Much has been made about the fact that the Red Sox lineup was essentially constructed around the belief that Roman Anthony, despite not yet hitting his 22nd birthday, would perform like one of the best hitters in the game this year. Suffice it to say, that hasn’t happened yet. Anthony is slashing just .229/.354/.321 (though the underlying metrics suggest he hasn’t been nearly that bad) and the lineup’s been struggling to score with him at the top of it. But now, for a few days at least, it will need to find a way to score without him at all. Anthony has flown back to Boston to see a specialist after leaving last night’s game with right wrist discomfort. X-rays conducted in Detroit last night were negative, which is certainly great to hear, but the Sox can’t afford to take any chances. (Ian Browne, MLB.com)
That’s not the only injury the Sox are monitoring right now. Lefty reliever Danny Coulombe has been placed on the 15-day IL with cervical spasms, and he has absolutely no idea how he got them. “Old age?” Coulombe guessed. “I think when you sleep on a lot of different pillows, sometimes you just tweak things. I don’t have anything else.” (Peter Abraham, Boston Globe)
Brayan Bello is not injured; he’s just been terrible. In an attempt to help him fight his way out of his funk, Bello will not start tonight’s game, but will instead follow Jovani Moran as an opener. (Peter Abraham, Boston Globe)
So how are things going with the starters who are injured? Everything went swimmingly when Sonny Gray threw a bullpen over the weekend, and he is expected to be activated and start tomorrow night’s game against the Tigers. Ranger Suarez, meanwhile, feels good after being forced out of a recent game due to hamstring tightness, while Garrett Crochet is playing catch to rebuild arm strength after going on the IL with shoulder inflammation. (Chris Cotillo, MassLive)
Interim manager Chad Tracy isn’t going to have much success without health from his big arms, no matter what changes he implements. But here’s an early look at some of those changes anyway, with the most impactful one being that he’s dealing with the outfield logjam by keeping Masataka Yoshida on the bench to use as a pinch-hitter. (Jen McCaffrey, The Athletic)
Tracy’s reasoning for benching Yoshida is based on the fact that the three other outfield/DH options have better all-around skill sets and provide more ways to win. Jarren Duran’s home run last night was the key hit in the game and a reminder of just how much he can help the Sox win when he’s firing. (WEEI)
