Red Sox News & Links: Roman Anthony, Trevor Story to be activated today against Yankees

The wait is over. Roman Anthony, who hit .280 with 2 homes, 2 doubles, and 4 walks in an 8-game rehab stint, will be activated in time for today’s game against the Yankees. For some reason, though, the front office has decided to yoke Trevor Story to him. Story, who hit jus .171 and appeared to be struggling more than ever with swing decisions, will be activated along with him. (Jen McCaffrey, The Athletic)

The corresponding roster moves have not yet been announced. But Willson Contreras has a message he wants to get out regarding whoever it is who will be sent down to make room for Anthony and Story: “I think it’s really important for us to get those guys back. We need them,” he said.”It’s also important to recognize the job or the work that the whole lineup has been putting in for the last three months. I think those are tough decisions to make. I don’t know what’s going to happen tomorrow, but we do have to recognize the job that the guys are doing for this team, and we couldn’t have done what we’ve done without them.” (Christopher Smith, MassLive)

Anthony, in particular, should provide exactly what the lineup needs, as working counts and getting on base has been more of a struggle for the Sox lineup lately. “Not counting pinch hitters, Sox leadoff hitters are 2 for 18 without a run scored over the last five games.” (Peter Abraham, Boston Globe)

Of course offense wasn’t the issue in last night’s loss to the Yankees. The bigger culprit was the fact that Brayan Bello had his worst relief appearance of the season by far. “Bad. I think I didn’t give the team the opportunity to win the game tonight,” he said. (Christopher Smith, MassLive)

The loss in last night’s double-header finale moved the record between the Red Sox and Yankees this year to an even 6-6. Today’s game, then, will be the tie-breaker between the two teams should they end the season with the same record. “Well, you want to win that [tiebreaker],” said Chad Tracy. “Come out [Sunday] and put your best foot forward and try to push hard to win that game, obviously.” (Ian Browne, MLB.com)

Regardless of what happens with the tie-breakers, though, this series feels like a mere warmup to an inevitable October clash. (Sean McAdam, MassLive)