The Boston Red Sox' offense has improved greatly over the past few months, but they still missed having Roman Anthony, who was out of action for nearly four months due to a finger/hand/wrist injury. Fortunately for them, Anthony finally made his return on Sunday, and it didn't take long for him to make an impact.
Through his first two games since his return, the Florida native is batting .500 with two runs, one walk, and zero strikeouts. Anthony already looks comfortable despite the long absence, and given that he is, on paper, Boston's most well-rounded hitter, he should provide a tremendous boost to the team's World Series push next month.
Roman Anthony should help the Red Sox' playoff run
With about a month left in the regular season, the Red Sox are 75-63 and are 5.5 games ahead of the Cleveland Guardians for the second AL Wild Card spot (they are also three games behind the New York Yankees for the first spot and 7.5 games behind the Tampa Bay Rays for the division lead).
Even though they have mostly cooled off from their red-hot July (21-4 record, 17-12 in August), they still remain one of the best teams in the majors and are in a good spot to make some noise in October. They have a talented offense, an elite pitching staff, and the resilience/mindset needed to make a deep run.
Boston was already going to be in a good spot even without Anthony, but having him back will give the lineup some more firepower, and it will help with the depth. It should also help with the Red Sox' consistency, now that they have a legitimate leadoff hitter again (he hit leadoff in his first two games since his return, and given that Jarren Duran has mostly struggled this season, that will likely continue to be the case moving forward).
The Red Sox only have a month left to gain some momentum and end the season on a high note as they look to make a deep playoff run this year. It's obviously going to take more than a one-man show for that to happen, but there's going to be a lot of pressure on Anthony to perform. He is Boston's best hitter, and he is going to be the team's ultimate needle-mover.
There is a lot to like about the Red Sox' standing, even if they aren't playing as well as they did at this time a month ago. Fans should still like their odds no matter who they go up against in the postseason, and if Anthony's recent performances are any indication, he will be a big part of whatever success they have the rest of the way.
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