Boston cleared one postseason question at Fenway Park and found some life in its lineup at the same time. The Red Sox beat the Cubs, 4-3, in the opener of Friday’s split doubleheader, locking in their playoff position and setting a Wild Card Series trip to New York against the Yankees beginning Tuesday.
Roman Anthony supplied the spark. The rookie reached safely four times, going 3-for-4 with a pair of doubles and a triple as Boston snapped out of a thin offensive stretch.
Quick facts
- Boston won Game 1 of Friday’s split doubleheader, 4-3, over Chicago at Fenway Park.
- The Red Sox will open their Wild Card Series against the Yankees on Tuesday in New York.
- Roman Anthony collected two doubles, a triple and three hits while reaching base four times.
- Connor Wong’s seventh-inning double brought home the deciding run.
- Jake Bennett worked 3 2/3 shutout innings in his first relief outing of the season.
Anthony’s extra-base barrage came at a useful time for a club that had dropped six of nine games entering the day. Boston had also been held to three runs or fewer in each of its previous five contests.
The Sox finally pushed ahead for good in the seventh. Connor Wong, inserted after Mickey Gasper departed with right biceps discomfort, lined a double down the left-field line to score Anthony and put Boston in front.
Bennett handled an unfamiliar assignment with the season on the line. The rookie left-hander had made 19 starts for Boston before Friday, but he shifted to the bullpen and blanked the Cubs over 3 2/3 innings.
The Yankees matchup had been hovering over Boston’s closing weeks. It is a return engagement from last year’s Wild Card Series, when New York took the three-game set.
Now the Red Sox have their bracket settled, a road date in the Bronx waiting, and a reminder that Anthony’s bat can change the look of a game quickly.
