Dr. Dre approves of the win
Porcello took the mound in the top of the first and got Adam Frazier to pop up to start the top of the first. Starling Marte grounded out to second and Andrew McCutchen flied out to center to end the inning. Pirates ace Gerrit Cole got the start and got Dustin Pedroia to ground out to start the bottom of the first. Andrew Benintendi whiffed on a 3-2 count and Mr. Mookie Betts flied out to end the inning.
Porcello ran into trouble in the top of the second but was bailed out by his defense. Gregory Polanco singled but was thrown out trying to steal by the alert Sandy Leon. David Freese reached on an infield single and Fransisco Cervelli walked. Josh Bell flied out and Josh Harrison struck out to end the inning. Hanley Ramirez got the first hit of the season with a single to center. Mitch Moreland struck out and Xander Bogaerts bounced into a double play to end the inning.
Porcello cruised in the top of the third. Jordy Mercer grounded out but Frazier singled. Marte popped up and McCutchen struck out to end the inning. The Sox mustered nothing in the bottom of the third against Cole. Jackie Bradley Jr grounded out, the returning Pablo Sandoval lined out and Leon grounded out to end the inning.
Porcello continued to dominate in the top of the fourth inning, Polanco grounded out, Freese flied out and Cervelli lined out to Rick to end the inning. Cole remained tough in the bottom of the fourth. Pedroia grounded out and Benny The Kid popped up, but Mr. Mookie walked. Ramirez lined out to end the inning.
Bell popped up to open the top of the fifth inning. Harrison grounded out to short and Mercer took strike three to end the inning. The Sox finally broke the tie in a huge way in the bottom of the fifth inning. Moreland grounded out into the shift and Bogaerts popped up to right but JBJ hit a scintillating triple to right field. Sandoval then hustled down the line to beat out an infield single to score JBJ with the game's first run. Leon caught the Pirates defense completely asleep with a bunt base hit that delighted Sox commentator Jerry Remy. Pedroia singled home Sandoval and Benny The Kid lit up the crowd with a 3 run bomb to right field to give the Sox a 5-0 all with two outs. Mr. Mookie legged out an infield single and took second on the throwing error by Mercer. Ramirez popped up to end the inning, but what an inning it was.
Benny's blast makes it 5-0
The Pirates fought back in the top of the 6th. Sandoval threw low to first and Frazier was safe at first....bad, bad throw. Marte flied out to center and McCutchen struck out. Polanco looked at strike three to end the inning. Juan Nicasio got the ball in the bottom of the 6th inning. Leon grounded out to open the bottom of the sixth inning. Bogaerts got his first hit of the season by hitting a single off the foot of Nicasio. JBJ grounded out but Bogaerts moved to second base. Bogaerts swiped third but Sandoval struck out to end the inning.
Pittsburgh finally struck in the top of the seventh. Moreland couldn't scoop out a jumping throw by Bogaerts, allowing Freese to reach on an infield single. Cervelli doubled over the head of Benintendi but Porcello got Bell on a grounder to the mound to hold the runners. Harrison singled home Freese to chase Rick from the game. It was a solid effort by Rick to keep the Sox in the game.
Opening Day winner, Rick Porcello
Matt Barnes relieved Rick and immediately gave up a single to Mercer to score Cervelli. A wild pitch moved both runners and Barnes walked Frazier to load the bases. Benintendi made a nice running catch to rob Marte of extra bases but Harrison scored. Matt recovered to get McCutchen swinging in the dirt but the score was now 5-3.
EVERYBODY PANIC!
Felipe Rivero took the mound for the bottom of the seventh inning and Leon singled. Pedroia looked at strike three and Benny The Kid flied out. Mr. Mookie grounded into a force to end the inning.
Robby Scott came in to pitch to Polanco to open the top of the eighth inning. He got Planco to ground out and that was it for Scott, he did his job. A dumb fan ran onto the field but alert security guards seized the intruder and wrestled him to the ground. Heath Hembree was called upon to get the final two outs of the eighth. Freese popped up and Cervelli grounded out to end the inning. Great work by the Hembree and Scott tag-team. Daniel Hudson got the call in the bottom of the eighth inning and whiffed Ramirez on a 3-2 pitch in the dirt. Moreland also struck out swinging but Bogaerts singled off the left field scoreboard. Bogaerts swiped second and JBJ walked but Sandoval whiffed to end the inning.
Craig "The Buzzard" Kimbrel was brought in for the save but looked dicey early. Bell nearly hit one out but settled for a double off the Monster. Kimbrel recovered to blow away Harrison on 3 pitches and strike out Mercer on a 2-2 count. Frazier got plunked to put the tying runs on, but Marte popped up to end the game. The Sox held on to win 5-3 on Opening Day.
Hero of the Night is Andrew Benintendi. His 3 run home run was the difference in the game.
Thumbs up to our Hero, Benintendi
The Good:
Mookie Betts was 1 for 3 with a walk.
Xander Bogaerts was 2 for 4 with 2 stolen bases.
Jackie Bradley Jr was 1 for 3 with a walk and a run scored.
Sandy Leon was 2 for 3 with a run scored.
Rick Porcello got the win going 6 1/3 innings giving up 3 runs on 6 hits and a walk while striking out 5
Robbie Scott retired the only man he faced.
Heath Hembree retired the two men he faced.
Craig Kimbrel earned his first save of the season with a scoreless ninth inning.
The Bad:
Mitch Moreland was 0 for 4 with 2 strikeouts
The Ugly:
Dustin Pedroia was just 1 for 4 but walked, scored a run and drove in one.
Hanley Ramirez was just 1 for 4.
Pablo Sandoval was just 1 for 4 but drove in a run and scored one of his own.
Matt Barnes allowed 2 inherited runners to score but got out of the 7th inning with the lead intact.
Final Thoughts:
Nothing like an Opening Day win to get the season off on the right foot. The addition of Chris Sale makes the rotation more dangerous than ever but Porcello has to produce like he did last year. Today he was good to earn the win and the bullpen apart from Barnes was lights out. The Sox are going to miss David Ortiz big time so they're going to have to get better pitching from guys like Steven Wright, Drew Pomeranz and Eduardo Rodriguez moving forward if they want to survive the loss of David Price for now.
Pittsburgh finally struck in the top of the seventh. Moreland couldn't scoop out a jumping throw by Bogaerts, allowing Freese to reach on an infield single. Cervelli doubled over the head of Benintendi but Porcello got Bell on a grounder to the mound to hold the runners. Harrison singled home Freese to chase Rick from the game. It was a solid effort by Rick to keep the Sox in the game.
Matt Barnes relieved Rick and immediately gave up a single to Mercer to score Cervelli. A wild pitch moved both runners and Barnes walked Frazier to load the bases. Benintendi made a nice running catch to rob Marte of extra bases but Harrison scored. Matt recovered to get McCutchen swinging in the dirt but the score was now 5-3.
EVERYBODY PANIC!
Felipe Rivero took the mound for the bottom of the seventh inning and Leon singled. Pedroia looked at strike three and Benny The Kid flied out. Mr. Mookie grounded into a force to end the inning.
Robby Scott came in to pitch to Polanco to open the top of the eighth inning. He got Planco to ground out and that was it for Scott, he did his job. A dumb fan ran onto the field but alert security guards seized the intruder and wrestled him to the ground. Heath Hembree was called upon to get the final two outs of the eighth. Freese popped up and Cervelli grounded out to end the inning. Great work by the Hembree and Scott tag-team. Daniel Hudson got the call in the bottom of the eighth inning and whiffed Ramirez on a 3-2 pitch in the dirt. Moreland also struck out swinging but Bogaerts singled off the left field scoreboard. Bogaerts swiped second and JBJ walked but Sandoval whiffed to end the inning.
Craig "The Buzzard" Kimbrel was brought in for the save but looked dicey early. Bell nearly hit one out but settled for a double off the Monster. Kimbrel recovered to blow away Harrison on 3 pitches and strike out Mercer on a 2-2 count. Frazier got plunked to put the tying runs on, but Marte popped up to end the game. The Sox held on to win 5-3 on Opening Day.
Hero of the Night is Andrew Benintendi. His 3 run home run was the difference in the game.
The Good:
Mookie Betts was 1 for 3 with a walk.
Xander Bogaerts was 2 for 4 with 2 stolen bases.
Jackie Bradley Jr was 1 for 3 with a walk and a run scored.
Sandy Leon was 2 for 3 with a run scored.
Rick Porcello got the win going 6 1/3 innings giving up 3 runs on 6 hits and a walk while striking out 5
Robbie Scott retired the only man he faced.
Heath Hembree retired the two men he faced.
Craig Kimbrel earned his first save of the season with a scoreless ninth inning.
The Bad:
Mitch Moreland was 0 for 4 with 2 strikeouts
The Ugly:
Dustin Pedroia was just 1 for 4 but walked, scored a run and drove in one.
Hanley Ramirez was just 1 for 4.
Pablo Sandoval was just 1 for 4 but drove in a run and scored one of his own.
Matt Barnes allowed 2 inherited runners to score but got out of the 7th inning with the lead intact.
Final Thoughts:
Nothing like an Opening Day win to get the season off on the right foot. The addition of Chris Sale makes the rotation more dangerous than ever but Porcello has to produce like he did last year. Today he was good to earn the win and the bullpen apart from Barnes was lights out. The Sox are going to miss David Ortiz big time so they're going to have to get better pitching from guys like Steven Wright, Drew Pomeranz and Eduardo Rodriguez moving forward if they want to survive the loss of David Price for now.
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