Final Score: Boston Red Sox 2, Oakland Athletics 1So let me get this straight: Opening day in Japan, opening day in Oakland, opening day in Toronto and then the home opener in Fenway next week. By my count that’s 4 opening days and all the stress that comes with it. Not for the Sox (honestly I think they could care less) but I am on the edge of my seat for 2 solid weeks! Yeah I know it’s only April (I hate saying that), but these are big crowds, big games and big stages for this team to make their first impression.
So here is opener #2 and how do they look? Yeah, not bad.
Dice-K looked awesome. He had his K ball running, he gave up a HR to Cust and a single… and then NADA. Nothing. No walks or other base knocks over 6 and two thirds. This guy could be the big piece this year if he lives up to his rep. This is a good start.
The pen was solid too. Oki pitched an inning and had some luck, but managed to keep the score the same. Papelbon was called to get 4 outs and he did so with dominance. He got a grounder in the 8th, but in the 9th it was all K and it was all good. The scare in Japan was no big deal. The Paps is still king.
But enough waxing positive about pitching, lets delve into the middling bats. The Sox strung together 9 hits and looked to break it open a few times in this game, but clutch hits were few and far between. Tek got ROBBED on a homerun (umps called it a RBI double), Youk had a monster game (big triple and both runs scored) and Jacoby reminded us all why we love him with a big RBI, but that was the best it got. Papi still is rocking a .000 BA and couldn’t come up big with the bases loaded and both Coco and Lowell struck out a couple times. Yeah the win was great, but I may start to worry about where the runs are going to come from.
So can we call this a season in a bottle? Of course not. Is this the best it is going to get? Don’t even think that. I just feel that this could be a foretelling of things to come… wins… but close wins. Who knows? It’s still only April.
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