Roman Anthony’s sophomore slump deepens with rough play. Astros originally appeared on NESN. Click here to add NESN as your preferred source.
Boston Red Sox outfielder Roman Anthony enters the 2026 season with sky-high expectations after a dominant performance in the World Baseball Classic. Although he is only 21 years old and has only appeared in 71 MLB games, many expect him to build on his impressive rookie season and become an MVP candidate this year.
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However, those predictions may be premature, as Anthony’s sophomore season has gotten off to a rocky start. After allowing three hits on Opening Day, he went 1-for-17 with 10 strikeouts in his last four games — all losses for the Red Sox.
Anthony went 0-for-4 with four strikeouts in Tuesday’s loss to the Houston Astros, only his third career game with four strikeouts. He now has no hits in his last 14 at-bats, with nine strikeouts.
Boston’s young leadoff hitter looks a little lost at the plate right now, or at least out of shape. In a at-bat against Hunter Brown on Tuesday, he struck out after throwing three straight fastballs to center field.
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Maybe his confidence was shaken, maybe he was stressed. The entire Red Sox lineup was in panic, so maybe he was trying to do too much.
Anthony also started slow last year and took a few weeks to warm up, so maybe that will happen again this year. His talent is still there and he’ll figure it out eventually, but it may take some time if the league adjusts to him.
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