As for the game, the 2023 stench reared its ugly head in the 2024 home opener as the Sox once again couldn't hit or field against the Baltimore Orioles. Orioles ace Corbin Burnes held the pitiful Sox offense to just 2 hits, just one after the first inning. The Sox took a 1-0 lead on a Tyler O'Neill home run but the O's tied it in the second and a comedy of errors put Baltimore on top in the fourth. Sox starter Brayan Bello (1-1, 4.11 ERA) left trailing 3-1 and the bullpen only made it worse. The O's got four runs off Josh Winckowski and combined with the injury news, it made for a bad day with a 7-1 Orioles victory at Fenway Park.
The only highlight today was Brianna Wakefield's first pitch
Bello got the ball in the top of the first inning and Gunnar Henderson grounded out to first to start. Adley Rutschman grounded out to second and Anthony Santander popped up to third to end the inning. The Sox wasted no time getting to Burnes in the bottom of the first as Jarren Duran grounded out to first to start. Rafael Devers flied out to left but Tyler O'Neill belted his 6th home run of the season to put Boston on top. Triston Casas singled to center but Masataka Yoshida grounded out to second to end the inning with the Sox ahead 1-0.
The O's got the run right back in the top of the second as Ryan O'Hearn flied out to center to start. Ryan Mountcastle grounded out to second but Cedric Mullins walked. Mullins stole second and scored on the Colton Cowser double off the Monster. Ramon Urias popped up to third to end the inning with the game tied 1-1.
Ceddanne Rafaela grounded out to short to start the bottom of the second before Enmanuel Valdez lined out to center. Reese McGuire walked but David Hamilton grounded out to second to end the inning.
Tony Kemp struck out swinging to start the top of the third before Henderson grounded out to second. Rutschman grounded out to short to end the inning. The Sox did nothing in the bottom of the third as Duran hit a bullet to Burnes to start. Devers grounded out to second and O'Neill hit one up the elevator shaft to end the inning.
Santander struck out swinging to open the top of the fourth inning and O'Hearn flied out to left. Mountcastle singled off the glove of Devers and Duran dropped a pop up by Mullins in the shadows to put both runners in scoring position. Naturally Cowser annihilated a double off the centerfield wall. Rafaela had Cowser at second but Valdez dropped the ball, allowing both runners to score. Urias beat out a roller to third but Kemp popped up to short to end the inning with the O's up for good 3-1.
Casas walked to start the bottom of the fourth but Yoshida popped up to second. Rafaela struck out swinging and Valdez popped up to short to end the inning.
Bello recovered in the top of the fifth as Henderson lined out to right to start. Rutschman struck out swinging and Santander popped up to second to end the inning. Burnes breezed through the bottom of the fifth as McGuire struck out swinging to start. Hamilton flied out to right and Duran struck out swinging to end the inning.
Bello walked O'Hearn to start the top of the sixth but Mountcastle grounded into a double pl.....but wait! The O's challenged that Ryan was safe at first and the call was overturned. That was it for Bello who was failed by his defense as he allowed 3 runs on 4 hits and 2 walks while striking out three. Joely Rodriguez came in and got Mullins to ground out to first to move Mountcastle to second. Cowser struck out swinging to end the inning.
The Sox did nothing in the bottom of the sixth as Devers popped up to short to start. O'Neill took strike three and Casas also watched strike three go by to end the inning.
Urias grounded out to second to start the top of the seventh and that was it for Rodriguez. Josh Winckowski came in to pitch to Kemp and got him to ground out to second. Henderson doubled to right, stole third and scored on the Rutschman single to center to ice the game. Santander struck out swinging to end the inning with the O's up 4-1.
Jorge Mateo came in to play second in the bottom of the seventh as Yoshida grounded back to the mound to start. Rafaela struck out swinging and Valdez grounded out to second to end the inning. Burnes was outstanding today.
The horrible defense continued in the top of the eighth as O'Neill gave up on a pop up by O'Hearn for a "Single". Hamilton booted a ground ball by Mountcastle and threw to the wrong base on a grounder by Mullins. Cowser hit a sac fly to right to score O'Hearn but Urias took strike three. Mateo ripped a base hit to left but Mullins was forced at second on the account that it was hit too hard to Duran to end the inning with Baltimore up 5-1.
Danny Coulombe came in to pitch the bottom of the eighth and Romy Gonzalez pinch hit for McGuire. Gonzalez struck out swinging and Connor Wong pinch hit for Hamilton. Wong simply watched strike three go by and Duran didn't even swing on three straight pitches down the middle to end the inning.
The O's put the exclamation point in the top of the ninth as Henderson got a base hit to right to start. Rutschman got a base hit to right and Santander once again got a base hit to right to score Henderson. Austin Hays pinch ran for Santander and O'Hearn walked to load the bases. Mountcastle popped up to short but Mullins got a base hit to center to score Rutschman. Cowser struck out swinging and Urias took strike three to end the inning with the O's up 7-1.
Jacob Webb (not the Sox draftee) came in to pitch the bottom of the ninth and Devers grounded out to third to start. O'Neill struck out swinging and Casas grounded back to the mound to end the game. The O's had won it 7-1.
Jackass of the Night is Josh Winckowski. Not that the Sox offense was doing much but allowing 4 runs to put the game out of reach is never a good thing.
The Good:
Triston Casas was 1 for 3 with a walk.
Reese McGuire walked in two plate appearances.
Joely Rodriguez tossed a full scoreless inning.
The Bad:
Jarren Duran was 0 for 4 with 2 strikeouts and an error.
Rafael Devers was 0 for 4.
Masataka Yoshida was 0 for 3.
Ceddanne Rafaela was 0 for 3 with 2 strikeouts.
Enmanuel Valdez was 0 for 3.
Romy Gonzalez struck out in his only plate appearance.
David Hamilton was 0 for 2 with an error.
Connor Wong struck out in his only plate appearance.
The Ugly:
Tyler O'Neill was just 1 for 4 with 2 strikeouts but the one hit was a home run.
Brayan Bello took the loss by allowing 3 runs but only 1 earned in 5 1/3 innings. He allowed 4 hits and 2 walks while striking out three.
Final Thoughts:
This was an all around disaster on and off the field. The news of Trevor Story and possibly Nick Pivetta being out for the year might have drained the life out of the offense because once again they were held to just 1 run or less. Bello was failed by his defense big time and it doesn't look like things will be any better with Story gone for the year. Its only 11 games into the season but two starting pitchers and their starting shortstop are out for the year while their starting second baseman and top utility player are still out. The Sox have way too many holes and too many injuries to compete this year, its going to be a long year. The Sox look to bounce back tomorrow night against the Orioles against Cole Irvin of Baltimore against.....nobody knows. The game begins at 7:10 PM at Fenway Park.
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