It was the top of the ninth, and the Sox were leading by one, a particularly fragile margin at hitter-friendly Great American Ball Park. They had just fended off Cincinnati threats in the sixth, seventh, and eighth innings, stranding five runners on base, including three in scoring position. The Reds were revved up and ready to take a shot at closer Aroldis Chapman.
Reds righthander Connor Phillips offered Anthony a full-count pitch a tad low. Plate umpire Dan Iassogna ruled it a strike. Anthony, positive it was not, tapped his helmet to trigger the automated ball-strike challenge system.
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A brief review in front of a sold-out crowd of 43,897 backed Anthony up: It was a ball, turning an inning-ending strikeout into an inning-prolonging walk.
“It’s just one of those things where it happens and my first instinct — I trust my instinct,” said Anthony, who reached base for a fourth time on the day. “I trust my discipline at the plate.”
Marcelo Mayer, who signaled from almost second base that the pitch was low, said: “When Roman challenges, it’s usually right.”
Trevor Story lined a single to left field, scoring a run, and Jarren Duran did the same to right, scoring another. In a blink, the Red Sox tripled their cushion. A freak pop-up-turned-home-run — not uncommon at the Reds’ home — would not doom them.
It was the Red Sox’ first up-close, this-game-matters experience with the ABS system, which had been tested in the minor leagues for years. A sport that long has featured arguments over balls and strikes is beginning to do away with that, by letting batters, catchers, and pitchers officially question such calls.
The Sox challenged three pitches on the day and had two overturned. Since they had been wrong only once, they had one challenge to spare in the ninth — so Anthony used it.
“We don’t mind [Anthony] challenging there because it changes the whole thing, right?” manager Alex Cora said. “We were talking about it: It’s a different ball game now. That’s a strikeout, 1-0 game, with Chapman in this ballpark. And then we were able to add on. So it was a great challenge.”
Cora continued, zooming out to comment on the altered state of baseball.
“This is where we are at now,” he said, “and it’s going to be interesting.”
The novel sequence in the ninth solidified a standout, well-rounded season opener for the Sox, who received six scoreless innings from ace Garrett Crochet (8 strikeouts, 3 hits).
Marcelo Mayer — on the bench in favor of Isiah Kiner-Falefa to start because the Red Sox were facing a lefthander — had two hits and two runs scored after entering as a pinch hitter in the seventh.
Anthony singled in each of his first three at-bats, becoming just the 25th player ever to collect three hits in a season opener at 21 or younger. The only Red Sox to do so at a younger age: Tony Conigliaro (1965) and Bobby Doerr (1937).
Of note on his knocks: The first came on the first pitch of the day, a grounder sent hard back up the middle. The third was a rocket — 112 miles per hour — at first baseman Sal Stewart, who in his attempt to backhand it actually absorbed a blow on his left (glove) hand/wrist. He was in obvious pain but stayed in the game.
“[Anthony] puts pressure on the opposition,” Cora said. “Last year, I learned very fast that this kid is good.”
In a duel of All-Star southpaws, Crochet outshined Andrew Abbott, who started on Opening Day for the first time. Abbott worked around seven hits — all singles — and a walk in six scoreless innings.
Crochet held the Reds to one hit into his final frame, when they loaded the bases with one out. He responded by striking out Eugenio Suárez and Spencer Steer. In the process, he threw his two hardest pitches of the day, both 98.3-m.p.h. fastballs to Steer.
It was a big improvement — in velocity, in sharpness — over his sleepy spring training performance.
“It’s nice to finish on that note,” Crochet said. “Moments like that only happen once a game, if [that], maybe a couple times a week. So it’s nice to have that one go our way.”
Across their 126 seasons, the Red Sox are 62-63-1 in the first game of the year.
In 2026, it’s one down, 161 to go.
“As far as Opening Days go, this has been the coolest one I’ve been a part of,” Crochet said. “You could tell baseball means a lot to this town. There was some trash talk in the bullpen, but it was just the energy all game. The fans were very into it. So. So it’s easy to let them supply the emotion.”
Tim Healey can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him @timbhealey.
