The Boston Red Sox fell 8-3 to the Seattle Mariners on Wednesday night at Fenway Park. The pitching staff unraveled again. Patrick Sandoval surrendered four runs as the starter. Brayan Bello matched that total out of the bullpen. Boston has now given up eight or more runs in five straight games.
The Red Sox dropped to 75-65 after losing six of their past eight contests. The wild-card position remains intact, but the skid has raised questions about whether the team can steady itself before October.
In the middle of everything going wrong, one player continues to provide the Red Sox with exactly what they need.
Anthony Homers for the First Time Since April
Roman Anthony went 3 for 5 on Wednesday, including a solo home run in the seventh inning. It was the first long ball he has hit at Fenway Park this season and his first since the opening week of April.
After the game, Anthony spoke about what this stretch has meant to him since returning from nearly four months on the injured list.
“It’s like a new season in a sense for me,” Anthony said. “It’s felt like I’ve missed a year.”
The words carried genuine weight. Anthony went down in early May with a torn tendon in his right ring finger. He watched the Red Sox go from the bottom of the standings to one of the best teams in baseball.
Now he is here. And the bat has been the loudest thing in the lineup since the moment he came back.
The Numbers Keep Climbing
Anthony has collected nine hits in 18 at-bats across his first four games since being activated on Sunday. The total includes two doubles, a triple, and Wednesday’s homer. He has reached base every time he has been in the lineup.
The production stands out even more against the backdrop of a team that has been struggling to generate consistency. The pitching has cratered. The lineup has been scrambling to keep up.
Anthony’s hitting streak now sits at four games, surpassing the three-game mark he reached on three separate occasions before the injury. He is swinging with more authority than at any point earlier in the season.
The Road Ahead for Anthony and the Red Sox
Anthony framed the final month in terms that left no room for ambiguity.
“Now being September, it’s just doing everything I can to help the team win,” Anthony said. “Not that that isn’t always the goal, but I think when you get closer to the end of the year, you start to realize that nothing matters anymore except for winning.”
The focus is singular. Anthony is not thinking about what he missed. He is not dwelling on the rehab or the noise that surrounded it. The page has turned. September is here, and the only objective is helping the Red Sox get to October.
Final Word for the Red Sox
The Red Sox are in a rough stretch. The pitching has collapsed. Six of the last eight games have been losses.
But Anthony is swinging the bat like a player who has something to prove. Nine hits in 18 at-bats. A homer at Fenway. A four-game hitting streak.
A new season for him. That is how Anthony sees September. The way he is hitting right now, the Red Sox should see it that way too.
Red Sox Roman Anthony Sends Strong Message After Loss to Mariners