So what’s the deal with Wilyer Abreu? When the outfielder first strained his right calf two weeks ago, there was initially some hope that it was minor enough that he wouldn’t have to go on the IL at all. But not only did he go on the 10-day IL, he’s still on it, more than 10 days later. Abreu is staring a “running progression,” but this isn’t what I love to hear from Alex Cora: “Are we concerned? Yes and no. He’ll be back at one point, but I think it’s been longer than expected.” (Alex Speier, Boston Globe)
I’ll say this: I’ve seen enough great glove work from Abreu that I’m confident he would have caught the crazy home run that Trevor Story hit yesterday, which is just one example of the ways the Sox have benefitted from Fenway’s quirky dimensions this season. (Peter Abraham, Boston Globe)
Just how crazy was Story’s homer? It was the second-shortest homer ever recorded in the StatCast era (dating back to 2015). (Connor Ryan, Boston.com)
Story’s home run was one of a number of things that happened over the weekend that has the Red Sox feeling real real good about life right now, joining Payton Tolle’s debut, Jarren Duran’s inside-the-parker, and the Aroldis Chapman extension. (Rob Bradford, WEEI)
And you can toss in Roman Anthony’s performance as another thing that’s going well for the Sox. Anthony had five hits over the long weekend, including a home run. One of the keys to his rookie season success has been the fact that the Red Sox have let him face lefties. (Jen McCaffrey, Stephen J. Nesbitt, The Athletic)
Piece it all together and the Sox find themselves with a chance to not only make the playoffs, but to take the AL East crown. Alex Bregman says they haven’t even started to play their best baseball yet. (Tim Healey, Boston Globe)
As they do most days between April and October, the Red Sox play a baseball game tomorrow. But who is going to pitch? It’s Payton Tolle’s turn in the rotation, but Tolle has never actually pitched on regular rest in his entire career as a professional (which, of course, only spans the last five months), as the Sox have given him at least one extra day in between each of his starts in the minors this year. Alex Cora says “there’s a lot of guys that [they’re] considering,” but, realistically, the only options appear to be Kyle Harrison or a bullpen game. (Christopher Smith, MassLive)
