Roman Anthony has been waiting for this one, and now he finally gets to step into the Red Sox-Yankees playoff spotlight instead of watching it from afar.
Last year’s Wild Card Series came and went without him. A left oblique injury kept Anthony out while Boston fell to New York in three games, and he was left to follow the action from Fort Myers, Fla. This time, he’s healthy enough to be part of it.
Getting here wasn’t simple. A right hand and wrist injury knocked him out for nearly four months this season, and he didn’t return until Aug.
- But on Friday, Anthony gave Boston a reminder of what his bat can look like when it’s rolling, going 3-for-3 with two doubles, a triple and four times on base in a 4-3 win over the Cubs.
That performance was about more than the box score. Anthony worked the ball all over the field, driving it to left, center and right as the Red Sox searched for some life in their offense.
It was the kind of approach that fits a short series, especially with Boston set to face Yankees right-hander Cam Schlittler in Tuesday’s opener at 8 p.m. ET.
Max Fried is lined up for Game 2, and Gerrit Cole is available if the series reaches Thursday.
In a best-of-three, there isn’t much room to wait around for timing to show up. Anthony doesn’t need to deliver the defining swing of the series to matter.
A hard-hit double, a long at-bat, even a trip around the bases after reaching can tilt an inning. Friday was a good example of how he can do damage without trying to force the entire game into one swing.
For Anthony, the moment carries extra weight. Last October, he could only watch the rivalry from a television in Florida. This season brought another long stint away from the field, then the grind of getting himself ready for games that matter most.
Boston won the opener last year and still lost the series. Anthony can’t rewrite that, but he can help push this one in a different direction.
When the Red Sox take the field at Yankee Stadium on Tuesday, he’ll finally be part of the matchup he missed.
In Other News...
Yankees Just Gave Red Sox Fans More Motivation Before The Wild Card
With the Wild Card round looming, the Red Sox are approaching this matchup the way October usually demands, one series at a time. Boston has been laying out its rotation with this specific test in mind, and Chad Tracy has kept the message centered on the immediate challenge rather than peeking ahead to anything beyond it.
Across the diamond, Aaron Boones comments about already weighing pitching strategies for the Divisional round only add a little extra fuel to an already charged playoff meeting. Whether Boone intended it or not, it gives Boston plenty of bulletin-board material heading into a Yankees-Red Sox showdown where the first job is simple: survive the opening round and make sure the conversation about later series gets cut short. [Read more 🡒]
Cam Schlittler Just Made Yankees-Red Sox Game 1 Even More Heated
The playoff stage at Yankee Stadium was already going to bring plenty of edge, but Cam Schlittler has helped turn the opener into something even more combustible. The Yankees starter has been trading public jabs with Red Sox fans online, leaning into the noise instead of ducking it, and that has only sharpened the atmosphere around a rivalry that hardly needed extra fuel.
For Boston, the matchup matters because it is not just another October game, it is the first look at a series that now comes with a little more bite. Schlittler is set to be one of the key figures in the spotlight, and his duel with Red Sox starter Payton Tolle adds another layer to a night already heavy with history, tension and the kind of crowd energy that can tilt a series before it really gets going. [Read more 🡒]
Red Sox Rookie Suddenly Enters Yankees Wild Card Pitching Debate
The Red Sox have lined up their Wild Card Series rotation against the Yankees, with Payton Tolle set for Game 1, Sonny Gray for Game 2 and Ranger Surez available for a decisive Game 3 if it comes to that. But one of the more interesting developments came Friday, when rookie Jake Bennett worked 3 2/3 scoreless innings in relief, giving Boston another arm to think about as the games get tighter and every bullpen choice starts to matter.
Manager Chad Tracy still has a few pitching calls to make depending on how the series unfolds, and Bennetts outing only adds to the conversation. For a Red Sox staff that already has its starters mapped out, the bigger question may be how much trust Bennett has earned for October leverage, and whether his unexpected late-season push can turn into a real postseason role against their biggest rival. [Read more 🡒]