BOSTON — Roman Anthony was in Worcester, waiting for the 275-mile bus ride that would take him to Allentown, Pennsylvania, for his next Triple-A game, when WooSox manager Chad Tracy told the team their departure would be delayed because someone might need to head an hour east to Boston instead.
“I didn’t really think anything of it, to be honest,” Anthony told reporters in the Red Sox dugout at Fenway Park before going 0-for-4 in his major league debut in Boston’s 10-8, 11-inning loss to Tampa Bay on Monday night.
“I was just kind of waiting around in the food room with a few of the guys, and then all of a sudden, he came out and just said, ‘Hey, you’re going to the big leagues,'” Anthony said. “From there on out it’s kind of been a little bit of a blur. But it was amazing. You dream of that every single day. So, to finally hear it was definitely awesome.”
Anthony’s MLB debut came at age 21 years, 27 days; he’s the youngest Red Sox player to debut since Rafael Devers, who was 20 years, 274 days old on July 25, 2017, according to ESPN Research.
In May, Anthony was ranked as the No. 1 prospect in baseball, according to ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel.
Anthony, who played right field and batted fifth, received the biggest cheer of all during pregame introductions and then a standing ovation from the crowd of 31,422 when he came to bat in the second inning, with a runner on first and nobody out. He popped up to left field and got another cheer as he returned to the dugout.
In the third, he may have been robbed of his first major league hit when he lined a ball up the middle that hit pitcher Shane Baz — at 111 mph. It deflected to the third baseman, who made the throw to first for the out. Anthony also struck out looking with runners on first and second in the third and walked in the seventh.
In the ninth, with the crowd again on its feet, he came up with runners on second and third and hit a hard bouncer up the middle for an RBI groundout. He was due to lead off the 11th, but manager Alex Cora pinch-hit for him against left-hander Ian Seymour.
“It was nice to finally take the field, forget about all the outside noise and just be able to take the field with the guys,” he told reporters afterward. “Unfortunate we couldn’t get a win, but it was a good experience — good to just get the first one over with.”
Anthony fielded two balls easily in right field — a pair of singles in the fourth inning — but in the fifth he let a rolling ball go under his glove for a two-base error that led to an unearned run, giving Tampa a 3-0 lead.
“It just can’t happen,” he said. “It’s tough when you lose a game like that, you feel like that’s the reason we lost — little things like that. Just got to learn from it and be better.”
A 21-year-old second-round draft pick, Anthony went viral over the weekend when he hit a 497-foot grand slam in Worcester. He batted .288 with 10 homers and 29 RBI in 58 games in Triple-A this season.
His accomplishments in the minors had Red Sox fans clamoring for his call-up. But while fellow prospects Kristian Campbell and Marcelo Mayer got the call, the Red Sox remained patient on Anthony until an injury to Wilyer Abreu left them needing another outfielder.
Cora said he noticed something was wrong with Abreu after Sunday’s game against the Yankees. When the team realized it would be more than a day or two, they decided to make the move and put Abreu on the 10-day injured list with a left oblique strain. The Red Sox made room for Anthony on the 40-man roster by designating first baseman/outfielder Ryan Noda for assignment.
“We’re trying to win ballgames,” Cora said. “The kid has done an amazing job getting ready for this moment. We’re excited. It’s a big day for the organization.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.