On Wednesday, Red Sox manager Alex Cora told WEEI Afternoons that outfielder Roman Anthony will miss the next four to six weeks with a left oblique strain, effectively ending his fantastic first season in the majors.
While that timeframe leaves the door open for an Anthony return during postseason action, there’s no guarantee the Red Sox (78-63) will still be playing baseball by the time the rookie is healthy enough for game action.
It’s a devastating blow for an upstart team that’s been riding high since early July. And in Wednesday’s series finale against the Guardians (69-69), Boston looked like a team that’s going to struggle moving forward without one of its best bats.
It was an 8-1 final in favor of Cleveland, and it almost didn’t feel that close.
Their struggles with runners in scoring position (RISP) continued on Wednesday, going 1 for 8 with RISP and stranding eight overall. Their 343 strikeouts with RISP on the season is first in all of baseball, with the next closest team a full 30 strikeouts behind them (Pittsburgh with 313).
Losing the August AL Rookie of the Month is not going to help this cause, as Anthony’s slash line with RISP is .323/.419/.532.
But when you lose a game 8-1, the offense is only half the story.
With rookie Payton Tolle requiring an extra day of rest after pitching a gem in his MLB debut on Friday night, Wednesday was a “bullpen game” for Boston on the mound, with reliever Brennan Bernardino (3.22 ERA) getting the ball as the team’s opener.
17 pitches and two-thirds of an inning into the game, Bernardino’s night was over.
Jordan Hicks (6.95 ERA) was summoned, and things got out of hand shortly thereafter.
It started out great for Hicks, recording the last out of the first inning on a three-pitch strikeout of first baseman Kyle Manzardo.
But despite coming back out for the second, that strikeout would be Hicks’ lone recorded out of the ballgame.
Here’s how Hicks fared facing the first four batters in the second:
- Double for Josh Naylor to center
- Two-run homer for Gabriel Arias makes it 3-0 Cleveland
- Bases-empty ground rule double for CJ Kayfus
- Single to center for Brayan Rocchio moves Kayfus to third
13 pitches into his second inning of work, and it was clear the man just didn’t have it.
Both Kayfus and Rocchio would eventually cross home plate that inning with Steven Matz (3.09 ERA) on the mound, giving Hicks a grand total of 4 earned runs on 16 pitches for the night.
The 28-year-old righty has struggled mightily since coming to Boston as part of the Rafael Devers trade, prompting Cora to be asked postgame how much “line” he plans to give Hicks moving forward.
“You know, he hasn't pitched much, right?” said Cora. “So that's something that, as far as leverage, you see it. You know he's down. That's a bullpen game. And we felt like that was a good bucket for him. It didn't work out. So we'll keep talking, working with him, and hopefully we can get him going.”
“You thought he was getting closer the other day,” said MassLive’s Sean McAdam. “Was this a step back in your eyes?”
“I got to take a look at the at bats,” said Cora. “He came in - boom, got the sinker and the slider down. And then, you know, the second inning wasn't a good one.”
Hicks’ numbers since joining Boston are as follows:
- 18.2 innings pitched
- 25 hits
- 17 earned runs
- 12 walks
- 15 strikeouts
- 3 home runs allowed
- .321 opponents batting average
- 1.98 WHIP
Even with those struggles, Cora said postgame that Hicks is going to be a big part of this bullpen down the home stretch.
“We got to figure him out,” said Cora. “We need him, that's the bottom line. Because we got Whitlock as a set-up man. We need righties in the bullpen to do their job, you know? And we trust the ability, but we have to execute.”
Boston has Thursday off as they travel to Arizona for a three-game series with the Diamondbacks (70-71). After Arizona, they head to Sacramento for a three-game series with the Athletics (64-77) before heading home for a six-game homestand that includes three against the Yankees (77-61) and three more with Oakland.
Tolle (0-0, 3.38 ERA) is slated to make his first career road start on Thursday, with old friend Eduardo Rodriguez (6-8, 5.40 ERA) taking the bump for Arizona. First pitch from the desert set for 8:40 p.m. ET (6:40 MT).
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