BOSTON – For at least one night, the Boston Red Sox didn’t miss the Mookie Betts bat.
JD Martinez and Kevin Pillar each drove in three races, and the Red Sox passed the Baltimore Orioles 13-2 on Friday night in the first regular-season baseball test at Fenway Park during the coronavirus pandemic.
Jackie Bradley Jr., José Peraza, Martínez and Pillar each doubled as part of a four-run third inning. Boston went ahead in the fourth, sending 11 hitters to the plate and adding six more runs.
Peraza finished with four hits, and Boston had eight doubles and 17 hits.
“It is contagious,” Martinez said. “Most pitchers when you press on them, it’s a difficult situation.”
Nathan Eovaldi (1-0) allowed just one run and five hits, striking out four in six innings on the opening day of his career.
Eovaldi’s first launch of the night was 100 mph. Manager Ron Roenicke said he set the tone.
“I thought everything he did was exactly what he wanted and we wanted,” said Roenicke.
Eovaldi mixed his slider and cutter very early, but his biggest surprise was a locker room malfunction in the third.
Eovaldi, who wears number 17, mistakenly used one of No. 7 from catcher Christian Vasquez in the third inning after swapping a sweaty one. Both players used No. 7 in the inning.
“Once I got back to the shelter they said, ‘Okay, Vasque,'” said Eovaldi. “It was a little tight in my arms.”
Baltimore starter Tommy Milone (0-1) received his first opening day nod after left-hander All-Star John Means experienced arm fatigue. He gave up four runs, four hits, three walks, had a wild pitch and struck out five. Rio Ruiz homered in the seventh.
“For me, I’d like to eliminate this,” Orioles manager Brandon Hyde said of the Baltimore team launch night.
As in other opening day games around the major leagues, spectators were not allowed on Friday inside the legendary Boston park. But there were cardboard cutouts of Red Sox fans placed on the seats above the Green Monster to serve as virtual witnesses to the franchise’s version of the league’s new normal.
Friday also marked Boston’s first regular-season game since an offseason restructuring that included a pay change from Betts and pitcher David Price to the Dodgers, and Alex Cora’s departure as manager for his role in an illegal system. signal theft when he was with the Houston Astros.
Roenicke, who served as Cora’s bench coach for two seasons and succeeded him as manager just prior to the start of spring training, earned his first managerial victory since completing a five-year term with the Brewers in 2015.
“It’s nice to me that the first one is like this,” he said.
TRIBUTES BEFORE THE GAME
There were continuous nods to the nation’s social justice movement before the game. Players from both teams wore Black Lives Matter jerseys and a Major League Baseball-issued Black Lives Matter sign stretched across the stands in center field.
Players from both teams knelt while holding a black ribbon in a moment of unity before the game. During the national anthem, Red Sox outfielders Jackie Bradley Jr. and Alex Verdugo continued to kneel and were joined by third base coach Carlos Febles and first base coach Tom Goodwin. The Orioles players stood with their arms joined.
“It felt good,” said Bradley Jr. “It felt like a release to be able to do that.”
There was also a moment of silence in honor of those who died during the pandemic and by medical workers.
ADDITIONAL OPPORTUNITIES
Roenicke said he believes the new expanded playoff format should increase his team’s chances of reaching the postseason.
“I think knowing if we have that extra playoff spot or two helps us,” he said. “I’m not planning to end there. But it does and we get in very well.”
COACH ROOM
Orioles: OF Trey Mancini said Friday that he “feels good” as he continues to receive chemotherapy treatment every two weeks after colon cancer surgery on March 12. It is out of season and he will watch his teammates from afar. “I know I will eventually get back to them, but right now I am more concerned about my treatments,” said Mancini, who hopes to end the chemotherapy sessions on September 21.
UNTIL NEXT TIME
Orioles: Right-hander Alex Cobb makes his first outing since April 26, 2019, after missing most of the season with a hip injury that required surgery in June. He was 0-2 with a 10.95 ERA in three starts.
Red Sox: Martin Pérez makes his Red Sox debut after signing as a free agent this offseason. He pitched relieved in his first three outings of 2019, but started in the last 29 appearances. He was 10-7 with a 5.12 ERA.
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