It’s Thursday, and Roman Anthony is hitting balls off of walls for Worcester while the Red Sox do, well, let me gesture broadly at whatever that tenth inning was. Let me be clear: Brayan Bello getting pulled after 77 pitches in a close game BARELY A WEEK AFTER ALEX CORA WAS CHARRED FOR PULLING GARRETT CROCHET EARLY has me concerned for the manager’s mental well-being. I joked that he should be flown immediately to Mass General for a brain scan following Wednesday’s loss. But these players are just not doing enough in close games, as they slide to 6-16 in one-run games, and a guy who can hit a ball off a wall — or over it — when needed may be the least consequential of the sparks that could be felt in this locker room. Let’s get into it.

Worcester: W, 5-4 (BOX SCORE)

The most important news of the day: did Roman Anthony record another extra base hit? Yes, he did, it was a double that ricocheted off the wall in Scranton (Yankees AAA) and was a few feet shy of being his tenth home run of the season. He inches ever closer to that 1.000 OPS. That’s almost two Trevor Storys! This double, and a walk, extended Roman Anthony’s on-base streak to twenty-four games. For reference, the Red Sox haven’t had a streak that long since J.D. Martinez was on the squad. Whether you want to blame Pete Fatse (I do) or the roster construction (some days, that sounds fun, too) it’s essential to acknowledge, along with the rest of us, even Bill Simmons, that Roman Anthony needs to be playing Major League baseball. Friday, if possible.

This game wasn’t all Anthony, though: it featured some late-innings heroics! Seby Zavala hit a go-ahead home run in the ninth inning. The 369-foot shot (lol, but hey, a home run is a home run!) had a .384 WPA and kept the Red Sox ahead with a lead that may not have been viable if it weren’t for some filthy outings by Isaiah Campbell, Luis Guerrero and Alex Hoppe. Making a dynamic play in the ninth, holding the lead, and winning a one-run game… wow, has anyone shared this secret with the Red Sox?

Portland: PPD, Make Up Today

Portland has been waterlogged for the entire month of May, as this is their sixth rainout this month. This one gets under way at the original start time of 5 PM; Isaac Coffey gets the mound against Altoona (Pirates AA).

Greenville: W, 10-7 (BOX SCORE)

Greenville turned the jets on their offensive game despite some shaky pitching that gave up six walks but struck out nineteen. Yophery Rodriguez, Antonio Anderson and Brooks Brannon each recorded three hits on the day against the Blue Claws (Phillies High-A). What makes Rodriguez’s feat even more impressive is that all three were doubles, and all three scored runners, the first of which cleared the loaded bases, for a total of 5 RBIs on the day. Anderson collected two doubles of his own as the team as a whole also swiped five bags and had six hits with runners in scoring position.

Salem, Game 1: W, 4-0 (BOX SCORE)

Not an overwhelming win as far as strikeouts go (just nine in seven innings), but we’ll always take a shutout, especially considering it was an opener from the new and improved (asterisk asterisk asterisk) Noah Song. Ben Hanson had a dramatic turnaround from last week’s game when he could not get out of the first inning without giving up eight runs, as he gave up just two hits in 4 1⁄3 scoreless innings. Freili Encarnacion’s ninth home run of the season in the seventh sealed the win.

Back to the asterisks: Happy 28th birthday, Noah Song! Now that he’s through with military service for good, he spent it in North Carolina fanning a Mudcat (Brewers A, and also, fanning a mudcat sounds like something done while breaking wind) while rehabbing his latest injury. Sports Illustrated gives Noah Song an outside chance at making his MLB debut after a long journey. I’m not convinced, but at this point, I’d throw him out there even with the injury history, years removed since facing convincing batting, and several ticks down on his fastball (he’s at 92 now) before I saw certain members of this bullpen take an inning of high leverage.

Salem, Game 2: L, 0-1 (BOX SCORE)

The only thing keeping me from saying “a loss in a one-run game? What are they, the Red Sox?” is that Salem’s squad got shutout. This is especially disheartening because the pitching staff only allowed three hits (albeit in only six innings). One of those hits was a double, though, and that did them in, as the Sox also only racked up three hits on the night.

Have a happy Thursday, and see you back here tomorrow!