Consider Roman Anthony and Trevor Story officially welcomed back

For months, it was a question of if Roman Anthony or Trevor Story would contribute this season, not when. Their rehabs dragged on and on. Neither had been playing particularly well before they went down with injuries a week apart back in May anyways.

As it turns out, Anthony and Story both had more to say this season. And the when is right now, just as the calendar flips to September for the final push before the playoffs.

In the second game back for both of them, Anthony and Story came through in a big way to help lead the Red Sox to a come-from-behind, 9-8 win in 10 innings against the Mariners Monday night at Fenway Park.

Boston trailed 8-5 in the bottom of the eighth. But after singles from Nick Sogard and Caleb Durbin, Story stepped to the plate with two outs and gave the Red Sox new life with a wall-ball double to left that cut Seattle's lead to 8-7.

In the bottom of the ninth, Anthony led the charge to tie the game, beginning with a leadoff triple on a 106.5 mph rocket to center field that Julio Rodriguez completely misjudged, allowing the ball to skip past him and roll all the way to the wall. Two batters later, Anthony scored on a Ceddanne Rafaela sac fly, narrowly avoiding Cal Raleigh's tag with a nifty slide at the plate.

After a scoreless top of the 10th from Aroldis Chapman, it was Story's turn to step up for the second time. The Mariners loaded the bases to get to him, and Story made them pay with a walkoff laser to the left-center field gap.

Story finished the night 2-for-5 with three RBIs. Anthony was 2-for-4 with a walk and two runs scored. Since both were activated on Sunday, they've gone a combined 8-for-16.

"They look good. They look really good," said interim manager Chad Tracy. "Both of them have swung the bat really, really well."

Anthony is taking the reins in the leadoff spot, showing signs he may be ready to provide the stability at the top of the lineup that the Red Sox have missed much of the season. Story is doing his damage out of the eight-hole thus far, having arrived back in Boston with a little more to prove following a sluggish stint in Worcester.

Regardless, the duo are quickly answering a lot of those questions about how much they'll actually be able to help. It's a small sample so far, but the answer after Monday night is: quite a bit.

"We've been watching from afar for a while," Story said of Anthony and himself. "Just supporting the boys and just thinking about the time that we can get back on the field and contribute. … Here we are. And yeah, it's been fun."

Consider Anthony and Story officially back, and all aboard this wild ride that is the 2026 Boston Red Sox.