As one might have expected, Roman Anthony was the Boston Red Sox’s most impressive hitter on opening day. But he arguably wasn’t the most impactful.
Marcelo Mayer came into the game as a pinch-hitter in the seventh inning and completely changed the dynamic. He led off that inning with a double and scored on a Ceddanne Rafaela single. He then led off the ninth with a single and came around to score on a Trevor Story base knock, scoring runs one and two in a 3-0 win over the Cincinnati Reds.
After Mayer’s roster candidacy was something of a hot topic for the Red Sox during the spring, it felt significant to see his impact so quickly, especially off the bench. And Anthony, who came up through the minors with Mayer and has developed into a bigger star out of the gates, wanted to be sure the 23-year-old got his shine.
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Anthony on Mayer: ‘Stud’