“Time to start the prayer circle” - Red Sox fans panic over Roman Anthony’s sudden exit vs Guardians with back injury

The Boston Red Sox's pursuit of a postseason spot has seemingly taken a major hit after rookie sensation Roman Anthony left Tuesday's game against the Cleveland Guardians due to a back injury.

Roman Anthony, who has been one of the best hitters for the AL East team over the last two months, was seen grabbing his lower back after swinging for a third strike in the bottom of the fourth inning.

Anthony looked in pain on his way back to the dugout and did not take the field in the fifth inning with Nate Eaton replacing him in right field.

Red Sox fans panicked at the sight of the star rookie leaving the game early with an injury during a crucial stretch of games for the team.

"Roman Anthony is out of the game. Here’s the swing where it looks like he tweaked his back. Immediately went down to the clubhouse. Time to start the prayer circle."

"No Anthony = No Red Sox post season success. Simple as that."

"Back issue not good. Even minor strains linger. The only everyday consistent hitter. Ugh"

Several fans had a positive outlook, believing a quick reset was all Anthony needed after his back issue on Tuesday.

"Hopefully just back tightness, give him tomorrow off, off day Thursday and see where he is on Friday."

"He’s always flexing that side when they show him in the outfield. Definitely something that’s been barking. Hopefully a few days off does the trick."

The Red Sox updated fans on Anthony's status, sharing that the rookie outfielder left the game due to oblique tightness. Anthony missed two games last month with a similar issue after he complained of back tightness during pregame warmups.

About the author

Chaitanya Prakash is an editor who covers US Sports at Sportskeeda. His first brush with sportswriting was in 2012 when the greatest football manager of all time, Sir Alex Ferguson, bid farewell to the beautiful game.

Although having started out professionally as a cricket writer in 2022, Chaitanya's curiosity and indiscriminate interest in all sports in general eventually introduced him to America's favorite pastime.

While Chaitanya's favorite player from the current crop is the dynamic Venezuelan Ronald Acuna Jr., his all-time favorite, however, is Pedro Martinez, for his self-belief and consistency. He also rates Jose Bautista's iconic bat flip in 2015 as his favorite moment in baseball history.

Chaitanya specializes in reporting on technical aspects of the game or analyzing patterns behind specific plays. He also likes pondering over players' self-assessments following the conclusion of a game as it helps him get an idea of how they think about the sport in general.

When not cheering for his favorites across sports, Chaitanya likes being transported to the past through a good war documentary or a historical documentary in general.

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Edited by Chaitanya Prakash