Moyer cruised through
the top of the second. Troy O'Leary grounded out to first and Gary Gaetti made his Red Sox debut by grounding out to third. Jason Varitek looked at a fastball at the knees for strike three to end the inning. Pedro cruised in the bottom of the second as Edgar Martinez popped up to right to start. John Mabry and David Bell both went down hacking to end the inning.
The Sox went quietly
in the top of the third as Darren Lewis hit one up the elevator shaft to start. Offerman struck out swinging and
Valentin grounded out to short to end the inning. Pedro struck out Dan Wilson swinging to open the bottom of the third but Carlos
Guillen blooped a single to center. Pedro struck out Cameron swinging again and got
McLemore to fly out to left to end the frame.
Everett took a fastball on the outside corner for strike three to open the top of the fourth. Nomar followed by pulling a ball on the outside corner into a grounder to short. Stanley doubled to
left center but O'Leary weakly swung at strike three on the outside corner to end the inning. Pedro blew away A-Rod to begin the bottom of the fourth but Olerud sliced a single past Nomar. A passed ball moved Olerud to second but Pedro froze Martinez with a change up down the middle for strike three. Mabry was rung up for strike three to end the inning.
Gaetti nearly put the Sox on top in the top of the fifth but Mabry robbed him at the right field wall. Varitek grounded back to the mound and Lewis grounded out to third to end the inning.
Pedro cruised in the bottom of the fifth as Bell grounded out to short to start. Wilson whiffed and Guillen took strike three to end the inning.
The Sox finally broke
through in the top of the sixth although Offerman flied out to center to start. Valentin and Everett hit back to
back singles but Nomar popped up to right Stanley walked to load the bases and O'Leary got
the first rbi of the season with an infield single to second that scored Valentin. Gary Gaietti
had hit grand slams in the past but not this time as he flied out to right to
end the inning with the Sox ahead 1-0.
Pedro
got Cameron to fly out to center begin the bottom of the sixth then induced a groundout back to the mound from McLemore. Rodriguez walked and moved to second on a passed ball but
Stanley snared a line drive off the bat of Olerud to end it. Olerud would be
the only Mariner not to strike out against Pedro.
The Sox wrapped up
the scoring in the top of the seventh as Varitek walked to start. Lewis sac bunted
him over to second and Offerman got his first rbi of the year with a double down the left field line that
chased Moyer from the game. Seattle manager Lou Pinella brought Paul Abbot to
pitch to Valentin who popped up to right in foul territory. Everett grounded out to second to end the inning with the Sox ahead 2-0.
Pedro came out for the bottom of the seventh and got Martinez to fly out on the first pitch to center. Mabry grounded out to first and on the 108th pitch of the day from Pedro, Bell flied out
to right to end the inning. Pedro was outstanding, allowing 2 hits and no runs in 7 innings of work.
The Sox did nothing in the top of the eighth as Nomar whiffed to start. Stanley popped up to center and O'Leary popped up to third in foul territory to end the inning. Derek Lowe took the mound in the bottom of the eighth as the new closer (replacing
the injured Tom Gordon) and immediately got Wilson to ground out to short to start. Guillen grounded out to second and Cameron took strike three to end the inning.
Gaetti flied out to left to start the top of the ninth before Varitek grounded out to second. Lewis got his first hit of the year with a bloop single to center but
Mabry made a great diving catch to rob Offerman of a hit to end the inning.. Lowe came back for the bottom of the ninth and got McLemore to ground out to first to start.
Rodriguez flied out to left and Olerud grounded out to short to end the game. The Sox had taken Opening Day 2-0.
Sox win
Hero of the Night is Pedro Martinez. He struck out 11 allowing just 2 hits and 2 walks in 7 innings of work.
Pedro Hero
The Good:
John Valentin was 2 for 4 with a run scored.
Carl Everett was 1 for 3 with a walk.
Mike Stanley was 1 for 3 with a walk.
Darren Lewis was 1 for 3.
Derek Lowe finished off his first save with 2 perfect innings.
The Bad:
Nomar Garciaparra was 0 for 4 with a strikeout.
Gary Gaetti was 0 for 4.
The Ugly:
Jose Offerman was 1 for 5 with an rbi.
Troy O'Leary was 1 for 4 with an rbi.
Jason Varitek was 0 for 3 but walked and scored a run
Final Thoughts:
The Sox offense didn't do much but with Pedro Martinez on the mound, it usually doesn't matter. Winning on Opening Day to start the season on the right foot is never a bad thing. Pedro was almost unhittable against a very potent Seattle lineup even without Ken Griffey Jr. The Sox offense will be there this season and Moyer is pretty tough, its a shame the Sox traded him 4 years ago. Lowe looked impressive in his 2 innings of work and the Sox are gonna need him with Tom Gordon on the sideline this year. All in all it was a good win and hopefully the Sox can ride this momentum the rest of the series. Pedro's older brother Ramon
Martinez makes his season debut tomorrow night against Freddy Garcia of the Mariners. The game begins at 10:05 PM Eastern time at Safeco Field.
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