Eovaldi took the ball in the top of the first and new Sox outfielder Kevin Pillar made his presence felt by making a great catch to rob Austin Hays of a double to begin the top of the first. Anthony Santander grounded back to the mound and old pal Jose Iglesias grounded out to second to end the inning. Tommy Milone got the ball for the Orioles in the bottom of the first and Andrew Benintendi grounded out to second to start. JD Martinez drew a walk but Rafael Devers whiffed. Xander Bogaerts struck out swinging to end the inning.
Renato Nunez grounded back to the mound to start the top of the second before Chris Davis grounded out to second. Hanser Alberto singled to left but Rio Ruiz grounded out to second to end the inning. Pillar popped up to third to start the bottom of the second but Christian Vazquez drew a walk. Vazquez was immediately picked off and Michael Chavis whiffed to end the inning.
Pedro Severino singled to center to start the top of the third but was forced at second by DJ Stewart. Hays banged into a double play to end the inning. The Sox struck first when Jackie Bradley Jr got the first hit of the season with a leadoff double. New Sox player Jose Peraza drove in the first run with an rbi double that scored JBJ to give the Sox the lead. Benintendi whiffed but Martinez drove in his first run of the season with a double to left to score Peraza. Devers walked and a wild pitch moved both runners over, but Bogaerts went down swinging. Pillar would have lit up the crowd if there was one with an rbi double to left to score both Martinez and Devers. Vazquez flied out to right to end the inning but the Sox were ahead 4-0.
Eovaldi kept the lead intact in the top of the fourth as Santander flied out to left to begin. Iglesias doubled to right and Nunez hit a routine grounder to Devers. Devers then turned and fired the ball into the Monster Seats aiming for the Jon Wallach cardboard cut-out for an error to put runners at the corners. Davis then hit a bullet to Chavis who doubled off Nunez to end the inning. The Sox broke it open in the bottom of the fourth against new pitcher Cody Carroll. Chavis and JBJ drew back to back walks and Peraza singled to left to load the bases with nobody out. Benintendi worked a walk to score Chavis as old buddy Travis Lakins was brought in to take a beating. Martinez iced the game with a ground rule double to right that scored Peraza and Benintendi. Devers grounded out to third but Bogaerts singled home Benintendi. Pillar singled home Martinez and Vazquez singled home Bogaerts to cap off the rally. Chavis whiffed but took first when the ball got away from the catcher to load the bases, but JBJ whiffed as well to end the inning with the game all but over 10-0.
Eovaldi got Alberto to ground out to third to open the top of the fifth before Ruiz took strike three. Severino walked but Stewart swung and missed for strike three to end the inning. Peralta grounded out to short to start the bottom of the fifth before Benintendi went down hacking. Martinez singled to left but Devers lined out to center to end the inning.
Eovaldi was finally tagged in the top of the sixth inning although Hays grounded out to short to start. Santander doubled to center but Iglesias whiffed. Nunez doubled home Santander to break up the shutout. Davis whiffed to end the inning and that was enough for Eovaldi. Basically the only starter left from last year not injured, sick or gone delivered with 6 innings of 1 run ball. Granted it was against the Orioles but its better than having your lunch served to you.
David Hess came in to pitch the bottom of the sixth with Dwight Smith Jr taking over for Santander in left field with Stewart moving over to right. Bogaerts grounded out to short but Pillar singled to left and Vazquez pounded a ground rule double to right. Chavis whiffed but JBJ doubled home Pillar and Vazquez. Peraza doubled home JBJ to wrap up the scoring as Benintendi flid out to left to end the inning with the Sox ahead 13-1.
Austin Brice made his Red Sox debut by crapping his pants in the top of the seventh. Alberto popped up to first but Ruiz pounded a 379,000 foot home run into the Atlantic Ocean to cut the lead. Brice recovered to get both Severino and Stewart swinging but the O's were down 13-2.
Pat Valaika took over for Iglesias in the bottom of the seventh as Martinez flied out to right to start. Devers grounded out to second as Tzu-Wei Lin pinch hit for Bogaerts and got a base hit to right. Pillar grounded into a force to end the inning.
Phillips Valdez came in to pitch the top of the eighth with Jonathan Arauz taking Vazquez' spot while playing third and Jonathan Lucroy replacing Devers while playing behind the plate, all making their Red Sox debuts. Hays was hit with a pitch but Smith Jr banged into a double play. Valaika flied out to right to end the inning. Chance Sisco came in to play short, Andrew Velazquez took over at first, Valaika moved to first and Cedric Mullins took over in center to begin the bottom of the eighth. Arauz and Chavis both flied out to right but JBJ and Peraza struck back to back singles. Benintendi walked to load the bases but Martinez popped up to second to end the inning.
Valdez returned to end the top of the ninth and Nunez grounded out to third to start. Velazquez took strike three but Alberto was plunked. Ruiz whiffed to end the game, the Sox had crushed the Orioles on Opening Day 13-2.
Hero of the Night is Kevin Pillar. He set the tone with his running catch in the top of the first and paced the offensive attack by going 3 for 5 with 3 rbis and a run scored.
The Good:
JD Martinez was 3 for 5 with a walk, 3 rbis and 2 runs scored.
Tzu-Wei Lin singled as a pinch hitter.
Christian Vazquez was 2 for 3 with a walk, rbi and a run scored.
Jackie Bradley Jr was 3 for 4 with a walk, 2 rbis and 3 runs scored.
Jose Peraza was 4 for 5 with 2 rbis and 2 runs scored.
Nathan Eovaldi got the win with 6 innings of 1 run ball. He allowed 5 hits and struck out 4.
Phillips Valdez tossed 2 scoreless innings.
The Bad:
Jonathan Arauz was 0 for 1 behind the plate.
Austin Brice allowed a run in the top of the seventh.
The Ugly:
Andrew Benintendi was 0 for 4 but walked twice, drove in a run and scored.
Rafael Devers was 0 for 4 with an error but walked and scored a run.
Xander Bogaerts was just 1 for 4 but drove in a run and scored.
Michael Chavis was 0 for 4 with a hat trick of three strikeouts, but walked and scored a run.
Honorable Mention:
Jonathan Lucroy caught the final two innings.
Final Thoughts:
This season is going to suck hard but at least it started out on the right note. New Sox manager Ron Roenicke had his guys ready for this one even though it was against the terrible Orioles. The Sox are reeling from the trade of Mookie Betts and the loss of 4/5 of their rotation. Rick Porcello is now with the Mets., David Price went to LA in the Betts trade, Sale had Tommy John surgery in February and Eduardo Rodriguez is recovering from Covid. Eovaldi is going to have to pull a 1981 Fernando Valenzuela if the Sox have any hope of a respectable season. The offense is going to be fun to watch, especially if Kevin Pillar can perform and JD Martinez is motivated in his contract year. Remember how bad the 2015 Red Sox were with their lousy pitching staff? This year could very well be a repeat of that. Still, for one day anyway the Sox are undefeated. The Sox look to make it two in a row over the Orioles tomorrow afternoon as Martin Perez makes his Sox debut against former Tampa Bay Ray Alex Cobb at 1:35 PM at Fenway Park.
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