Roman Anthony had a standout Opening Day at the plate, but his most important contribution came without even putting the ball in play.
In the top of the ninth inning at Great American Ball Park on Thursday, Anthony was called out looking on a full-count pitch that appeared to end the inning. With the Red Sox clinging to a one-run lead, Anthony immediately tapped his helmet to trigger an Automated Ball-Strike challenge. He was right. The pitch was low by nine-tenths of an inch, and Boston had runners on first and second with new life.
Trevor Story and Jarren Duran followed with back-to-back RBI singles, turning a tense one-run game into a 3-0 lead that held as the final score.
“I knew it was a ball,” Anthony said. “It was great. It turned the game around, in a sense. Maintaining a challenge late in the game is going to be huge and something that is underrated.”
Anthony also went 3-for-however-many in his first career Opening Day, showing the exceptional strike zone awareness that makes him such a difficult out.
Red Sox manager Alex Cora said the moment illustrated exactly how much the new challenge system changes the game.
“Without the challenge, that’s a strikeout and a 1-0 game with Chapman in this ballpark,” Cora said. “It’s a different ballgame now, and it’s going to be interesting.”
Reds manager Terry Francona acknowledged that pitchers will need to stay mentally locked in even when they think an inning is over.
“Both teams had challenges left,” Francona said. “Our pitchers are going to get used to thinking the inning is over and it’s not. You’re going to have to stay dialed in.”
Boston went 2-1 on ABS challenges on the day.
Leave Your Comment Here