With the 3-5 loss to the out-of-contention Oakland A’s, the Boston Red Sox are on the verge of missing out on the postseason for the fourth straight year. Although they still sit on the final AL Wild Card spot, they have fallen 2.5 games behind the Yankees and are just 1.5 games ahead of the Guardians, who are in red-hot form, winning 11 of their last 12 games.

This sudden downturn, where the team is 5-10 in their last 15 games at Fenway, has worried Analyst Jared Carrabis. He tweeted, “I’m not full-blown panicking, but this might be the first time that I’m at least acknowledging that the postseason might not happen for this Red Sox team. It’s crazy to say out loud, but we have to be prepared for that outcome. They’ve been that bad without Roman Anthony.”

And this is the terrifying reality right now. Manager Alex Cora was blunt and honest with that, following the team’s recent struggles. “Offensively, you know, there’s some signs today, but we are not there. You know, we’re not there offensively,” Cora stated. “When we’re good, we don’t strike out, uh, we hit the ball all over the place, we run the bases, and the starter doesn’t go six.”

And the ghost haunting the Red Sox lineup is Roman Anthony. Before he suffered a Grade 2 oblique strain on September 2, the rookie posted a .292 batting average in 71 games. He was a true on-base machine with a .396 OBP. In his final 15 games before his injury, he was batting with a .344 average with four home runs and nine RBIs.

And since then, the Red Sox offense collapsed almost overnight as they averaged just 4.1 runs per game in the 10 games post-Anthony’s injury. And the team’s collective on-base percentage fell to .296, which ranked 23rd, and the walk rate was 6.5%, the 27th-worst in baseball during that span.

The team that “doesn’t strike out” when it’s good was suddenly unable to get on base. And the catcher? Several key veterans have been unable to fill the void left by Roman Anthony.

Veterans fail to step up for the Red Sox in Roman Anthony’s absence

Ceddanne Rafaela, who was an anchor earlier in the season, is batting a paltry .122 with 16 strikeouts in the last 15 games in September. Veteran Alex Bregman has also struggled, recently snapping a 27-game homerless drought and managing just twelve hits in 62 at-bats(.194) this month. And Masataka Yoshida has been without any home runs in his last 11 games this month.

But Trevor Story, whose two costly errors resulted in Oakland’s final two runs in the Red Sox’s recent loss, has a batting average of .373 with 22 hits and 3 homers in his last 15 games this month. And the veteran shortstop also joined the exclusive 25-homer, 30-steal club recently. And players like Rob Refsnyder have provided some spark.  The team also hopes to get a major boost soon from Wilyer Abreu’s return, who was out with a calf strain.

But the injuries have been a nagging point for Boston throughout the season.  The starting rotation has been decimated by injuries. Trade deadline acquisition Dustin May landed on the injured list with elbow neuritis and is unlikely to return this season. May joined Tanner Houck, Kutter Crawford, and Liam Hendricks, who are all out with season-ending injuries.

Despite that, the team and Alex Cora remain steady with Closer Aroldis Chapman and setup man Garrett Whitlock’s grit. “Don’t get too high. Don’t get too low. It’s 162 for a reason,” Cora advised. Cora also stressed that the team still controls its own fate and has the power to win its way into October. But their path forward is not a bed of roses, as they will face the Tampa Bay Rays, the division-leading Toronto Blue Jays, and the Detroit Tigers in the coming days. It remains to be seen if the Red Sox manage to step up under pressure.