It’s no secret Roman Anthony has struggled out of the gate to begin the 2026 season. But on Friday night in the series opener against the Astros, he looked much more like the hitter he was before landing on the injured list last year.
Anthony went 3-for-4 in the Red Sox’s 3-1 win, his first three-hit game since Opening Day in Cincinnati. He also showed hustle in the fifth inning, turning a single into his fourth double of the season.
Entering Friday, Anthony was hitting .208/.339/.292 and had largely underperformed offensively. Since Chad Tracy took over as interim manager, Anthony has been moved down in the lineup from the leadoff spot to No. 3, in hopes of sparking the young star’s bat.
“I’m not hitting,” said Anthony. “It’s early, but it’s obvious, right? It’s no secret. I’m just not where I want to be. But I’m feeling better every day, so….New month, time to just reset.”
Anthony has endured early struggles before. After his promotion last June, he posted a .637 OPS over his first 21 games in Boston.
“(This is) similar,” said Anthony, comparing the two slow starts. “I’ve always started slow, everywhere I’ve been. I’m not worried about it. It’s not something that keeps me up at night. I know I’ve put in the work, I’m doing what I need to do and I’m going to be alright.”
Tracy likes the idea of Anthony coming off the leadoff spot, a place that Alex Cora liked for Anthony to hit out of, declaring him the leadoff man in the spring. The new Sox skipper isn’t considering moving Anthony any further down the lineup.
“Not at the moment, and I’ll tell you why: because it’s not a Roman thing,” Tracy said. “As a group, we have guys going through it. I look at that and I’m optimistic because I look at it and think, ‘I don’t think five guys are going to OPS .500 by September. Law of averages says these guys are going to get going because they can hit.
“If it were a Roman (only) thing, maybe we’d talk about it. But I think as a group, we’re all collectively trying to get going together.”
Anthony isn’t the only Red Sox hitter who has struggled through the first month of the season. Friday night’s offensive hero, Jarren Duran, entered the game scuffling, hitting .170 with five doubles, one home run, 28 strikeouts, and a .481 OPS in 108 plate appearances.
The 29-year-old broke through in a big way,
