Red Sox reactions: Jarren Duran has big swing as rookie lefty wins MLB debut vs. Astros

3) There were signs of life from Roman Anthony at the plate, which was encouraging for the Red Sox considering Anthony had entered the game in a 4-for-31 (.129) rut over the last nine games. Anthony had three hits for the first time since Opening Day.

Anthony singled off Burrows in the third, then had his best swing in days when he ripped a 100.9 mph hustle double into the right field gap. He added a leadoff single in the eighth against left-hander Bryan King.

It was Anthony’s first multi-hit game since April 15 and the fourth three-hit game of his MLB career.

4) Tasked with holding a two-run lead for four innings, Boston’s bullpen put together a strong performance. Zack Kelly (1 ⅓ innings) and Danny Coulombe (2 outs) passed the baton to the back-end duo of Garrett Whitlock and Aroldis Chapman, who have both pitched sparingly all year.

Whitlock ran into trouble when Yainer Diaz’s two-out double off the Green Monster put two men (including the tying run) in scoring position in the eighth but escaped when Cam Smith popped out. In the ninth, Chapman allowed a rocket double to Correa with two outs, then got Alvarez to ground out to end the game.

5) As he always seems to, Willson Contreras found himself in the middle of the action. In the first inning, Contreras was hit by a 95 mph pitch (for the seventh time in 2026) and playfully picked it up in front of the plate and threw it back to Burrows. The first baseman then had a semi-rare unassisted double play on a Cam Smith grounder that ended the fourth.

6) Tracy managed Bennett for five starts in the minors and made a questionable decision that put him in line for his first big league win. With the lefty nearing his supposed pitch limit in the fifth, Tracy opted to leave him in to face Correa after the No. 9 hitter (Dustin Harris) singled. Bennett rewarded his manager by getting Correa to fly out and Alvarez to ground out.

7) The Red Sox kept the line moving against Burrows and had eight hits in the first five innings. Still, outside of the Duran swing, the club didn’t cash in (and was 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position against the starter).

The biggest missed opportunity came in the fourth when Marcelo Mayer and Ceddanne Rafaela started the inning with back-to-back singles, then advanced into scoring position on a passed ball with one out. Mayer broke home on a chopper to third and was tagged out, then Duran popped out to end the inning.

8) The Red Sox have now won eight games in their Fenway Greens uniforms — and this one was the first that didn’t come via walk-off. Overall, the club is 8-5 in the green alternates.

Boston won a game in which the opponent scored first for just the second time in 15 tries this year (2-13). The Red Sox snapped a two-game losing streak and improved to 3-2 under Tracy.

9) Lefty Connelly Early (2-1, 2.84 ERA) will look to continue his very strong start to the season in the middle game of the series Saturday afternoon at 4:10 p.m. ET. The Astros will start righty Spencer Arrighetti (3-0, 2.00 ERA).

More Red Sox coverage

• New Red Sox manager had ‘never been on Fenway Park field’ before home debut Friday
• Red Sox will have Brayan Bello start this week; What about Sonny Gray?
• Red Sox’ Roman Anthony slumping at first-month marker; ‘I’m not hitting...It’s obvious, right?’
• Red Sox get good news on Garrett Crochet’s MRI, but ‘no timetable’ for his return
• Plane flies over Fenway Park displaying blunt message for Red Sox owner John Henry

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