Not much went the Boston Red Sox’s way offensively in much of their August 22 series opener against the New York Yankees. But finally, Roman Anthony delivered, as he tends to do, in the top of the ninth inning.

Anthony came to bat with a runner on second base with a tight 4-3 advantage, and muscled the first pitch he saw from Yerry De Los Santos into the second deck of Yankee Stadium. It was the rookie’s rivalry debut and just the 59th big league game of his career, but he looked like he’d been the hero a thousand times before.

Red Sox veterans agree. After the game, a few lavished praise on the rookie for his attitude and work on and off the field.

“To be honest he’s probably the most mature 21-year-old baseball-wise I’ve ever been around in my life,” Alex Bregman said (via NESN). “I’m trying to figure out what he does wrong, honestly we all are. We don’t know if he has any vices or anything.”

In his first game at Yankee Stadium…
ROMAN ANTHONY GOES YARD. pic.twitter.com/SgKsolXqWe

— Red Sox (@RedSox) August 22, 2025

Lucas Giolito, Thursday night’s starter, joined Bregman in gushing over Anthony.

“I didn’t do that when I was a prospect… I got called up to the big leagues. I was not nearly ready,
I was not mature enough, not emotionally ready. Looking at him, it’s like, ‘Wow, there’s 21 year olds that just can come up and do it at the highest possible level.’ And, yeah, we’re very lucky to have him,” Giolito said (via Gabrielle Starr of The Boston Herald).

Red Sox veterans praise Roman Anthony for his maturity, approach

In Anthony’s short time in the big leagues, he’s asserted himself as one of the best hitters in Boston, and had a spell among the tops in the league. He’s batting .286/.405/.448 in 59 games, but his slash like is dragged down by his adjustment to the big leagues in June. Anthony batted .329/.452/.494 in July, and he’s well on his way to having just as much success in August — he’s already collected his first walk-off and an iconic rivalry moment that drove Yankees fans out of their home stadium early.

Anthony’s short tenure in the big leagues has shown the Red Sox that the former No. 1 prospect is everything they could’ve asked for and more. He gets on base at a high clip, can hit for power when it counts but understands there’s more to baseball than that, he’s mature beyond his years, and may even have the Rafael Devers/David Ortiz-level clutch gene. And have you heard he’s only 21 years old?

The moment never looks too big for Anthony, and his first game against the Yankees was no exception. When the Red Sox couldn’t deliver to save their lives, going just 3-for-19 with runners in scoring position, the rookie came through to push his team closer to winning the season series against its archrival in a tight Wild Card race.

Here’s hoping the next eight years of Anthony’s contract extension with the Red Sox are just as rough for New York as their August 21 loss by his hand.