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Before we turn the page completely on the Red Sox’s season opener loss, however, let’s go over a few notes, starting with a bright spot in Boston’s otherwise bleak day at baseball stadium.
– Nathan Eovaldi, who won the start of the opening day in place of injured Eduardo Rodriguez, was solid in 5 1/3 innings. He allowed just one run on four hits while striking out four and walking one.
Eovaldi, who threw 89 pitches, sat down at around 96-96 mph with his fastball. Most notably, it flashed a great pitch mix, including an efficient slider, which fell by the wayside last season, and a nice splitter.
“It’s funny. Just yesterday I was playing with the splitter and I felt a click,” Eovaldi said after Friday’s loss. “I don’t know, for me, when I feel something click in the common sense, it’s as if I found that confidence with him. “
The Red Sox rotation is filled with equal potential and question marks, and Eovaldi’s first start to 2021 was a promising sign for a unit seeking stability.
– Tip of the cap to the first goal of the Orioles Trey Mancini. He missed the 2020 campaign after being diagnosed with stage 3 colon cancer, but returned to the regular season on Friday reaching base twice and scoring a run.
Xander Bogaerts was among those who welcomed Mancini with open arms.
– Kiké Hernández, who led for Boston, made his first home plate appearance with the Red Sox.
The problem? He was then chosen for a play that sparked a review lasting two minutes and 32 seconds.
Hernández rolled his ankle as he retreated to first base and pulled away from the sack slightly, in which case Mancini scored him. Difficult break. And as boring as it is what we use these days. But I digress.
The pick-off didn’t seem like much at the time, but on a day when Means turned out to be nearly unassailable, it’s fair to say that all sort of game-opening momentum was lost there.
– Hernández’s day really took a turn for the worse in the sixth inning when a hard ball on the ground hit at second base gnawed at him. The error prevented what would have been a late-inning double play.
“Without a doubt,” Hernández said. “… If I catch that ball it’s a double play and no runs would have scored this inning.
Instead, Orioles rookie Ryan Mountcastle passed Matt Andriese with the bases loaded to give Baltimore a 2-0 lead.
– Something to consider: Andriese walked the first hitter he faced, Mancini, after succeeding Eovaldi with a sixth inning out. Hernández made the game modification error two throws later.
However, things could have turned out very differently if Andriese had received that 3-2 call from home plate umpire Joe West:
Christian Vazquez shot to second base after the payoff offer and would have had Pedro Severino dead on the right for a late inning, removing them, throwing them in double play if the pitch had been called a strike.
– Hirokazu Sawamura, who came from Japan this offseason, made his major league debut in the ninth inning and looked dirty. He could be a huge hunk in the back of the Boston relievers box.
– Only four men made it to base for the Red Sox, who had just two hits. (JD Martinez doubled up with two strikeouts in the ninth inning.)
This is the first time the Red Sox have been excluded on opening day since 1976.
– Keep in mind: the Red Sox lost on opening day in 2004, 2007 and 2018. Everything went well.
– For Cora, how did you feel to be back in the canoe, apart from the result?
“It was good,” said the skipper, who was out of baseball last season while serving a one-year suspension for his involvement in the Houston Astros sign-stealing scandal. “I know how the fans feel. I’ve been saying this from the start – some agree with this, some don’t. I just want those who don’t give me a chance.
Thumbnail photo via Gregory Fisher / USA TODAY Sports Images
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