The Boston Red Sox's season is on the line on Wednesday night, and they don't have Roman Anthony in the lineup.
Anthony aggravated his hand injury on Tuesday night and was replaced by Andruw Monasterio in the sixth inning of Tuesday night's 9-0 loss. The injury cost him 101 games in the regular season, and it's unclear at this time if he is available off the bench in Game 2.
With Max Fried on the mound, the Red Sox have Jahmai Jones at designated hitter and Nate Eaton in left field. Not that the Red Sox would not trust Anthony against a southpaw like Fried, but his injury has allowed the Red Sox to play a little bit of matchup in a must-win game.
The Red Sox will want Anthony back sooner rather than later, because if they do advance, the Tampa Bay Rays are waiting for them. If Anthony is replaced on the Wild Card roster, he would not be eligible to play in the American League Division Series.
Chad Tracy has yet to provide an update on Anthony's status, but if he is not available off the bench on Wednesday night, the Red Sox are essentially committing to playing the game short one position player.
Fried has dominated both lefties and righties, but righties do have a slight advantage against him. Fried has a 0.77 ERA against the Red Sox this year, making two starts and working 11 2/3 innings.