“Obviously, knowing that I'm the type of player and the type of batsman, I never want to strike once, let alone four times,” Anthony said. “As a kid, that's all about the learning curve.
Get the starting point
Is there anything the 21-year-old rookie who has brought him into the base for 14 consecutive games?
“I try not to frustrate me. It's a tough game in particular. When you face someone like this, obviously you know what they can do.” Anthony said, who hit .353 with an ops of 0.969 in that stripe. “But I know my abilities. The more I can see someone like this, the better I will be. I don't let two nights like this really throw me too much. It's a small sample size, and it's two of the best people.”
Wheeler is a NL Cy Young Award contender with 2.39 ERA, Sánchez's 12 hit game lowered his ERA to 2.40, perhaps the best pitcher Anthony faces. Cora talked again on Wednesday, how valuable it was for Anthony and the rest of the Red Sox youth, especially the playoff focus.
“Those guys are the two of the best they've done in baseball,” Anthony said. “They're both legal…I'm glad to see those guys again.”
Alex Bregman sticks to slow lanes
On Monday night, Alex Bregman fell into a serious loss, from first to third, and on his third stop – doubles at Anthony went into the right corner. On Tuesday, in the middle grounding match, Bryson Stott's dive station was needed for second baseman Bryson Stott, and Bregman was easily out at first.
He and Cora said that despite his description of himself as “free running”, Bregman has been and will continue to be cautious on the base. They thought it was necessary to avoid reattacking his right four, which left him for seven weeks.
“I’m still smart for the rest of the year, but I’m 98% [on one play Monday] I run the maximum speed all year round. ” Bregman said.
“We've been playing safely all the time. He has to be smart,” Cora said.
According to Statcast, Bregman's runners are below average, covering 26.2 feet on the sprint. The average is 27.
“First of all, he was never a fast runner,” Cora said. “That's the reality. I'm not saying he's a guy standing on the site, but he's not a burner. So he understands when he has to go and when he needs to relax. We respect that and we'll let him do that.”
Bregman left the roster Wednesday, two plans for every three plans of the Red Sox in the first three series since returning. Cora said he will be “going all out” from Friday. It's just not on the basic path.
Zach Kelly (right oblique strain) will begin the rehabilitation mission Thursday with Senior Greenville, Cora said. . . Liam Hendriks recently sought a second opinion on the core issue, separated from IL's hip problems on IL for two months, and he was kicked off with “some exercises and work he needs to do in the gym and training staff, but no other exercises, but no other exercises.” “Hope this helps and moves the needle.” . . JC Romero was a reliefist for the 2007 Red Sox team, holding the first game of etiquette at Citizens Bank Park. After Sox released him in June of that championship season, Lefthander signed with the Phillies, with him winning the 2008 World Series and spending five seasons. . . The Red Soxes promoted David Ortiz's son's corner infielder D'Angelo Ortiz's single Salem. Ortiz, 21, hit .273 with a .689 action in the Florida Coast League.
Tim Healey can be contacted at timothy.healey@globe.com. Follow him @timbhealey.