Roman Anthony’s first big league game was a roller coaster. Having learned he was headed to Boston hours before first pitch on Monday, the top Red Sox prospect was thrown right into the fire with no time to prepare and the results were predictably uneven.
But with a night to process things and his family in the stands, Anthony was able to show just why he’s the top prospect in baseball.
Anthony stole the show in his second career MLB game on Tuesday, ripping a two-run double for his first career hit before flashing the leather with a brilliant sliding catch in right field. The rookie finished 1 for 4 with two RBI, helping lead the Red Sox to a 3-1 win over the Tampa Bay Rays.
Boston also benefitted from a fantastic bounce back performance by starting pitcher Lucas Giolito, as well as a towering solo home run by shortstop Trevor Story, who is continuing to trend up after a dreadful month of May.
Anthony broke the ice in the bottom of the first after Rafael Devers singled and Carlos Narvaez doubled to put two men in scoring position with two outs. The rookie fell behind 0-2 before laying off a changeup in the dirt, and then when Rays starter Ryan Pepiot went to the changeup again, Anthony lined one down the left field line to put the Red Sox on top.
It was a particularly special moment for Anthony’s family, who were not able to make it to Boston in time for his MLB debut on Monday but who were seated right next to the home dugout on Tuesday.
“That group out there has been with me every step of the way,” Anthony said afterwards. “Just to see them here, they had to miss yesterday unfortunately because it was kind of quick notice but having them here was special for sure.”
Anthony’s contingent included his parents, siblings, grandparents, an uncle, two friends and his agency. NESN’s cameras also caught his mother tearing up after the hit in a particularly poignant moment.
“Yeah, she gets emotional for sure,” Anthony said. “Again, it’s awesome to have them here and to see them right there by the dugout and to get a win in front of them.”
From there Giolito gave the Red Sox the kind of outing they’ve desperately needed.
Two of the Red Sox biggest problems recently have been allowing too many first inning runs and the starting pitchers not going deep enough into games. The club had allowed at least one first inning run in seven of their prior 10 games entering Tuesday, but Giolito kept the Rays off the board and didn’t allow a run until the fifth.
“That’s been a bit of a problem, I think it’s huge to set the tone early, especially at home,” Giolito said of the club’s recent first-inning struggles. “You go out there first, you’re throwing the first pitch of the game, setting that tone and putting a good clean inning in the first inning is definitely the way you want to start it off.”
The fifth-inning run came on an RBI single by Yandy Diaz, who scorched a line drive up the middle that Kristian Campbell nearly caught for an incredible leaping grab, only for the ball to barely pop out of his glove as he came down.
Giolito wound up going six innings, allowing three hits and one run (none earned) while walking three and striking out four. It marked the second consecutive night that a Boston starter has completed six innings, the first time the Red Sox have had back-to-back six-plus inning starts since May 10-11.
“As a rotation we’ve been working really hard,” Giolito said. “It can’t just be all (Garrett) Crochet carrying the rotation, we’ve all been working hard and doing what we need to do to be able to help. I think it’s important that no matter who is taking the mound that day we all have confidence we’re going to get a good performance and put us into position to win.”
Cora noted afterwards how important it was for Giolito to start with a clean first and finish six after Brayan Bello also accomplished the feat on Monday.
“Two for two in this series. Hopefully we can do it again tomorrow,” Cora said. “To get the lead is important at this level, you can use the bullpen after that however you want, and it’s tough to come back. It’s like 65% of the games we’ve been behind, so it was great.”
The Red Sox extended their lead to 3-1 in the sixth when Story hit a 398-foot moonshot over the Green Monster, which came at the end of a nine-pitch battle with Pepiot. The Rays starter immediately came out after the homer, giving way to the bullpen after allowing three runs on five hits over 5.2 innings with nine strikeouts.
“We needed that run at the end, that was a great at bat,” Cora said. “He fouled off some tough pitches and got one that he was able to handle and hit it out of the ballpark.”
Abraham Toro nearly blew the game open for Boston in the seventh with a deep fly ball that just missed getting out for a three-run home run, but even without capitalizing on the opportunity the Red Sox bullpen still took care of business. Garrett Whitlock came on and pitched two perfect innings of relief, and with closer Aroldis Chapman down after pitching in three consecutive days, Greg Weissert finished out the ninth for his first save of the season.
Now the Red Sox will look to win the series in Wednesday’s finale. Walker Buehler is scheduled to take the mound against Tampa Bay’s Zack Littell with the first pitch slated for 7:10 p.m.
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