Alex Cora shuffled his lineup on Monday night in the series opener against the Brewers, moving shortstop Trevor Story from the No. 2 spot down to fifth.
The adjustment paid off. Story went 1-for-4 with two RBI, delivering a two-out bloop RBI single in the first inning before adding a sacrifice fly in the third to extend Boston’s early lead to 3-0.
Cora will shake up his lineup again, penciling Jarren Duran into the No. 2 spot after previously hitting third.
Duran is looking to find his rhythm at the plate, off to a slow start, hitting .200 with five runs scored, four RBI, and two stolen bases. He’ll handle left field, a change that comes after a rough defensive sequence from Roman Anthony late in Monday’s game.
In the eighth inning, Garrett Mitchell delivered a two-out RBI single to left that exposed further defensive issues. As Brice Turang rounded third and broke for home, the ball skipped into Anthony’s glove. He rushed a throw toward the plate, but it sailed well off target, bouncing in the infield dirt, skipping past cutoff man Caleb Durbin, and rolling all the way to the backstop before catcher Carlos Narváez could track it down.
The sequence capped a difficult defensive showing and helped prompt Cora’s latest lineup adjustment heading into the next matchup.
“It was a terrible throw again,” Anthony said to reporters after the Red Sox’ 8-6 loss to the Brewers.
Concerns surrounding Anthony’s arm strength and accuracy have lingered since the start of the season, becoming a growing point of emphasis internally for the Red Sox.
To address it, the club has been working closely with Anthony on his defensive mechanics, specifically his footwork, alongside outfield instructor Kyle Hudson. The focus has been on improving his setup and throwing base, aiming to create more consistent, on-line throws from the outfield.
While the tools are there, the Red Sox are clearly prioritizing refinement and repetition as Anthony continues to develop defensively at the major league level.
“I’m doing everything I can pregame, and I think just struggling to get a grip,” Anthony said. “But at the end of the day, there’s no excuse. It’s terrible. It’s bad baseball and it’s on me.”
Cora acknowledged to reporters on Saturday that Anthony’s defensive struggles are rooted in his footwork and overall throwing mechanics.
“There’s a few things that we have to be better (at) defensively and the kid knows it,” Cora said before Saturday’s game against the Padres. “The other day there was a play, (Carlos) Correa was at second, base hit to left and we got to throw him out and he knows it.”
When asked directly, Cora shut down any notion that Anthony is playing through an injury, making it clear the issues are not health-related.
Instead, Anthony’s arm strength and the consistency of his throws remain an area of concern, something the Red Sox know they need to get a handle on quickly. With the spotlight growing and opponents beginning to test him, tightening up those mechanics has become an immediate priority for the club.
“I’m doing everything I can pregame, and I think just struggling to get a grip,” Anthony said. “But at the end of the day, there’s no excuse. It’s terrible. It’s bad baseball and it’s on me.”
This marks the fifth time this season that Anthony will start at designated hitter, as the Red Sox look to manage his defensive development while keeping his bat in the lineup.
Durbin will begin the game on the bench as Boston squares off with Brewers’ young ace Jacob Misiorowski. The former Brewers infielder has struggled to find consistency at the plate, going just 4-for-32 (.125) through nine games despite a two-hit performance on Monday night.
Another storyline to monitor: Willson Contreras’s ongoing tension with Milwaukee. Contreras was hit by a pitch for the 24th time in his career against the Brewers, this time on the hand by Brandon Woodruff in the third inning. The Red Sox first baseman was visibly frustrated, barking toward the mound in a moment that could carry over into this matchup.
“It’s not just a hit-by-pitch,” Contreras said following Boston’s 8-6 loss. “That’s the 24th time they’ve hit me in my career, the sixth time he’s hit me. And they always say, ‘I’m not trying to hit you.’”
“That gets old,” he continued. “Next time they hit me, I’m going to take one of them out. That’s the message.”
Cora addressed the situation with Contreras on Tuesday, emphasizing the importance of
