Roman Anthony gave Boston the jolt it needed Friday night at Tropicana Field, turning a recent cold stretch into a 4-2 Red Sox win over the Rays with a towering early homer and a bases-loaded knock that broke new ground in his young career.
Key takeaways
- Anthony drove the third pitch he saw an estimated 438 feet into the right-center seats.
- The 22-year-old followed with a two-run single, his first hit in 11 career plate appearances with the bases full.
- Ranger Suarez allowed one run across 5 2/3 innings despite a personal-high five walks.
- Boston improved to 84-70, beating a Tampa Bay club that entered on a six-game winning streak and owned the AL’s best record at 93-60.
- Greg Weissert covered two important innings out of the bullpen, while Wyatt Olds escaped a tense inherited-runners spot.
Anthony supplies the thunder
The first swing-setter came quickly. Anthony got a third-pitch offering and launched it to the short right-center porch, a Statcast-projected 438-foot blast that put a loud punctuation mark on a difficult couple of weeks.
He had looked sharp immediately after returning from the injured list, but entered Friday mired in a 12-game skid. Over 56 plate appearances in that stretch, Anthony had hit .137 with a .214 on-base percentage and a .296 slugging mark, collecting only one extra-base hit.
Friday offered a different kind of line. An inning after the homer, Anthony came up with the bases loaded and sent a two-run single to right field. It was his first successful bases-loaded trip in 11 career plate appearances in that situation, and it put him at the center of all four Boston runs.
For a Red Sox club trying to secure a postseason berth, the timing mattered as much as the damage. Tampa Bay arrived rolling, carrying six straight victories and the league’s top record, but Boston handled the night behind its rookie outfielder and a bullpen that did not blink.
Suarez bends, relief crew closes the gaps
Suarez continued his recent run of steady work, delivering his third straight quality effort even as his command created some traffic. The left-hander threw 98 pitches, 56 for strikes, and issued five walks—the highest total of his career.
Still, he kept the Rays from turning those free passes into a big inning. Suarez yielded three hits and one run, struck out five, and departed after 5 2/3 frames with Boston in position to finish the job. His season record moved to 8-4, and his ERA stood at 3.27.
Olds faced an immediate test after replacing Suarez. The former under-the-radar call-up walked each of his first two hitters, then got pinch-hitter Jake Fraley on strikes to end the threat.
Weissert took over from there and supplied two strong innings, permitting one hit while preserving the lead. The pitching work, paired with Anthony’s breakout night, gave Boston a composed road win against one of the American League’s hottest clubs.
