The Boston Red Sox were looking to clinch a series victory against the Cleveland Guardians on Tuesday. Boston won 6-4, moving to 77-62 on the season. As September begins, they are hoping to challenge the Toronto Blue Jays for the AL East lead. But Red Sox outfielder Roman Anthony left Tuesday's game with an apparent back injury, per Boston Globe reporter Tim Healey.
“Roman Anthony is out of the game. He seemed to grab at his lower back/left side after striking out in the bottom of the fourth. He missed two games last month with mid-back tightness,” Healey reported.
Anthony missed two Red Sox games in early August against the Kansas City Royals with mid-back tightness. He has been just as good offensively since then, with a .917 OPS since returning. But just because his stats don't show it doesn't mean there were not any lingering issues. They hope that this is a short-term issue, as the playoff race heats up.
The Red Sox finish the series with the Guardians on Wednesday evening before heading west. They face the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Athletics, both teams set to miss the postseason this year. While they don't want Anthony to miss any time, they need him back for the series against the New York Yankees that starts on September 12.
Anthony is putting together a strong Rookie of the Year case in a deep American League race. Jacob Wilson had the early lead before Athletics teammate Nick Kurtz took the lead late in the season. But Anthony's status as the lead-off hitter of a playoff team could sway things. Kurtz has him clipped in all rate stats, including a 1.033 OPS compared to .861.
The Red Sox replaced Anthony in the lineup with Nate Eaton, who will now bat leadoff and play right field for the rest of the night.
