Cleveland ace Corey Kluber (0-1) struck out Mr. Mookie Betts to begin the game. Dustin Pedroia popped up and Xander "X-Man" Bogaerts grounded out to short to end the inning. In the bottom of the inning, new ace David Price (1-0) struck out Rajai Davis to begin the game. He then struck out Jason Kipnis and got Fransisco Lindor to ground-out to end the inning
David Ortiz began his final season with a ground-out back to Kluber to open the top of the second. Hanley Ramirez took strike 3 on the outside corner. Travis Shaw got the first base hit o sef the season to right field. Brock "The Hitman" Holt got his first hit of the season with a flare to left field. Blake Swihart struck out on a nasty curveball to end the inning. Old pal Mike Napoli led off the bottom of the second inning with a walk. Carlos Santana also worked a walk. Yan Gomes moved Napoli over to third with a sac fly but Price struck out Marlon Byrd. Juan Uribe also whiffed to end the inning.
The Sox struck first in the top of the third. Jackie Bradley Jr got his first base hit of the season to center-field. Mr. Mookie got his first hit of the season by launching a 2 run home run.
In line for a shot at MVP, Betts delivers with a homer
Pedroia lined out to left field and X-Man lined out to right. Ortiz got his first hit of the season with a double to left-center. Ramirez' bat singled itself to left as a sheepish Hanley drew some laughs by the paltry crowd. The bat then shattered as Hanley grounded out to end the inning. Price began the fourth by striking out Colin Cowgill and Davis. Kipnis grounded out to end the inning.
Travis Shaw struck out to open the top of the fourth and Hitman Holt as well. NESN showed the Red Sox DL which includes Eduardo Rodriguez, Carson Smith, Christian Vazquez and Brandon Workman. Brandon is recovering from Tommy John and Vazquez will be Pawtucket's catcher for the time being. The other two will be missed. Swihart worked a walk. Bradley Jr grounded out into the shift to end the inning. The Indians got their first hit of the game when Lindor singled to begin the bottom of the 4th. Napoli had a great 11 pitch at bat but was called out on a nasty pitch on the corner. Santana singled on a 3-2 count as Price began to struggle with command. Gomes singled home Lindor to cut the lead 2-1 as Santana took third. Another long at bat ended with a game tying sac-fly by Byrd. Uribe then smashed a single as analyst Scott Lauber reported that Napoli's at bat exposed Price's stuff. Cowgill struck out to end the inning but the game was tied and Price looked tired.
Mr. Mookie singled to begin the top of the 5th but was erased as Pedroia beat out the double-play ball. Byrd robbed Bogaerts at the wall and Ortiz flied out to deep right to end the inning. Both balls would have been gone at Fenway on a 70 degree day. Betts than made an acrobatic catch to rob Davis of a triple. Hanley then flashed the leather on a routine grounder to first. Lindor singled for the the second time today but Napoli struck out again to end the inning. 5 innings for Price, 9 strikeouts. Not bad for a football weather game.
The Sox struck again in the top of the 6th. Ramirez singled up the middle to open the inning and showed some hustle by taking third on the single by Shaw. Hitman Holt gave the Sox the lead with a flare to left field. Swithart reached first on a fielder's choice when Holt was forced at second, moving Shaw to third. Kluber then uncorked a wild pitch that scored Shaw and advanced Swihart to second. JBJ worked a walk to chase Kluber as old friend Cleveland manager Terry Francona brought in Jeff Manship, coming off an impressive 2015 season. Betts then banged into a double play by hitting it exactly to third base. Still, the Sox regained the lead. Price returned for the bottom of the 6th and got Santana to ground out. Gomes grounded out as well. Byrd struck out to end Price's debut. 6 innings, 10 strikeouts. Not bad.
Pedroia meekly popped up to Napoli to start the top of the 7th. The Sox got a gift when X-Man grounded routinely to third and Uribe chucked the ball into the stands, Bogaerts taking second. Francona took no chances and intentionally walked David Ortiz. Ramirez walked to load the bases for Shaw and chase Manship. Ross Detwiler was brought in to face the hometown hero. Detwiler punched out Shaw on a nasty pitch on the corner. Holt then lined out to third to end the inning. Another opportunity wasted and now the Sox turn it over to the bullpen. One half of the Orient Express, Junichi Tazawa made his first appearance of the season. Uribe grounded out to open the bottom of the 7th. Francona pinch hit Cowgill with Tyler Naquin who whiffed. Davis struck out for the 3rd time today to end the inning.
Naquin stayed in the game at center, Byrd moved to right and Davis to left. Old rival Joba "The Mutt" Chamberlain took the mound to start the top of the 8th. Swihart walked to open the frame but was erased on a blown hit and run. Bradley was supposed to hit but squared around to bunt, Swihart was easily thrown out at second.
The caught steal was compounded when JBJ popped up. Betts flied out to center to end the inning. On to the bottom of the 8th where the other half of the Orient Express, Koji Uehara, was waiting. Kipnis flied out to center and Lindor flied out to left in short order. Napoli then whiffed on a blazing 85 mph fastball to end the inning.
Trevor Bauer took the mound for the top of the 9th inning. JBJ worked a walk as Bogaerts struck out on two pitches out of the zone. The umpires must be frozen stiff and just want to go home. David Ortiz then launched his first home run of the season to right field to extend the lead 6-2.
Hanley Ramirez singled but it should have been a double because he thought it was gone but hit the top of the wall. Shaw then whiffed for the third time. Holt flied out to left to end the inning. New Sox closer Craig Kimbrell, one half of The US Expressk was brought in to close out the game. Santana flied out to left to begin the bottom of the 9th. Gomes looked at a 97 mph fastball for strike 3. Byrd walked but Kimbrell punched out Uribe to end the game. The Sox take Opening Day 6-2 behind Price and the bullpen
Hero of the Day is a tough one. I'll have to go with the new guy, David Price
David Price struggled in frigid temperatures but battled through 6 innings, striking out 10 and giving up just 2 runs. The first Sox pitcher to strike out 10 in his debut since Dice K.
The Good:
If Price was the hero, Mookie Betts was the savior. He went 2 for 5 with a two run home run and made a tide turning catch when the game was on the line. David Ortiz was 2 for 4 with a walk and a 2 run blast. Hanley Ramirez was also 2 for 4 with a walk and a run scored. Brock Holt was 2 for 5 with an rbi. Jackie Bradley Jr was 1 for 3 with a walk and a run scored. Junichi Tazawa, Koji Uehara and Craig Kimbrell all pitched scoreless frames to end the game. Sox pitching retired 13 in a row at one point.
The Bad:
Only one name here. Xander Bogaerts went 0 for 5 with a strikeout. The Aruban native may not like football weather.
The Ugly:
Dustin Pedroia had an unusually poor Opening Day by going 0 for 4 but he did walk and score a run. Travis Shaw was 2 for 5 with a run scored but earned a hat trick with 3 strikeouts. Blake Swihart was 0 for 2 and got thrown out stealing but walked twice.
Final Thoughts:
Another Opening Day win and the vibe is much better than last year. Even the Sox routing Philly opening day last year was overshadowed by the dark cloud known as the Red Sox pitching staff. This season the dark cloud is lifted with the additions of Price, Smith and Kimbrell to aid the troops. Even though Smith and Rodriguez are on the DL, they're a vast improvement over Anthony Vavaro and Justin Masterson from last year. Its only one game but at least the vibe is more positive. Tomorrow night at 6:05, Clay Buchholz goes up against Carlos Carrasco.
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