The Boston Red Sox are in a dogfight with the New York Yankees for the top spot in the American League Wild Card race. After a Friday night loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates while the Yankees were defeating the Chicago White Sox, the Red Sox are one-half game behind their rivals and in the No. 2 Wild Card position.
The Red Sox have made multiple moves to improve their team and position. The latest was moving first baseman Nathaniel Lowe back to active duty. He had been away from the team on paternity leave. The corresponding move was sending backup infielder Nick Sogard to Triple-A Worcester.
In recent days, the Red Sox parted company with pitcher Walker Buehler and brought up rookie left-hander Peyton Tolle. The 2024 second-round draft pick had a sharp effort Friday night in his major-league debut. Tolle is a power pitcher, and he allowed three hits and two runs in 5.1 innings while striking out eight. Tolle held his own in a matchup with brilliant Pirates hurler Paul Skenes. The Pirates won the game 4-2 and put an end to Boston's four-game winning streak.
Red Sox just completed brilliant road trip
Prior to returning to Fenway Park to face the Pirates, the Red Sox went 7-1 on a road trip against the Yankees and Orioles. They took three of four games from their archrivals before sweeping the Orioles. The key to their success on the trip was their starting pitching and the clutch hitting of rookie Roman Anthony and shortstop Trevor Story.
Garrett Crochet has become the ace of the pitching staff in his first year in Boston. The former Chicago White Sox pitcher is in position to compete with Tarik Skubal of the Detroit Tigers for the Cy Young Award. He has been joined by Brayan Bello and Lucas Giolito to give manager Alex Cora three dependable starting pitchers.
Closer Aroldis Chapman has been sensational in his role. He is having one of the best seasons of his long career as he has displayed tremendous command and control in addition to his overpowering fastball and hard-breaking slider.
Anthony has been a tremendous spark to their lineup after being promoted in June. He has displayed sensational plate discipline in addition to his ability to hit the ball hard. Anthony is slashing .295/.402/.477 with eight home runs and 30 runs batted in. Three of his home runs have come in the last five games.
Story has been healthy for the first time in his four seasons with the Red Sox. He has played sensational defense from his vital position and has contributed a number of big hits on offense. Story has hammered 22 home runs and stolen 23 bases without getting caught. He leads the Red Sox with 84 RBIs.
