The Sox wasted no time getting to Kennedy in the top of the first although Johnny Damon lined out to right to begin. Todd Walker made his Red Sox debut by reaching on an error by Brent Abernathy. Nomar Garciaparra lined a base hit up the middle and Manny Ramirez hit a routine grounder to Aubrey Huff but it bounced off his shoulder for an error to score Walker for the season's first run. Kevin Millar made his Red Sox debut with a seeing eye single to left to load the bases and Shea Hillenbrand cracked an opposite field double just out of the reach of Ben Grieve to score Nomar & Manny. Jeremy Giambi made his Red Sox debut by striking out swinging and Trot Nixon grounded out to third to end the inning with the Sox ahead 3-0.
Martinez got the ball in the bottom of the first and Carl Crawford led off with a grounder to short to start. Rhode Island's own Rocco Baldelli made his ML debut by striking out swinging and Aubrey Huff grounded out to second to end the inning.
Jason Varitek tried to start a rally with a double into the right field corner but Damon popped up the bunt to catcher Toby Hall. Walker grounded back to the mound and Nomar struck out swinging to end the inning. Travis Lee grounded out to first to start the bottom of the second before Al Martin took a fastball down the middle for strike three. Grieve hit a rocket but Walker dove and caught it to end the inning.
Manny tried to start a rally in the top of the third with a base hit to left but Millar struck out swinging. Hillenbrand just barely beat out a double play ball but was thrown at second after a pitch bounced in front of Hall to end the inning. Hall popped up to first to start the bottom of the third before Abernathy flied out to center. Rey Ordonez walked but Crawford grounded back to the mound to end the inning.
Giambi grounded out to first to start the top of the fourth and Nixon popped up to short. Varitek doubled to the centerfield wall but Damon grounded out to second to end the inning. Pedro got in trouble in the bottom of the fourth as Baldelli doubled down the left field line for his first major league hit to start. Huff popped up to right and Baldelli moved to second on the grounder to second by Lee. Martin was plunked but Grieve struck out swinging to end the inning.
The Sox got another run in the top of the fifth as Walker beat out a roller to third to start. Nomar lashed a base hit to left but Manny popped up to first. Millar got plunked and Tampa pitching coach Chris Bosio waddled to the mound to tell Kennedy to throw strikes. Hillenbrand grounded out to second but Walker scored to increase the lead. Giambi grounded out to first to end the inning with the Sox ahead 4-0.
Hall lined out softly to Walker to start the bottom of the fifth before Abernathy grounded out to third. Ordonez took strike three to end the inning.
The Sox did nothing in the top of the sixth as Nixon grounded out to second to start. Varitek also grounded out to second before Damon popped up to second to end the inning. Crawford struck out swinging to start the bottom of the sixth before Baldelli grounded out to short. Huff lashed a base hit to right but Lee struck out swinging to end the inning.
Kennedy cruised in the top of the seventh as Walker grounded out to second to start. Nomar grounded out to third and Manny flied out to right to end the inning. The Rays tagged Pedro in his final inning in the bottom of the seventh as Martin singled to right to start. Grieve was plunked and Martin moved to third on the fly out by Hall. Abernathy hit a routine grounder to third by Hillenbrand bounced the throw to Varitek for an error to score Martin. Ordonez hit into a double play to end the inning with the Rays down 4-1. Pedro was Pedro tonight, tossing 7 innings of 1 run ball while striking out 6.
Pedro goes 7 strong
Seth McClung made his ML debut in the top of the eighth and Millar struck out swinging to start. Hillenbrand flied out to the right field wall. Giambi struck out swinging to end the inning. Ramiro Mendoza made his Sox debut in the bottom of the eighth with Bill Mueller making his debut at third base. Hillenbrand moved to first and Crawford grounded back to the mound to start. Baldelli flied out to a running Damon and Johnny outdid himself with a great diving catch to rob Huff of extra bases to end the inning.
Great catch Johnny
The Sox blew a rally in the top of the ninth as Nixon popped up to Baldelli to start. Varitek struck out swinging but Damon walked. Walker walked but Nomar flied out to left to end the inning. Alan Embree came in to close out the top of the ninth and everything fell apart. Lee singled to right and Devil Rays manager Lou Piniella sent in old friend Terry Shumpert to pinch hit. For some ungodly reason Embree threw him an inside fastball and Shumpert hit it out of the yard to cut the lead. Grieve singled to right to chase the incompetent Embree. Damian Rolls pinch ran for Grieve as Chad Fox made his Red Sox debut by getting Hall to strike out swinging. Abernathy hit a grounder to short and Nomar stepped on second but Rolls disrupted Garciaparra just enough that he couldn't get Brent at first. That proved to be fatal as Marlon Anderson pinch hit for Ordonez and walked. One strike away away from victory, suddenly Crawford launched a 3 run bomb to center to win the game. One of the most heartbreaking Opening Day games ever ended with the Rays walking off the Sox 6-4.
Jackass of the Night is Chad Fox. He served up the 3 run bomb to Crawford after getting the first two outs.
The Good:
Nomar Garciaparra was 2 for 5 with a run scored.
Kevin Millar was 1 for 3.
Jason Varitek was 2 for 4.
Pedro Martinez dazzled by tossing 7 innings of 1 run ball. He allowed 3 hits and a walk while striking out 6.
Ramiro Mendoza tossed a scoreless eighth inning.
The Bad:
Jeremy Giambi was 0 for 4 with 2 strikeouts.
Trot Nixon was 0 for 4.
Alan Embree was charged with 3 runs without recording an out.
The Ugly:
Johnny Damon was 0 for 4 but made a great catch and walked.
Todd Walker was just 1 for 4 but walked and scored 2 runs.
Manny Ramirez was just 1 for 4 but scored a run.
Shea Hillenbrand was just 1 for 4 with an error but drove in 3 runs.
Honorable Mention:
Bill Mueller played third base in the final two innings.
Final Thoughts:
What an absolute disaster. For eight innings the Sox did everything right. They made great defensive plays, they got some clutch hits and Pedro Martinez (and Ramiro Mendoza) pitched well. Then one inning undid the entire game. What was Alan Embree doing throwing Terry Shumpert a fastball and clearly Chad Fox is NOT a closer. That was one of the worst, most improbable losses ever and hopefully that's not a harbinger of a bad season. New Sox GM Theo Epstein pulled a Dan Duquette in 1994 and signed a whole bunch of players to see what will stick. Hopefully the Sox get a bonafide closer before the season gets out of hand. Its only one loss but this one hurts considering they had the game in the bag. Tomorrow night the Sox look to rebound when Tim Wakefield makes his season debut when he takes on Victor Zambrano of the Devil Rays. The game begins at 7:15 PM at Tropicana Field.
