Roman's empire builds as Sox rookie's first Bronx tale features HR -- and bat flip

NEW YORK -- As Roman Anthony belted one high and deep to right, he did a bat flip from the left-handed batter’s box that would have made Red Sox legend David Ortiz proud.

In the top of the ninth inning of Thursday night’s rivalry matchup at Yankee Stadium, Anthony seemed to take out all the frustration the Red Sox had endured with runners in scoring position over the previous 19 innings with one swing -- a two-run homer that led his team to a 6-3 victory in the opener of a four-game series between playoff contenders.

Playing his first career game in the Bronx, it was too good of a moment for Anthony to be his usual non-showy self.

For one moment, Anthony let his hair down and enjoyed the flight of the baseball he smacked at an exit velocity of 107.4 mph and a Statcast-projected 370 feet into the second deck of the right-field stands.

It was his fifth career homer, but his first bat flip.

"Yeah, just enjoying the moment, enjoying a win,” said Anthony. “I don’t usually do that, but it just happened.”

And as with everything Anthony seems to do, it seemed perfectly appropriate.

For the Red Sox had gone 0-for-13 and left 13 on base in a gut-wrenching 11-inning loss to the Orioles on Tuesday.

Following a day off on Wednesday, the troublesome trend reared its ugly head again as Boston had left 14 runners on base while going 3-for-19 with runners in scoring position when Anthony stepped to the plate with two outs in the ninth, somehow leading by a run.

Somehow, it was the 21-year-old Anthony who had the poise to unleash the game-breaking hit. How does he continue to not be fazed by any situation?

"To be honest, he is probably the most mature 21-year-old, baseball-wise, I have ever been around in my life,” said Red Sox third baseman Alex Bregman. “I’m trying to find out what he does wrong, honestly. We don’t know if he has any vices or anything. He just does everything the right way. The moment is never too big for him. He knows who he is. He knows what he does well. And he sticks with that and he executes.”

You’d be hard pressed to find occasions when Anthony gets himself out, which is impressive for a rookie.

"It’s the ability of not swinging at balls that gives you confidence,” said Red Sox manager Alex Cora. “He's always in control. He works hard every single day. This kid, he wants to be the best out there. Today, we needed everything from him.”

In a game that had several swings in momentum, it was Anthony who tied the festivities at 3-3 with an RBI single to left-center in the sixth.

Did playing at Yankee Stadium live up to his expectations?

"Yeah, it's probably what I imagined, and maybe even a little more,” said Anthony. “I love playing in an atmosphere. I love being booed. I love everything about it. We know the rivalry, and it was exciting.”

It is a rivalry that brings out hostility from the Yankee Stadium faithful toward whichever Red Sox player is standing in the way of a win for the home team.

Anthony felt it as he stood in right field, not far from the Bleacher Creatures.

"A lot more than what I expected. But it was good. It was fun,” Anthony said.

Outside of Anthony's heroics, it was Nathaniel Lowe -- making his second start for the Red Sox -- who roped an RBI double into the right-center-field gap to give his team the lead for good in the seventh. That was two innings after Lowe tied the game at 2-2 with a sacrifice fly to center.

While the Red Sox had only been on the periphery of the postseason race the last three years in their final trip of the season to Yankee Stadium, they are right in it this year, which made Thursday’s win -- and Anthony’s heroics – feel more important.

At 69-59, Boston is a half-game behind the Yankees (69-58) for the top American League Wild Card spot and five games in back of Toronto (74-54) for first place in the East.

"Any win is huge at this point in the season,” Anthony said. “So to come here and take Game 1, we’d like to just build off that and come here tomorrow and try to handle business again.”

With one game at Yankee Stadium under his belt, Anthony looks forward to three more this weekend.

After recently signing an eight-year, $130 million extension with the Red Sox that starts next season, Anthony has many more Bronx encounters in his future.

His teammates look forward to seeing what else he has in store.

"It’s incredible,” said Red Sox righty Lucas Giolito, who allowed three runs on five hits and three walks over 4 2/3 innings. “There's not much else to say. I mean, he's incredibly mature for his age. His at bats are extremely professional, and he's doing damage in situations we really need him to.”