Top prospect Roman Anthony gets first career hit in second MLB game

BOSTON (AP) — Roman Anthony got his first major league hit, and his family was there — practically sitting in the dugout.

The top prospect in baseball was called up from Triple-A on Monday, a move that came together so quickly that his friends and family didn't have time to get to Boston from Florida. But his supporters were in the front rows right next to the home dugout at Fenway Park on Tuesday night when Anthony lined a two-run double to left in the first inning of a 3-1 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays.

“I didn’t even really notice that they were there until I went out for my first at-bat,” Anthony told reporters, adding with a laugh: “Nobody really gave me a heads-up that they were going to be that close.”

Anthony said he didn't interact with his family during the game. But manager Alex Cora looked over from the dugout and saw the 21-year-old's mother, Lori, crying.

“Just to be around and see the smiles — and saw some tears, too. It’s pretty cool,” Cora said. “I know it was a special day for the kid yesterday, but they weren’t here. So to have his family now and get his first knock, that means a lot.”

Anthony had some time to take pictures on the field with the traveling party of about a dozen people — father, mother, sister, brother, grandparents, agents, a couple friends. He went back on the field in the darkened ballpark to spend some more time with them after talking to reporters.

“That group out there has been with me every step of the way,” he said. “So just to see them here — they had to miss yesterday unfortunately, it was kind of quick notice — but to have them here is special for sure.”

A day after going hitless with an RBI groundout in his major league debut, Anthony came up with runners on second and third in the first inning and drove the ball to left to give the Red Sox a 2-0 lead.

Anthony, who let a ball roll under his glove for an error in his debut, also made a sliding catch on Tuesday night on Jonathan Aranda's sinking liner to right-center in the sixth, protecting a one-run lead and earning a salute from pitcher Lucas Giolito.

The second-round draft pick went viral over the weekend when he hit a 497-foot grand slam in Triple-A Worcester. He batted .288 with 10 homers and 29 RBIs in 58 games for the WooSox this season.

The Red Sox said Anthony is the youngest player in franchise history to record three or more RBIs in his first two games. Anthony is 21 years, 28 days old; Jim Rice was 21 years, 164 days old when he did it in 1974.

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Boston Red Sox outfielder Roman Anthony, right, celebrates with designated hitter Rafael Devers (11) after defeating the Tampa Bay Rays in a baseball game at Fenway Park, Tuesday, June 10, 2025, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Boston Red Sox rookie Roman Anthony is congratulated after his two RBI double, his first major league hit, after the first inning of a baseball game against the Tampa Bay Rays at Fenway Park, Tuesday, June 10, 2025, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Boston Red Sox outfielder Roman Anthony makes the catch on a fly out by Tampa Bay Rays' Jonathan Aranda during the sixth inning of a baseball game at Fenway Park, Tuesday, June 10, 2025, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Boston Red Sox rookie Roman Anthony celebrates after his two RBI double, his first major league hit, during the first inning of a baseball game against the Tampa Bay Rays at Fenway Park, Tuesday, June 10, 2025, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Boston Red Sox outfielder Roman Anthony heads to the dugout after defeating the Tampa Bay Rays in a baseball game at Fenway Park, Tuesday, June 10, 2025, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

A Ukrainian drone strike killed one person and wounded three others in the Russian city of Voronezh, local officials said Sunday.

A young woman died overnight in a hospital intensive care unit after debris from a drone fell on a house during the attack on Saturday, regional Gov. Alexander Gusev said on Telegram.

Three other people were wounded and more than 10 apartment buildings, private houses and a high school were damaged, he said, adding that air defenses shot down 17 drones over Voronezh. The city is home to just over 1 million people and lies some 250 kilometers (155 miles) from the Ukrainian border.

The attack came the day after Russia bombarded Ukraine with hundreds of drones and dozens of missiles overnight into Friday, killing at least four people in the capital Kyiv, according to Ukrainian officials.

For only the second time in the nearly four-year war, Russia used a powerful new hypersonic missile that struck western Ukraine in a clear warning to Kyiv and NATO.

The intense barrage and the launch of the nuclear-capable Oreshnik missile followed reports of major progress in talks between Ukraine and its allies on how to defend the country from further aggression by Moscow if a U.S.-led peace deal is struck.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Saturday in his nightly address that Ukrainian negotiators “continue to communicate with the American side.”

Chief negotiator Rustem Umerov was in contact with U.S. partners Saturday, he said.

Separately, Ukraine’s General Staff said Russia targeted Ukraine with 154 drones overnight into Sunday and 125 were shot down.

Follow the AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

This photo provided by the Ukrainian Security Service on Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, shows a fragment believed to be a part of a Russian Oreshnik intermediate range hypersonic ballistic missile that hit the Lviv region. (Ukrainian Security Service via AP)

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy, second left, listens to British Defense Secretary John Healey during their meeting in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Danylo Antoniuk)