CINCINNATI — From Roman Anthony’s first Opening Day to Marcelo Mayer’s pinch hitting and the introduction to the ABS system, the Boston Red Sox’s season-opener had plenty to dissect.

With the Red Sox idle Friday after their 3-0 win over the Cincinnati Reds on Thursday, here are some leftover news, notes and observations from Game 1 of 162:

Anthony’s big opener

In his first Opening Day start, Anthony showed the poise of a veteran again. In the midst of a 3-for-4 day hitting leadoff and starting in left field, he smacked the game’s first pitch for a single.

“I figured on the first pitch of the season, it probably wasn’t going to be anything but a fastball,” he said. “Just a good one to hit.”

Perhaps most impressive was his ninth-inning walk on a call that changed the tide of the game. With the Red Sox clinging to a 1-0 lead with two outs in the ninth and a runner on, Anthony was called out, but he immediately tapped his helmet. Throughout the minors, he had plenty of practice with the ABS system. That, coupled with his discerning eye, made him confident in the call.

“It’s just one of those things where it happens — I trust my instinct,” he said. “I trust my discipline at the plate. … That was a good example of having many (challenges) in the past, whether it be up, down, in, out, I know, ‘OK, that’s probably not even too close.’ I just kind of knew it there.”

The video on the video board clearly showed a ball, and Anthony promptly took first. Trevor Story and Jarren Duran quickly followed with RBI singles to give the Red Sox insurance.

Manager Alex Cora appreciated Anthony’s aggressiveness and the way it changed the game, taking pressure off closer Aroldis Chapman in the ninth.

“It was a great challenge,” Cora said. “This is where we’re at now (with the game), and it’s going to be interesting.”

More ABS musings

Catcher Carlos Narváez had the other two Red Sox challenges, getting one call correct and the other wrong. In the fourth, Narváez got a ball call overturned on Eugenio Suárez resulting in an inning-ending strikeout for Garrett Crochet. But in the seventh with Justin Slaten on in relief, Narváez tapped his helmet for a first-pitch ball, hoping to overturn it, but it was below the zone.

Narváez was frustrated with himself after the fact.

“With Suárez hitting, I was 100 percent sure it was a strike, so I called it right away,” Narvaez said. “The next one that I lost, I caught the ball badly, a little behind. It was a breaking ball, so I wasn’t sure. I was 50/50. I said my bad. I apologized to (Cora). AC talked to me a little bit, because it wasn’t a high-leverage moment. So it’s just something to keep an eye on.”

In the top of the seventh, though, Narvaez had a heads-up play that gave the Red Sox their first run. With Mayer on second after a leadoff double, Narváez read the situation and moved Mayer over with a sacrifice bunt to third. It was a bunt he put down on his own, knowing the Red Sox had trouble scoring.

“We had talked (about that kind of situation), man on second, no outs, do whatever you need to do to move the guy over,” Narváez said. “It was (on my own), but it was something we talked about earlier.”

Mayer impresses as pinch hitter

Top prospects in the minors often play every game and aren’t coming off the bench to pinch hit late in games. It’s something Cora has lamented over the years as a situation some of his young players have been unprepared for once they reach the majors.

Despite little experience pinch hitting, Mayer delivered in a big way Thursday.

Cora started Isiah Kiner-Falefa at second in the opener with a left-hander on the mound. As soon as Reds starter Andrew Abbott exited in the seventh, Cora inserted Mayer to lead off the inning, with Crochet also having just exited the scoreless affair.

Mayer promptly smacked a double to left on the second pitch. Narváez moved him over on the sac bunt, and Mayer scored on a Ceddanne Rafaela single. The run allowed Crochet to be in line for the win.

“As you guys know, they don’t (pinch hit) in the minors,” Mayer said. “I did a little bit last year. Obviously I didn’t do it in the spring, but I knew that was going to be a part of my role coming into this team. So just mentally preparing for that and making sure that I’m ready to go in wherever that is.”

In the ninth, Mayer again delivered, this time with a single to left to open the inning, later scoring on Story’s RBI single.

While on the bench, Mayer hit in the cage, stayed warm on the exercise bike and studied the potential righties coming out of the pen. Last season as a pinch hitter, he went 1-for-5 with three strikeouts.

Cora challenged Mayer to win a spot on the team and was pleased the 23-year-old came through.

“I know he wants to play against lefties, but this is where we’re at right now and have different guys who can do the job,” Cora said. “We’re gonna be aggressive when we have to, pinch hitting-wise. Masa (Yoshida) was ready today in certain spots; we didn’t use him.”

As for platooning Mayer with lefties on the mound, Cora said it will be a mix of Kiner-Falefa and Andruw Monasterio, but that he liked Kiner-Falefa for that day. The veteran went 0-for-2.

As the DH turns

On Thursday, Anthony started in left and Duran served as designated hitter. It will be an ongoing conversation throughout the early part of the season how Cora splits their playing time.

“I’ll tell the boys to take a paper from a hat and then … nah we’ll see how it plays out,” Cora said jokingly. “I don’t want Roman to become a DH. I don’t want JD to become a DH. Like I said before, when Ceddanne doesn’t play center field, JD will play center field. When Wilyer (Abreu) doesn’t play right field, JD will play left field and Roman will play right, and then we have to mix Masa in at DH. So I know he’s going to be a topic throughout 162-plus, and I respect that.”

Cora also pointed to a positive in what could be a convoluted outfield rotation.

“Taking care of them physically is very important,” he said. “Throughout the seasons, Wily hasn’t been able to post every day. JD has been able to do that. Ceddanne towards the end of season has tailed off, so having five is going to help us make sure everybody’s fresh when it matters.”

Duran went 2-for-5, stealing second base after his first-inning single. While Duran has shown durability in playing 160 and 157 games, respectively, the last two years, extra time off could help his run game. At the end of last season, he noted he hadn’t run much in the second half (16 steals before the break compared with eight after the break), because his legs were tired. Fewer games running around in the outfield when he’s serving as DH might lead to more stolen bases.

Bench players starting

Cora laid out some playing-time plans for the next two series. Catcher Connor Wong is scheduled to start Sunday in Cincinnati and Tuesday in Houston. Wednesday is a day game in Houston with Crochet on the mound, and Cora wants Narváez catching Crochet as he did last year, hence Wong’s start Tuesday night.

Yoshida is scheduled to start Sunday at designated hitter, but Cora was not ready to announce who would sit in his place.

Monasterio is scheduled to start a game, likely at second base, in Houston even though the Astros have only right-handed starters.

Odds and ends

Caleb Durbin changed from No. 17 to No. 5 on Opening Day. Non-roster invitee Brendan Rodgers wore No. 5 in camp but had season-ending shoulder surgery and was released this week.

MLB released its best-selling jerseys since the World Series, and Anthony was the only Red Sox player on the list, coming in ninth.

NESN reported the season opener was the highest-streamed Red Sox game in NESN history, 17.5 percent higher than the previous record, which was Anthony’s debut last year on June 9. It was also 38 percent higher than ratings for Opening Day 2025.