New York Yankees fans, meet Roman Anthony.
Thursday was Anthony’s first career game at Yankee Stadium with the Boston Red Sox, and he made the most of it. The 21-year-old rookie went 2-for-5 with two runs, three RBI and a walk from the leadoff spot, propelling the Red Sox to a much-needed 6-3 win.
On a night where Boston’s bats again struggled with runners in scoring position (3-for-19), Anthony came up big twice. He tied the score at 3-3 with an RBI single in the top of the sixth, then put the game away with a monster two-run homer in the top of the ninth.
The long ball was the fifth of Anthony’s career and his first against the Yankees.
Anthony, who rarely shows emotion during games, was fired up, flipping his bat after crushing the first pitch he saw from Yerry De los Santos into the second deck.
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The clutch blast provided two crucial insurance runs for the Red Sox, who repeatedly failed to break the game open prior to that. They left a whopping 14 runners on base, allowing the score to remain close until the ninth.
Boston was aided by four New York errors, including a costly one by first baseman Paul Goldschmidt in the top of the ninth that allowed David Hamilton to reach base. That extended the inning for Anthony, who launched his homer with two outs.
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Aroldis Chapman shut the door against his old team in the bottom of the frame, retiring Aaron Judge, Cody Bellinger and Giancarlo Stanton to seal the victory.
The win snapped the Red Sox’s three-game losing streak and the Yankees’ five-game winning streak. It also improved Boston’s record against New York to 6-1 this season.
The Red Sox lost a bona fide Yankee killer in Rafael Devers earlier this season, but they may have a new one in Anthony.
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