This season may go down as one of the worst in Boston Red Sox history but at least they started on the right foot against the Seattle Mariners. The Sox went into Seattle and took on one of the better pitchers in Luis Castillo. The Sox lit up Castillo as Rafael Devers hit a two run shot to put the Sox ahead before Tyler O'Neill scored a third run to chase him. Meanwhile Brayan Bello (1-0, 3.60 ERA) became the first Sox starter since Nathan Eovaldi in 2020 to win on Opening Day with 5 strong innings, allowing just a two run homer by Mitch Haniger. O'Neill made history by becoming the first man to hit five consecutive Opening Day home runs and the Sox needed it as Joely Rodriguez allowed a two run homer to Dominic Moore. The Sox got another run on a Connor Wong rbi single and Kenley Jansen slammed the door in the bottom of the ninth. The Sox won their first game of the season by beating the Mariners 6-4 at T-Mobile Park.
Castillo got the ball in the top of the first and Jarren Duran led off by flying out to left. Rafael Devers struck out swinging and Trevor Story also went down hacking to end the inning. Bello got the ball in the bottom of the first and JP Crawford grounded out to second to start. Julio Rodriguez ripped a double to right and Jorge Polanco dumped a base hit to right to move Julio to third. Mitch Garver banged into a double play to end the inning.
Triston Casas grounded out to first to start the top of the second but Tyler O'Neill made his Red Sox debut by drawing a walk. O'Neill stole second but Masataka Yoshida lined out to left. Ceddanne Rafaela took strike three to end the inning. Cal Raleigh singled in the hole to start the bottom of the second but Mitch Haniger lined out to Casas. Dominic Canzone struck out swinging but Ty France struck out swinging to end the inning.
Enmanuel Valdez led off the top of the third with a base hit passed France. Connor Wong popped up to first and Duran struck out swinging on a nasty changeup, but Devers smashed his first home run of the season to give the Sox the lead. Story flied out to right to end the inning with the Sox ahead 2-0.
Josh Rojas flied out to the right field wall to start the bottom of the third before Crawford grounded out to second. Rodriguez grounded out to short to end the inning.
Casas led off the top of the fourth with a base hit to right but was forced at second by O'Neill. Yoshida ripped a double down the right field line and Rafaela hit a grounder to third. Rojas had O'Neill dead to rights at home....and hit him in the head with the throw. O'Neill scored to increase the lead but Valdez popped up to Rojas for the second out. Rafaela was thrown out at second trying to steal to end the inning with Boston ahead 3-0.
The Mariners struck back in the bottom of the fourth as Polanco was plunked to start. Garver lined out to a running Rafaela in center and Raleigh forced Polanco at second. Haniger then hit a home run all the way into the Pacific Ocean to cut the lead. Canzone grounded out to short to end the inning with the Mariners down 3-2.
The Sox responded in the top of the fifth although Wong struck out swinging to start. Duran got a base hit to right and Devers doubled to the right field wall to put runners in scoring position. Story walked to load the bases and Casas beat out a double play to score Duran. O'Neill flied out to right to end the inning but it was 4-2 Red Sox.
France grounded out to short to start the bottom of the fifth but Rojas singled to left. Crawford popped up to Devers in foul territory and Rodriguez lined out to right to end the inning. That was it for Bello after just 84 pitches. He went 5 innings, allowed 2 runs on 5 hits without walking anyone.
Taylor Saucedo came in to pitch the top of the sixth and Yoshida grounded out to first to start. Rafaela motored around for a triple after dumping one in the left field corner and Sox manager Alex Cora made the inexplicable decision to pinch hit Pablo Reyes for Valdez. Reyes didn't even get the bat off his shoulders as he watched strike three go by. Wong picked up his team by lashing a base hit to right to score Rafaela and increase the lead. Duran grounded out to first to end the inning with the Sox ahead 5-2.
Off-season acquisition Isaiah Campbell came in to pitch the bottom of the sixth and Polanco flied out to right to start. Garver grounded out to second and Raleigh struck out swinging on a nasty slider to end the inning.
Cody Bolton came in to pitch the top of the seventh and Devers popped up to short to start. Story lined out to right and Casas grounded out to short to end the inning. Campbell returned for the bottom of the seventh and Haniger immediately dropped a base hit to right to chase him. Joely Rodriguez came in to pitch to Canzone but Seattle manager Scott Servais countered by pinch hitting Dylan Moore. Naturally Moore blasted a two run home run into the wilderness of Oregon to cut the lead. France grounded out to second and old friend Luis Urias pinch hit for Rojas. Urias struck out swinging and Crawford took strike three to end the inning but the Mariners were back in it down 5-4.
The Sox answered right back as O'Neill made history with his fifth consecutive Opening Day home run to increase the lead in the top of the eighth. Yoshida popped up to short, Rafaela lined out to short and Reyes flied out to right to end the inning with the Sox ahead 6-4.
Chris Martin came in to pitch the bottom of the eighth as Rodriguez took strike three to start. Polanco struck out swinging on a nasty cutter but Garver doubled into the left field corner. Raleigh grounded out to second to end the inning.
Austin Voth came in to pitch the top of the ninth and Wong got a base hit to center. Duran forced Wong at second and Devers flied out to center. Duran stole second but Story grounded out to third to end the inning....but wait! Sox manager Alex Cora challenged that Story actually beat the throw and the umpires overturned the call, Story was safe at first with Duran moving to third. Story stole second and Duran was 2/3 of the way from stealing home and Casas was distracted enough to swing and miss for strike three to end the inning. Casas was NOT happy about that one. Kenley Jansen came in to close out the bottom of the ninth and naturally walked Haniger to start. Moore struck out swinging on a cut fastball and O'Neill made a great running stab of a France liner. Luke Raley pinch hit for Urias and struck out swinging to end the game. The Sox had won it 6-4.
Hero of the Night is Tyler O'Neill. He scored a big run early, hit a home run and made several great catches in the field to guide the team to victory.
The Good:
Rafael Devers was 2 for 5 with a 2 run home run.
Enmanuel Valdez was 1 for 2 with a run scored.
Connor Wong was 2 for 4 with an rbi.
Brayan Bello got the win by allowing just 2 runs through 5 innings while allowing 5 hits.
Chris Martin pitched a scoreless eighth inning.
Kenley Jansen earned the save with a scoreless ninth inning.
The Bad:
Pablo Reyes was 0 for 2 at the plate.
Isaiah Campbell was charged with a run in an inning of work.
Joely Rodriguez allowed a two run bomb in the seventh inning.
The Ugly:
Jarren Duran was just 1 for 5 with a strikeout but stole a base and scored a run.
Trevor Story was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout but walked and stole a base.
Triston Casas was just 1 for 5 with a strikeout but drove in a run.
Masataka Yoshida was just 1 for 4.
Ceddanne Rafaela was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout but drove in a run and scored a run.
Final Thoughts:
It wasn't pretty but a win was a win. The Sox defensively is much improved with O'Neill in right and a factor that came into play was their speed. O'Neill, Story and Duran all swiped bags even if Jarren distracted Casas in a crucial at-bat. Devers got the party started with a home run and O'Neill hit another home run on Opening Day. Bello looked okay while he was in there and the bullpen, apart from Joely Rodriguez, did their part as well. If they can get a better set-up man to go with Martin, they might be able to shorten the games with Jansen to close it out. With improved speed and defense, this team might be more exciting than last year.....but it all depends on the rotation. Sox manager Alex Cora can't keep pulling guys after 80 pitches and or 5 innings but at least Bello gave him a good start. Can the other four starters step up? That remains to be seen. Still, better to win on Opening Day than to lose and they won this one. The Sox look to make it two in a row against the Mariners tomorrow night when Nick Pivetta makes his season debut against George Kirby of Seattle. The game begins at 9:40 PM at T-Mobile Park.
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