The Red Sox got some late-game heroics out of Roman Anthony on Monday night, as the 21-year-old delivered what could have been the signature moment of his young career. But the Twins and Mother Nature spoiled Boston's evening in Minnesota.

Anthony put the Red Sox on top 4-3 in the top of the ninth with a go-ahead RBI single off Twins closer Jhoan Duran. Boston was three outs away from a second straight win before the skies opened up in Minneapolis, and the game was delayed 90 minutes because of rain and lightning. When action resumed around 11 p.m. local time, Jordan Hicks couldn't lock down the victory for the Red Sox.

Gone was Anthony's signature moment, though his ninth-inning at-bat gave the rookie some valuable experience for what will hopefully be a continued Red Sox playoff push over the next two months. 

Roman Anthony's go-ahead hit

Anthony stepped to the dish in the top of the ninth of a 3-3 game with the speedy David Hamilton on first, who pinch ran for Abraham Toro after he worked a five-pitch walk to lead off the frame. Hamilton quickly got himself into scoring position -- and then even better scoring position -- by swiping second and third base off Twins backstop Christian Vazquez.

As he tends to do at the plate, Anthony had himself a professional at-bat against one of baseball's best closers. He watched the first four pitches by Duran and found himself in a 2-2 count. Anthony laid off an 87 mph knuckle curve low and out of the zone to work the count full, and then fouled off a pair of pitches.

On the eighth pitch of the at-bat, Anthony took a 100 mph fastball from Duran on the inside part of the plate and delivered a line-drive single to center, which easily plated Hamilton to give Boston the lead.

Anthony was once again in the leadoff spot for the Red Sox, which is where skipper Alex Cora plans to keep him the rest of the season. He was 2-for-3 on the night with a pair of walks, a run scored, and his go-ahead RBI in the ninth. For the season, Anthony is slashing .275/.398/.428 with a stellar .825 OPS in his 41 games for Boston.

It's clear the kid is going to be special. Heck, he's already pretty special. He got to enjoy his moment throughout the 90-minute delay, which hit right as the two teams were set to go into the bottom of the ninth.

It ended up being the worst possible timing for the Red Sox.

Jordan Hicks blows it

Hicks was not put in the best position to succeed on Monday night. The reliever has struggled with his control all season, and Cora tabbed him to close the door on a win for a second straight day with closer Aroldis Chapman on the shelf with a back issue.

Hicks threw 25 high-leverage pitches on Sunday to close out a win over the Dodgers on Sunday afternoon. He warmed up Monday night before the game was delayed, and then had to warm up again when play was set to resume.

Why didn't Cora go with anyone else? His options were limited.

Richard Fitts only went four innings as Boston's starter, so Cora had already called upon Chris Murphy, Jorge Alcala, Brennan Bernardino, and Greg Weissert to get him to the ninth. Garrett Whitlock was still feeling the team's turbulent flight to Minnesota (which required a stop-over in Detroit before the choppy trip resumed) and wasn't available, and Justin Wilson wasn't an option after he had pitched both of the previous two days.

"He was the last guy that was available. That was uncomfortable in the sense that he got hot, and you had to wait all that time and get hot again," Cora said of Hicks after the game. "It's not easy to do. He tried his best, but it just didn't work out."

No, it did not work out. Hicks gave up a single to Twins No. 9 hitter DaShawn Keirsey Jr. (batting .120 for the season) after an eight-pitch at-bat, and then proceeded to hit the next two batters over a four-pitch span to load the bases. 

Keirsey Jr. was mowed down at home on a grounder to third by Carlos Correa for the inning's first out, but that was the only out Hicks would record. Third baseman Brooks Lee then delivered a two-run single to left to lift Minnesota to a 5-4 win, and hand Hicks his second loss in a Red Sox uniform. Hicks had given Boston two straight scoreless appearances, but the luck ran out Monday night.

The loss further emphasizes Boston's need for more pitching at Thursday's deadline. Whether it's another starter who can give the team at least five or six innings, or another reliable reliever who can get outs late in the game, the Red Sox need to add at least another arm before 6 p.m. Thursday evening.

Even with the loss, Boston is still waking up a playoff team Tuesday morning. The Red Sox are 0.5 games up on the Texas Rangers for the final American League Wild Card spot, though they now trail the Seattle Mariners by 0.5 games for the No. 2 Wild Card and the New York Yankees by a full game for the top spot. 

But the Red Sox have now lost six of their 10 games since returning from the All-Star break, and need reinforcements for the stretch run of the season.