Roman Anthony says he understands why fans are unhappy with the Boston Red Sox’s 2-7 start to the 2026 season.<\/p>\n
“We need to find a way to just bring more energy and just be better,” Anthony told reporters<\/a> after the Red Sox blew a four-run lead in an 8-6 loss to the San Diego Padres on Sunday afternoon. <\/p>\n Anthony continued, “This is unacceptable. It’s unacceptable to the fans. It’s unacceptable to the standard that we set for ourselves.”<\/p>\n The Red Sox climbed out to a 4-0 lead in the third inning before the Padres answered with six runs in the next two frames.<\/p>\n Boston tied the game again in the seventh inning before Tyler Uberstine allowed a go-ahead home run from Merrill Kelly in the eighth.<\/p>\n Anthony, who recorded a walk and a run in the loss, started the season at left field but was at DH for a third straight game on Sunday.<\/p>\n That positional change came after Red Sox manager Alex Cora told reporters Anthony needed to improve his footwork in left field, per MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo<\/a>.<\/p>\n “There’s a few things we have to be better (with) defensively… There’s stuff we have to improve as a group and that’s part of Roman’s development,” Cora said Saturday, per Cotillo.<\/p>\n Defense was again an issue for the Red Sox on Sunday, including early errors by shortstop Trevor Story and catcher Carlos Narv\u00e1ez. <\/p>\n Boston was also once more unable to find reliable pitching after the corps combined for a 4.28 ERA, good for 20th<\/a> in the majors, through the first eight games of the season.<\/p>\n