who has the ability like Anthony does,” Papelbon told Inside Vegas. “You can’t replace that. So when a player that you can’t replace, or just fill in a gap, gets hurt, then you see weaknesses in the lineup. You see pitchers being able to navigate lineups easier without that player in there.”
Red Sox Opposing Pitchers Approach Differently
Papelbon as that, as a pitcher, facing a lineup without a key piece like Anthony changes the entire outlook and approach.
“It’s also on the pitcher’s side of it – that he’s sitting there saying, ‘OK, well, I got to face the Red Sox today, but at least I don’t have to face Roman Anthony,’” Papelbon said. “So it’s a mindset for him going into the game that’s a little bit easier. And sometimes that can do wonders for confidence for a pitcher.
“If it’s a guy that is a backup catcher or something like that gets hurt, then yeah, that hurts. But you can fill that space a little bit easier than you can with a guy that’s a starter that leads off and has the potential that he does.”
(Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)Former Boston Red Sox closing pitcher Jonathan Papelbon.
Red Sox Have 6 Games to Validate Season
As things stand, the Red Sox will play six more games with their season in the balance. They have three against the Blue Jays, who are attempting to fight off the Yankees in the AL East, in Toronto on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, then return home to close with a series against the Tigers.
Boston surely hoped that both Toronto and Detroit would have clinched at this point, but both teams still have plenty to play for. The Blue Jays want to hold onto the division and the top spot in the American League. The Tigers, meanwhile, are staving off disaster.
Detroit has been in control of the Central since April 23, and built up a lead that got as big as 14.0 games in July. They were 59-34 at that point. But the Tigers have gone 26-37 since, and while Cleveland has gone 15-2 over the last 17 games going back to September 5, Detroit has gone 4-11 in that same timeframe.
The Tigers are now just 1.0 games ahead of the Guardians, and could be coming to Boston fighting for their playoff lives–as the Red Sox figure to be doing–in the final weekend.
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