Red Sox Home Opener- Thursday

Opening Day at Fenway finally arrived. David Ortiz and Aly Raisman yelled “play ball”, and Sox Nation rose to their feet. David Price had yet another successful game. Still with a 0.00 ERA, he held off runs for all seven innings he pitched. The frigid temperature couldn’t hold the Sox back from winning their home opener. The game was lacking any action until the seventh inning, when Tampa scored two runs. Then the eighth inning rolled around, and the Sox were running out of time… or so you thought. The Red Sox came back in the eighth inning to tie the game. Extra innings approached, and Fenway was still alive. Now into the 12th inning, Fenway started to heat up. Bases were loaded with Hanley Ramirez up at bat. Hanley hit a fly ball towards center field to carry in Mookie Betts to win the game 3-2. Bobby Poyner made his first appearance and struck out three Rays.

The Sox Grand Slam Has Arrived – Saturday

Xander Bogaerts has been on fire. He ended Saturday’s game with six RBI’s, and the coveted honor of hitting the first grand slam since September of 2016. Then, J.D. Martinez finally hit a long-awaited home run over the Monster. The defense was playing in a way that is something the organization could get used to. Jackie Bradley Jr. continued to show his strength in the outfield, along with a solid resume for a Gold Glove. Rick Porcello continued the great pitching from the starters, striking out seven of Tampa Bay Rays players. With Bogaerts’s grand slam, the Rays began to run through their bullpen. Ending the game at 10-3, the Red Sox were up 7-1 and still first in the AL East.

“He’s been an unbelievable hitter every year, Now he’s doing it with power. He’s a big threat at the plate. He always had that ability.” said Rick Porcello on Xander’s hitting.

“We can do that often. We feel we have a good offensive team. It’s just a matter of time,” said Alex Cora on the Red Sox defense.

The Best Comeback – Sunday

Eduardo Rodriguez made his official debut for the season. And Boston came back from a five run deficit. Up until the eighth inning, the Sox lineup had only gotten four hits. With six runs in the eighth, the Red Sox took the lead. Andrew Benintendi finally had his game winning moment. Hitting an RBI to bring in Mookie Betts, Benintendi hit to the warning track. For the first time in franchise history, the Red Sox are on an eight game win streak, with an 8-1 record so far. A final score of 8-7 the Sox swept the Rays at Fenway to prepare for the Yankees. Unfortunately, Xander Bogaerts was taken off the field with an ankle injury, which placed him on the DL, and Tzu Wei Lin was called up.

“First of all we pushed them to bring him in early. After that it was good at-bat after good at-bat. It was fun to watch.” said Cora.

“He’s human, so everybody can kind of go through a stretch. But we’re some good hitters, too,” Betts said. “I think it’s a mix of us putting together some good at-bats and putting some pressure and making him make pitches.”

Sources

Red Sox

MLB

ESPN