The Red Sox got a much-needed boost Sunday, and it came from two bats that have wasted no time looking dangerous again.
Roman Anthony and Trevor Story both returned against the New York Yankees, and through three games apiece, neither has shown much rust. Boston has lost two of those games, but Anthony and Story have both stepped right back into the lineup and produced like they never left.
Anthony’s comeback from a partially torn ring finger CMC ligament has been especially loud. In three games, he’s gone 6-for-13, which works out to a .462 average.
His overall line sits at .462/.500/.769 with a 1.269 OPS, plus two doubles, one triple and three runs scored. He’s also pushed his season batting average from .239 to .254 in just a few days, and the contact has been as real as the numbers suggest.
Since returning, Anthony has put 12 balls in play.
Story has matched that energy. After sitting on the Injured List with a .206 average, he’s climbed to .226 in three games back. Over that stretch, he’s slashed .500/.500/.750 with a 1.250 OPS, three doubles, three RBIs and one run scored.
3 straight 2-hit games for Trevor Story fresh off the IL.In 10 rehab games in Worcester, he only did that once. pic.twitter.com/linEKhjXlY
Anthony’s return had fans buzzing, but Story’s resurgence carries its own weight. He took plenty of heat from the fanbase earlier in the season, even though he was clearly not right physically and eventually had sports hernia surgery. Now healthy, he’s giving Boston exactly the kind of response it needed.
If this version of Story sticks, the noise around his minor league stay is likely to fade fast.
For now, the Red Sox can at least feel good about this much: Anthony and Story are back, and both have looked every bit like middle-of-the-order threats. The bigger challenge is getting the rest of the roster healthy, too.
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Adley Rutschman Just Showed Boston Why This Gamble Was Worth It
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The move brought more than just Rutschman to Boston, with Jake Rogers also heading to the Red Sox and four prospects going back to Baltimore, but the spotlight is always going to find the biggest name in a swap like this. For Boston, the early payoff is obvious. For Baltimore, the trade tree is just getting started, and nights like this only deepen the feeling that both clubs may be judging the deal from very different timelines. [Read more 🡒]