After Boston Red Sox fans were ready to commit civil war amongst themselves over the fallout of the Rafael Devers situation and Alex Bregman fiasco in the off-season, the 2026 season got off to a rollicking start in Cincinnati against the Reds. Garrett Crochet (1-0, 0.00) proved he's still one of the best in the game as he tossed 6 shutout innings allowing just 3 hits and 2 walks. Roman Anthony went 3 for 4 and Marcelo Mayer went 2 for 2 off the bench with offense at a premium. Ceddanne Rafaela knocked in Mayer for the first run in the seventh and a 2 run rally in the ninth with Trevor Story and Jarren Duran joining the fun was all the offense they'd need. The trio of Justin Slaten, Garrett "The Lock" Whitlock and Aroldis Chapman slammed the door as the 2026 season began with a 3-0 win over the Reds at Great American Ballpark.
Andrew Abbott got the ball in the top of the first inning and Roman Anthony belted the first pitch he saw to dead center for a base hit. Trevor Story banged into a double play and it looked like Jarren Duran beat out a grounder to second, but Reds manager Terry Francona challenged that he was out. The replays showed Duran was safe and Willson Contreras made his Sox debut by drawing a walk. Caleb Durbin made his debut by grounding out to second to end the inning. Crochet got the ball in the bottom of the first and TJ Friedl grounded out to first to start. Matt McLain flied out to left and Elly De La Cruz grounded out to second to end the inning.
The Sox blew a rally in the top of the second as Wilyer Abreu beat out a roller to first to begin. Isiah Kiner-Falefa made his Sox debut by taking strike three but Carlos Narvaez got a base hit to right. Ceddanne Rafaela grounded into a double play to end the inning. Sal Stewart doubled to center to start the bottom of the second but Eugenio Suarez flied out to right. Spencer Steer walked but Tyler Stephenson flied out to left. Noelvi Marte struck out swinging to end the inning.
Anthony got a base hit to left to start the top of the third before Story lined out to left. Duran popped up to short and Contreras grounded out to short to end the inning. Ke'Bryan Hayes lined out to right to begin the bottom of the third before Friedl lined out to short. McLain struck out swinging to end the inning.
Durbin flied out to right to start the top of the fourth before Abreu grounded out to short. IKF grounded out to third to end the inning. De La Cruz went down hacking to start the bottom of the fourth before Stewart grounded out to third. It looked like Suarez walked but Narvaez challenged that it was a strike and sure enough, the call was overturned for strike three to end the inning.
Narvaez popped up to first to begin the top of the fifth before Rafaela lined a base hit past second baseman McLain. Anthony nearly took Stewart's head off with a line drive single but Story watched strike three go by. Duran struck out swinging to end the inning. Steer struck out swinging to start the bottom of the fifth before Durbin threw himself on a grounder by Stephenson and swam on it for an error. Marte took strike three and Hayes lined out to left to end the inning.
De La Cruz made a diving catch to rob Contreras of a base hit to begin the top of the sixth and Durbin grounded out to second. Abreu struck out swinging to end the inning. Crochet had one last inning in the bottom of the sixth and Friedl grounded out to short to start. McLain walked, De La Cruz singled to center and Stewart got a base hit to right to load the bases. Crochet struck out both Suarez and Steer back to back swinging to end his day. He had tossed 6 innings of shutout ball in his season debut.
The Sox picked up their ace in the top of the seventh as Pierce Johnson came in to pitch for the Reds. Marcelo Mayer pinch hit for IKF and doubled just past the reach of Steer. Narvaez dropped down a bunt to move Mayer to third and Rafaela knocked in the season's first run with a base hit to center. Sam Moll came in to face Anthony and struck him out swinging before Story forced Rafaela at second to end the inning with the Sox up 1-0.
Justin Slaten came in to pitch the bottom of the seventh and Stephenson walked to start. Will Benson pinch hit for Marte and struck out swinging before Hayes flied out to left. Friedl struck out swinging to end the inning.
Duran grounded out to short to start the top of the eighth and Graham Ashcraft came in to pitch to Contreras. Wilson struck out swinging but Durbin walked. Abreu grounded out to second to end the inning. Garrett "The Lock" Whitlock came in to pitch the bottom of the eighth and McLain flied out to left to start. De La Cruz struck out swinging but Stewart pounded a ground rule double down the right field line. Suarez struck out swinging to end the inning.
The Sox got some big insurance in the top of the ninth with Connor Phillips on the mound. Mayer got a base hit to left but Narvaez struck out swinging. Rafaela flied out to left and Anthony was rung up for stri....not so fast! Anthony challenged it was ball four and it was, drawing a walk. Story stepped up with a line drive base hit to left to score Mayer to send Phillips packing. Brock Burke was greeted by Duran with a base hit to right to score Anthony. Contreras hit one up the elevator shaft to end the inning with the Sox up 3-0.
Aroldis Chapman came in to close out the bottom of the ninth and Steer flied out to left to start. Tyler Stephenson flied out to center and Dane Myers pinch hit for Benson. Myers flied out to right to end the game. The Sox had won it 3-0.
Hero of The Night is Garrett Crochet. He dominated in his season debut tossing 6 innings of shutout ball while allowing 3 hits & 2 walks while striking out 8.
The Good:
Roman Anthony was 3 for 4 with a walk and a run scored.
Jarren Duran was 2 for 5 with an rbi and a stolen base.
Marcelo Mayer was 2 for 2 with 2 runs scored.
Carlos Narvaez was 1 for 3.
Ceddanne Rafaela was 2 for 4 with an rbi.
Justin Slaten tossed a scoreless seventh inning.
Garrett Whitlock tossed a scoreless eighth inning.
Aroldis Chapman earned his first save of the season with a scoreless ninth inning.
The Bad:
Isiah Kiner-Falefa was 0 for 2 with a strikeout.
The Ugly:
Trevor Story was just 1 for 5 with a strikeout but drove in a big insurance run.
Willson Contreras was 0 for 4 with a strikeout but walked.
Caleb Durbin was 0 for 3 with an error but drew a walk.
Wilyer Abreu was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout.
Final Thoughts:
Not much to complain about in this one. The offense was going to struggle to score runs with almost no power but getting clutch hits late is just what the doctor ordered. Roman Anthony and Ceddanne Rafaela picked up where they left off last year and Marcelo Mayer going 2 for 2 off the bench was a big lift. If Cora starting IKF was to send a message to Mayer to step it up, he might be listening. On the other side, once again the trio of Justin Slaten, Garrett Whitlock and Aroldis Chapman were unhittable. If Slaten is healthy this year, this bullpen might be as devastating as last year. I know Cora likes to ease the starters into throwing long early on but that wears out the bullpen. Still, with a better rotation on paper than last year, guys should be able to go 6 innings rather than 4-5 like last year. That's down the road, today it was Game 1 and the Red Sox looked pretty good. After an off-day tomorrow the Sox look to keep the momentum going on Saturday afternoon when Sonny Gray makes his Red Sox debut against Brady Singer of Cincinnati. The game begins at 4:10 PM at Great American Ballpark.
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