BOSTON \u2014 Red Sox rookie sensation Roman Anthony found himself right in the middle of another big win over the Dodgers on Sunday. So much so, in fact, that two teammates with World Series rings offered lofty comps for the 21-year-old.<\/p>\n
Anthony, after reaching base four times in Boston\u2019s win over Los Angeles on Saturday night, changed the game Sunday afternoon when he made it a one-run game by scraping an RBI triple off the Green Monster in the bottom of the fifth. He then trotted home on Alex Bregman\u2019s go-ahead homer that put the Red Sox ahead for good.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Sign up for Red Sox columnist Sean McAdam\u2019s exclusive newsletter<\/p>\n
Bregman was the hero for the second straight Sunday. But the two-time champion pointed to Anthony \u2014 who in the leadoff spot was hitting in front of him for the first time \u2014 as a game-changer.<\/p>\n
\u201cRoman has been awesome,\u201d said Bregman, unsolicited. \u201cFour times on base last night, gets on his first at-bat today and then hits a big triple. He\u2019s doing it. He\u2019s going to be a special, special player. It\u2019s definitely fun hitting in front of or behind him in this lineup. It reminds me of earlier in my career when Yordan Alvarez got called up. That\u2019s my player comp for him.\u201d<\/p>\n
A comparison to Alvarez, of course, offers high praise, as the Astros slugger has been named to three All-Star teams, won the Rookie of the Year award and received MVP votes in three seasons since debuting in 2019. Starter Walker Buehler said Anthony reminds him of Dodgers slugger Max Muncy because of his big body and plate discipline. The right-hander also referenced two other former Dodgers stars in discussing Anthony.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think he\u2019s going to be one of the best players in the big leagues very, very soon,\u201d Buehler said. \u201cPersonally, I think his brain and obviously the physical stuff everyone can see. But who he is as a person, I think is pretty special. I\u2019ve been around some really good ones. I\u2019ve been around Corey (Seager) and Cody (Bellinger) and seen how those guys progressed through the first couple years of their career. He\u2019s definitely cut from that cloth.\u201d<\/p>\n
Anthony arrived in the majors with sky-high expectations when he debuted against the Rays on June 9. He started 5-for-44 (.114) with a .518 OPS in his first 15 games, but the Red Sox were just waiting for the rookie\u2019s stat line to catch up with his strong approach and hard-hit rate. It has \u2014 in a big way. In 32 games since June 18, Anthony has the fourth-best on-base percentage (.433) in baseball. He\u2019s hitting .309 with 12 doubles, a triple (Sunday\u2019s) and an .897 OPS in that span despite hitting only one homer.<\/p>\n
\u201cI just don\u2019t think we\u2019ve seen him super comfortable in terms of getting the A-swing off a ton,\u201d said Buehler. \u201cSwing percentage is super, super low and he walks and does all these underlying things. Once it\u2019s time and he starts getting his big swing off on pitches he knows is coming, I think special things are gonna happen.\u201d<\/p>\n
Beyond keying Sunday\u2019s rally, Sunday represented an eventful afternoon for Anthony. For the first time in the majors, he led off, trading places in the lineup with Jarren Duran, who hit third. In his first at-bat, he was hit in the foot by a Dustin May pitch, then scored on a Trevor Story sacrifice fly. That pain lingered all day, necessitating a visit from Alex Cora and a trainer after the triple.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe grinded through it,\u201d said Cora. \u201cHe\u2019s learned the last nine games. Being sick in Chicago and you have to post. Today, he got hit right away. It was tight but he grinded through it. That\u2019s what big leaguers do.\u201d<\/p>\n
Anthony\u2019s big weekend comes just days after perhaps his worst 48-hour stretch as a big leaguer. Facing star pitchers Zack Wheeler and Cristopher S\u00e1nchez, he became the first Red Sox player ever to strike out four times in back-to-back games. He was out of the lineup Wednesday after a stretch in which he went 3-for-16 with 11 strikeouts in a four-game span.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was just moreso that I didn\u2019t do a good job of adjusting in Philly,\u201d Anthony said Sunday. I\u201dt was simple. I was obviously working on a few things and grinding out a few things with Breg and the guys in the cage. At the same time, things like that can\u2019t happen. I say they can\u2019t happen, but they will happen.<\/p>\n
\u201cKnowing the type of hitter I am, type of player I am, I\u2019d match myself up with anyone on any given day. So we\u2019ll give that to those guys and move on.”<\/p>\n
Anthony entered as a pinch-hitter in Wednesday\u2019s wacky game and doubled in the 11th inning. That swing \u2014 his first of three extra-base hits in his next four games \u2014 helped turn things around.<\/p>\n
\u201cFrom there, I was like, \u2018Hey, screw it.\u2019 These last two days were a learning lesson. Those are the kind of arms you see in the playoffs. Those are the kind of arms you see from the best team. Understanding that, taking that with me and kind of just putting it in my back pocket and moving on was huge.”<\/p>\n
Though Anthony\u2019s swing mechanics were a bit off, his teammates and coaches never worried. Cora scoffed at a question about Anthony needing to make adjustments late Tuesday.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s going to go through stretches,\u201d the manager said after Sunday\u2019s win. \u201cHe faced Wheeler and S\u00e1nchez back-to-back days. They\u2019re really good at what they do. He didn\u2019t get exposed. He just got beat. There\u2019s a difference between getting beat in the big leagues and getting exposed.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cora, like Anthony\u2019s teammates, has repeatedly raved about Anthony\u2019s mature approach in everything he has done since being promoted. And Anthony is happy to take that praise, especially when a name like Alvarez is invoked.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s a cool comp,\u201d said Anthony. \u201c(Alvarez) is a good hitter, so I\u2019ll take it. I\u2019ve actually talked with Alex a lot about Yordan and about some of the guys he\u2019s played with. Just learning so much from Alex and guys that he\u2019s been around. He\u2019s a winner and he knows how to game-plan.”<\/p>\n If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our User Agreement and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and\/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Red Sox rookie sensation Roman Anthony found himself right in the middle of another big win over the Dodgers on Sunday. So much so, in fact, that two teammates with World Series rings offered lofty comps for the 21-year-old.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":71745,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-71744","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mlb"],"yoast_head":"\n\n