A Memorial Day to Forget

Sunday, May 28, 2017 – Fenway Park, Section 43

Mariners 5, Red Sox 0

Sunday of Memorial Day weekend brought a sunny morning, and my warmest game of the year so far.  (With all the cold ones I’ve sat through all it took was 62° to beat my previous high.)  I drove in early and parked for free at a meter down the street from Kenmore Square.  I went in the early entrance line for season ticket holders and Red Sox Nation members.  I started on the Green Monster, but moved down to the bleachers when I saw that the pitchers were warming up in right field.

Why so many pictures from before the game started, and so few from the actual game?  Because the pre-game was my favorite part of the day.  I came in in a good mood, as the Sox had won six in a row, capped by rookie Brian Johnson’s complete game gem the day before.  I was comfortable in short sleeves, enjoying the morning sun.  It was all good… and then the game started.

Rick Porcello gave up 2 runs in 6 2/3 innings, which should be enough.  But the offense had disappeared again.  The Red Sox got people on base, but ended each of the first four innings with a double play.  Very frustrating!  It’s pretty hard to win a game without scoring any runs.  And then the bullpen, normally very good, gave up two homers and let the game get out of reach.  By the end, we were watching the Red Sox debut of journeyman reliever Blaine Boyer, who was only supposed to be on the roster for a day, between sending Brian Johnson back down after his spot start and activating David Price off the D.L. the next day.  (As it turned out, Boyer got the last two outs of the ninth quickly, and got to stay on the roster.)

All that added up to a frustrating end to what could have been an enjoyable day, and a game I’d rather forget.

For The Record

Wednesday, May 24, 2017 – Fenway Park, Section 34

Red Sox 9, Rangers 4

There was an extra buzz heading into my next game.  I was excited to see Chris Sale, only the second time I’ve gotten to see him this season.  He had struck out at least 10 batters in each of his past eight games, a major league record he shares with Pedro Martinez.  If he could repeat that feat again tonight, he’d set a new record.  And starting with a 10-run ninth inning earlier in the month, the offense had finally started scoring runs when he was pitching.  I was also happy that it was a sunny day, making it my warmest game of the year.  (Game time temp was announced at 59°, but it felt warmer.  I had a jacket for later, but I finally didn’t need all the winter accessories.)

It was also the major league debut of first base prospect Sam Travis.  He was called up for a few days as the Sox swapped fifth starters, and would provide a day off for Mitch Moreland, who had played in almost every game because Hanley Ramirez’s injuries prevented him from playing in the field.

Sale started off by striking out the leadoff batter.  But when the next batter grounded out to third on the first pitch, everyone groaned.  Even though it would keep his pitch count low, we wanted a 10-K game.  The third batter hit a fly to right to complete a quick, efficient inning, but Sale still had nine strikeouts to go.  He did get two K’s in the second but only one more in the third.  He was perfect through the first three innings, but only had four strikeouts.

In the bottom of the third, the Red Sox accomplished that rarest of feats – they scored a run in a Chris Sale game.  Deven Marrero singled and stole second, and then Mookie Betts drove him in with a single.

But that’s all the Sox would get in the inning, and then in the fourth the Rangers tied it up with a cheesy little run on a walk, passed ball, groundout, and sac fly.  There were no K’s in the inning – “That’s why it’s a record,” said the woman next to me, as the realization set in that he wasn’t going to get to ten – but Sale had something better going, as he had completed four innings without giving up a hit.

“Old friend” Mike Napoli got a nice hand when the lineups were announced, when he came to bat the first time, and when he struck out in the second.  He even helped us further by dropping a foul pop fly for an error in the fourth, even though it didn’t end up amounting to anything.  But when he broke up the no-hitter by launching one of his trademarked homers over the Green Monster in the fifth to give the Rangers the lead, I wrote in my scorecard, “Nap’s not my friend anymore.”  They tacked on another run that inning, too, putting the Sox down 3-1.

Texas pitcher Martin Perez was already over 100 pitches when he came out to start the seventh inning.  After getting one quick out, he gave up two singles and was lifted from the game.  (One of the hits was Sam Travis’s second of the game – and of his career.)  The new pitcher was greeted by pinch-hitter Mitch Moreland (in for Sandy Leon), who singled to drive in a run, and pinch-hitter Josh Rutledge (in for Marrero), who drove in the tying run.  After Mookie was intentionally walked, a wild pitch scored the go-ahead run, and then Dustin Pedroia knocked in two more.  Xander Bogaerts followed with a double, and Hanley Ramirez was intentionally walked.  Chris Young’s bases-loaded walk pushed another run across, and Andrew Benintendi’s sac fly plated the seventh run of the inning.  (Once the Sox had taken the lead and Napoli dropped another foul popup for an error, I wrote, “OK, he’s my friend again.”)  When it was all said and done, the Sox had sent 12 men to the plate, scored seven runs, and now led 8-3.

Sale came back out for the eighth, and got one out before allowing another run on four hits.  He finished with “only” six strikeouts, so it wouldn’t be a record ninth straight 10-K game, but the important thing was that he was lined up for the win.

Joe Kelly pitched the final inning and two-thirds to seal the win, and I finally got to see “Win, Dance, Repeat” again.

A Mid-Season Signing

Saturday, May 20, 2017 – Franklin, MA

In May, David Ortiz’s new book, Papi: My Story, was due out, and he did a handful of book signings in the Boston area.  I saw that there was one on a Saturday, at BJ’s Wholesale Club in Franklin, and pretty much knew I had to go.  It had been almost two months since I last met him at an event to launch his wine label, Arias, and I joked that I had to go to the book signing so he wouldn’t start to miss me too much.  The signing was limited to one copy per BJ’s membership, so I went out the night before and signed up for a trial membership so I wouldn’t have to waste time in the morning.

The event was scheduled for 10:00-12:00, with the store opening at 9.  I got up early and made it there by 8:15.  I couldn’t believe how full the parking lot was at that hour.  The line started outside the doors, went along the whole front of the store, turned the corner, and went two-thirds of the way toward the back, and it just got longer as we waited.  Rumor had it that the people at the front of the line had gotten there at 10:00 the night before!  (Three days after I sat through a 45° game on Mother’s Day, we were treated to two 90° days and an 80° one the day before the signing, so it actually would have been a decent night for them to camp out.)

When the store opened at 9:00, the line moved up.  Once in the store, I bought my copy of the book and followed the line down the designated aisles.  I was about five aisles down, with the dog and cat food, for the next hour and a half.  As I waited, I got a chance to read the first couple of chapters, on Papi’s childhood and his time in the low minors.

When I got to the front of the line, they were trying to move everyone through so quickly that I forgot my lines.  I had been planning to say that I was enjoying drinking his wine, but instead all I came up with was a generic, “Thank you very much, Big Papi!”  Oh well.

The book is an entertaining look at one of Boston’s biggest stars, and had plenty of stories about his career that I hadn’t heard before.  You can get your copy on Amazon if you haven’t grabbed one yet.

(For those keeping score at home, this now marked two occasions in recent months that I’ve seen Big Papi, but I’ve only seen Chris Sale pitch once.  What’s wrong with this picture?  Luckily, that was set to be remedied in my next game, a few days away.)

Mother Nature’s Day

Sunday, May 14, 2017 – Fenway Park, Section 33

Rays 11, Red Sox 2

The weather forecast wasn’t good for Mother’s Day weekend.  Heavy rain was due in Saturday evening and throughout Sunday.  The Rays do make another trip to Fenway, in September, so they would be able to make up a game if they had to, but they wouldn’t want to make up two.  The Red Sox moved the start of Saturday’s game from 7:10 to 1:05 with the hopes that they could get it in before the rain.  I know they’ve said in the past they try to avoid moving game times earlier if at all possible because of people’s travel plans to get there, so to me this extreme measure meant that they knew there was no way they’d play Sunday, and they wanted to make sure to at least get one game in.  (Or maybe it was just so they wouldn’t have to wait an extra six hours to watch Chris Sale.)  The move paid off; Sale dominated, the offense backed him up with run support, and the rain held off until later.  It rained hard all night, and I expected Sunday’s game to be called around 10 am, saving us all the trip.

In the morning, the Red Sox tweeted that they planned to play, but knowing that there’d be no batting practice to watch, I waited until just before noon to start my drive in.  I found a spot a block down from Kenmore Square, and as I walked up to the ballpark it was down to just a drizzle.  Play ball!

My seat in Section 33 was technically under cover, so it wasn’t as bad as if I had been in the bleachers, but that section is open from behind, and the wind was swirling the mist underneath so that my camera and scorecard were getting rained on.  It was a day game in mid-May, but it was the coldest one I had been to this year (not counting the Frozen Fenway hockey games in January of course).  As the game went on, I added all my layers: knit hat, hooded sweatshirt, scarf over my legs like a blanket.  (I try to avoid gloves, though, because it makes it hard to keep score.)  I’ve gotta give credit to the two hardy New Englanders I saw eating ice cream… but only if they stuck it out till the end of the game like me.

And this game wasn’t ending any time soon.  Drew Pomeranz works slowly to start with, and he had already thrown 57 pitches and allowed two runs when he took the field for the top of the fourth.  Suddenly the trainers joined him on the mound, and he was on his way out of the game.  We heard later that it was tightness in his left triceps.  Ben Taylor got all the time he needed to warm up, then came in and gave up another run, putting the Sox down 3-1.

The Sox clawed some of the way back in the fifth inning, but even that ended in frustration.  They sent 7 men to the plate, and Dustin Pedroia’s single pulled the Sox to within one run.  But Christian Vazquez was thrown out at the plate, and Andrew Benintendi flied out with the bases loaded to end the threat with just one run in.

At the end of the seventh enough people had left that I was able to move over to Section 29, which was under cover and also had a solid wall behind it, meaning no rainy, gusty wind.  The sky even brightened for a few minutes, causing everyone to shout, “The sun’s coming out!” but it quickly clouded over again.  From the new seat I was able to see the clock over the back of the bleachers and noticed that we were already at the three-and-a-half-hour mark, with two innings still left to play.

It’s a good thing my new seat was (slightly) more comfortable, because the game still had a way to go.  After Ben Taylor threw two innings of relief, Fernando Abad got the first two outs of the sixth.  Matt Barnes finished the sixth and stayed in for the seventh, giving up the fourth Tampa run in the process.  Robbie Ross notched a strikeout to end the seventh, completed the eighth by stranding two baserunners, and then came back out for the ninth.  He gave up a run on three hits and managed to get two outs along the way.  With two out and two on and the Sox down 5-2 in the ninth, Heath Hembree came in, and the next four batters went like this: RBI single, RBI single, RBI single, three-run homer.  When the inning mercifully came to a close, seven Tampa runs had crossed the plate, and they now led 11-2.

The bottom of the ninth went quickly, and the game finally ended just after 6:00.  The official time of game was 4:32, just 13 minutes shy of the all-time record for longest 9-inning game (which I also had the dubious pleasure of attending, back in 2006.)  I don’t mind sitting through uncomfortable weather when the game play is good, but there was just nothing good to come out of this one.

Bean Town

Wednesday, May 3, 2017 – Fenway Park, Section 7

Red Sox 4, Orioles 2

Two days after my last game I was headed back to Fenway.  (Unfortunately for me the one I missed was another brilliant outing by Chris Sale.)  A co-worker’s nephew had an extra ticket, and he let me use it.  It was another cool night, not as cold as my previous game, but with a steady breeze all night.

When asked at work, I gave my opinion that all the bean ball business between the Red Sox and Orioles from earlier in the series had run its course.  Even though Sale had thrown behind Manny Machado last night in the latest installment of the drama that had begun when Machado spiked Dustin Pedroia on his way into second base a week earlier, it felt like the whole thing had stretched on long enough and was all played out.

Drew Pomeranz didn’t exactly start the game off on a good note.  The first batter doubled, and the second reached on an error after Marco Hernandez bobbled a grounder to third.  Hernandez was immediately pulled from the game for Josh Rutledge, who had come off the D.L. a week earlier.  Hernandez had made two errors in Monday’s game, too, and at first I wondered if John Farrell couldn’t take it anymore.  It turned out, though, that Marco had suffered a shoulder subluxation, and was added the the D.L. himself the next day.

The problem with watching Pomeranz is that he pitches very slowly, and he’s lined up in the rotation to follow Chris Sale, who works so quickly, making the contrast that much more noticeable.  The inning continued with a passed ball and a full-count walk to load the bases.  Pomeranz wound up throwing an astounding 34 pitches in the first inning, and I was having flashbacks to the Daisuke Matsuzaka era.  But like Dice-K, he managed to Houdini his way out of it.  The error and passed ball weren’t his fault, and he struck out Jonathan Schoop to end the inning without any runs.

Quote o’ the day: The guy in front of me turned around at the end of the very long first inning, saw that I was keeping score, and said, “If the whole game goes like this, you’re going to run out of ink.”

I will say that Pomeranz recovered nicely.  Not only did he escape the first inning without giving up any runs, but he had 1-2-3 innings in both the second and third, throwing only 10 pitches in each frame, so that by the end of the third his pitch count was a respectable 54.  But by then, we had all forgotten about his first inning, given what happened in the second…

Baltimore pitcher Kevin Gausman hit Xander Bogaerts with a pitch leading off the second inning.  It was a 77-mph curveball, which would indicate that there was no intent, but the umpires were on high alert after the bad blood that had been building since the last series between these two teams.  Home plate ump Sam Holbrook ejected Gausman immediately.  (Strangely, manager Buck Showalter was not tossed, and warnings were only issued after the play.)  The new pitcher, Richard Bleier, had all the time he needed to warm up, and Showalter spent the time stomping around the infield and complaining.  When the inning resumed, Mitch Moreland walked, and Josh Rutledge singled to drive Bogaerts in with the first run of the game.

The Red Sox scored three more runs in the fourth, thanks to a double by Chris Young and an error by Orioles shortstop J.J. Hardy that allowed Boagerts to reach ahead of him.  I thought Hardy had another error later in the inning when, with runners on second and third, he fielded a grounder and threw home with the throw sailing way over everyone’s reach.  (It turned out that was just scored as a fielder’s choice – he could have thrown to first and retired the runner, but chose to go home.  If they think the run would have scored anyway, they couldn’t charge an error if no one else advanced as a result of the throw being off.)  That all gets noted on my scorecard – maybe I was in danger of running out of ink!

In the top of the fifth, Pomeranz struck out Adam Jones.  When Jones said something the ump didn’t like, he tossed him too.  Thank you, Sam Holbrook!  The Orioles did finally push across two runs in the sixth, knocking Pomeranz from the game in the process.  Heath Hembree got out of the sixth, and Matt Barnes and Robby Scott took care of the seventh and eighth. (Meanwhile, after Bleier finished four innings of relief, the Orioles had to bring in Ubaldo Jimenez, who was supposed to be tomorrow’s starter, for the final three innings.)

In the bottom of the seventh, I moved over to some vacated seats in Section 12.  I could have gone further toward the infield, but I actually wanted to sit where I’d have a good view of the outfielders doing Win, Dance, Repeat if the score held up.  This was my fifth game of the year, but I hadn’t seen a win since Opening Day, exactly a month ago.  All that was left was for Craig Kimbrel to close it out, and he had no problem doing just that, with three quick strikeouts preserving the much-needed win.

Here’s my video of the outfield dance, featuring Andrew Benintendi, Mookie Betts, and Chris Young:

Fenway Parking

Monday, May 1, 2017 – Fenway Park, Section 32

Orioles 5, Red Sox 2

As a season ticket holder, I earn rewards points by checking in to games and watching for code words, and there are items we can buy and raffles we can enter with the points.  This year, I entered and won a raffle to “park in the players’ parking lot” at the corner of Yawkey Way and Van Ness St., near the Gate D entrance, for the May 1st game.  I’ve spent many hours over the years standing across the street from the parking lot before and after big games to watch the players pull in.  They have metal barriers blocking off half of that block of the street, with only the far sidewalk available for pedestrians.  I remember having seen Curt Schilling’s Hummer, David Ortiz’s Lamborghini, Trot Nixon climbing comically out of a Mini Cooper one time, and even Jonathan Papelbon’s dog.  The lot itself is such a small wedge-shaped area that they often park the extra cars on the near sidewalk and along the side of the road in the section that’s blocked off.  I laughed at the thought of my dusty ten-year-old compact car among the players’ fancy rides, and wondered which player would end up with his car parked on the street because they had promised a spot to a fan.

The Red Sox mailed me a special permit, and I showed it to the cops and parking lot attendants, who moved the barriers so I could drive in.  I had been imagining posing for some pictures with my car after they drove it into the lot, so I was surprised when the guy parked it along the street in the blocked off area.  Alrighty then.  Well, it was still a good close spot right next to the ballpark that I didn’t have to pay for.  (Of course, I normally park a few miles away and then take the T, so it really only saved me the cost of a round-trip Charlie ticket.)  Since the main gates hadn’t opened yet, I went in the early entrance line at Gate C, which is available for season ticket holders and Red Sox Nation members.

My seat was in the left field grandstand, and a pole blocked the plate.  Luckily the person in the seat next to me never showed, and I was able to move over and see everything.  Despite the calendar now saying May, it was cold enough that I could see my breath, and a little drizzly.

In the series with the Orioles the previous week in Baltimore, Manny Machado had initiated some bad blood when he slid into second with his feet high, spiking Dustin Pedroia in the knee that he had had surgery on over the winter and knocking him out of the lineup for a few days.  When Matt Barnes threw near Machado’s head later in the series, he was suspended for four games.  Machado, however, was never brought to justice for his role in starting the whole thing, and he was getting soundly booed all night long at Fenway.

The first six innings were frustrating enough with the lack of offense and the fact that public enemy #1 Machado had clubbed a homer way over the Monster.  It got worse when Orioles pitcher Dylan Bundy drilled Mookie Betts in obviously intentional fashion, yet somehow avoided any kind of warning or ejection.  And then in the eighth, the Red Sox completely imploded.  With one out and a runner on, the next three plays all resulted in errors.  There was a throwing error by Hembree, a fielding error by Marco Hernandez at third, and a bad throw by Andrew Benintendi in left.  That was followed by a single and a sacrifice fly, and the Red Sox found themselves down 5-0.

They finally got something going in the bottom of the eighth, when Hernandez and Bogaerts opened the inning with hits.  Marco scored the first Red Sox run on Benintendi’s single.  Then one out later, Hanley Ramirez lined a hit into left, and I turned toward home to capture a shot of the runner(s) crossing the plate.  Bogaerts made it safely across, but when I looked back to the basepaths, Benintendi and Hanley had both wound up on second base.  Oops!  Beni was ruled out, and the chance for a rally was quickly extinguished.  Just to really add insult to injury, Hernandez made another error in the ninth – his second, and the team’s fourth, of the game.

I had moved down to a close seat behind third base, so when the game was over it took a few minutes to get through the stream of exiting fans and over to the ladies’ room.  Even with that detour, the advantage to my special parking space came quickly into play.  I took one step out the Gate D doors and saw my car.  I got in and a cop was there motioning me to the left onto Yawkey Way, and when I got to Boylston St. there was another cop waving me on to make that left turn.  Even with cars double parked on Comm. Ave. and having to pull over for an ambulance, I made it to the Mass. Pike headed for home within ten minutes.  It’s sad when the best part of the game is being able to get out of there in a hurry, but I was definitely glad I could.

Thank You, Trot

Saturday, April 29, 2017

Fitton Field, Worcester

I always say that if I could personally thank every one of the 2004 Red Sox, I would.  Over the years, I have gotten to meet and thank several of the players, and I have a photo of me with the World Series trophy that I’ve been collecting autographs of the members of the ‘04 team on ever since Spring Training of 2005.  So when I heard that Trot Nixon, the original dirt dog, was going to be in Worcester, I knew I had to go.

The event, open to the public, was held on the Holy Cross campus at Fitton Field, home of Holy Cross’s baseball team and, in the summer, of the Worcester Bravehearts, a team in the Futures Collegiate Baseball League.  (They play the Brockton Rox and Nashua Silver Knights, among other local teams, and half the players on each team either grew up in New England or currently attend a college in the area.)  The Bravehearts were promoting ticket sales for their coming games, and the day marked the opening of the Worcester Little League season, with food and activities for the kids.  Besides the mayor and league officials, the speakers included Trot Nixon, a fan favorite (who played his intense style of baseball well before any of the Little League kids were born) and member of the 2004 World Champion Red Sox.  With the kids lined up in their team uniforms ringing the infield, he talked about how much he loves the game, and encouraged the kids to find time to practice every day.  After the speeches, he signed autographs and posed for pictures with anyone who wanted one.

When my turn came, I thanked him for 2004, and added, “And for that walk-off home run in the playoffs in ‘03.  I went to that one, and we were hugging random strangers by the end.”  That was Game 3 of the ALDS against Oakland.  The Sox had gone down 0-2 in the series, and it took an eleventh inning pinch-hit home run by Trot to extend the series, which they would eventually come back to win.  It was a crazy game, with bizarre obstruction calls and the play where Eric Byrnes got tagged out by Jason Varitek after he failed to touch the plate.  I was sitting in an obstructed view seat right behind a pole, and really did end up hugging the woman next to me at the end.

There are still a bunch of players from 2004 who I haven’t had the pleasure to meet yet, but it was fun to cross another name off the list.

Can’t Buy A Run

Thursday, April 27, 2017 – Fenway Park, Section 43

Yankees 3, Red Sox 0

A rainout on Tuesday night pushed all the pitchers back a day, meaning that instead of seeing Drew Pomeranz pitch against the Yankees, I was going to get to witness the artistry of Chris Sale, who was off to a ridiculously dominant start.  Coming into tonight’s game, he had made four starts, going at least seven innings in each, with an ERA of 0.91 and a league-leading 42 strikeouts.  The problem had been run support.  His teammates had provided only four total runs of support while he was on the mound over those four starts, and as a result he had a very unfairly pedestrian-looking 1-1 record.

(I swear I took some pictures that weren’t of Chris Sale.  They’re in here somewhere…)

(OK, so not that one, but here are a few…)

(And now back to our regularly-scheduled programming…)

As awesome as Sale’s pitching was – and he really is fun to watch – the offense did nothing to help him out.  He pitched just like his other starts, working very quickly, so that the end of the eighth inning came right at the two-hour mark of the game.  That’s fast by any standard, but especially for a Red Sox-Yankees game.  (I once went to a game between these two teams that lasted 4 hours and 45 minutes – the longest 9-inning game in MLB history!)  It was unfortunate when an unearned run crossed the plate for the Yankees in the fourth (single, groundout, passed ball, sacrifice fly).  Sale gave up one more run in the ninth (and was charged with another after he came out), causing his ERA to “skyrocket” all the way up to 1.19.

It ended up the third shutout for the Red Sox offense in their last seven games.  It was frustrating to waste such a good start, as Sale now had a mere four total runs of support over his first five starts.  At least it was so fast that the game was over at 9:30, and I was all the way back home at 10:45.

Ready for the punchline?

I’d like to buy some runs, but I guess they’re… (wait for it…) not for Sale.

— Kristen C (@Red_Sox_Diehard) April 28, 2017

Knuckled Under

Wednesday, April 12, 2017 – Fenway Park, Section 43

Orioles 12, Red Sox 5

You could say the first week of the season “flu” by, with many key players on the team hit by either influenza, a stomach bug, or a respiratory bug, all of which were circulating through the clubhouse.  Add to that two players on the bereavement list at the same time, and transportation issues when they attempted to return.  Play-by-play announcer Dave O’Brien even had to leave one broadcast half-way through due to illness.  But after a road trip to Detroit which caused the Tigers to have the visiting clubhouse fumigated when they left, the team returned to Fenway in much better shape, with the full lineup they envisioned all winter (with the exception of Jackie Bradley, Jr., on the D.L. with a sprained knee).

For me, it was the first game of the year in my familiar Tenth Man Plan seats in Section 43.

Unfortunately, Wright’s knuckleball wasn’t exactly knuckling.  He gave up two homers as the Orioles batted around in the first and two more in the second, and the Sox were down 8-0 when he exited the game.  I didn’t have the flu, but I sure felt like puking.

Once they were down 9-0, the Red Sox did try to make a comeback.  The first run scored in the third on a sac fly.  Three more came in the fourth, capped by a homer by Pablo Sandoval.  In the fifth they had the bases loaded with one out, and when Xander Bogaerts drove in their fifth run, that brought the tying run to the plate.  Unfortunately that was as close as they’d get.

When Ben Taylor finished his 3-2/3 innings of relief, Fernando Abad was next, making his first appearance of the season.  My favorite thing about Abad is getting to make “Abad pun” every time he pitches.  Tonight he did well, which I called “Agood Abad outing,” and then when Joe Kelly allowed three more runs in the eighth, “This game just went from Abad to worse.”  (Sorry, but with a game like this, I had to do something to stay amused.)

Game 1 A.D.

Monday, April 3, 2017 – Fenway Park, Section 32

Red Sox 5, Pirates 3

Every year, I make the same tweet on the morning of the home opener:

#OpeningDay is my favorite holiday. Sorry, Christmas!

— Kristen C (@Red_Sox_Diehard) April 3, 2017

Though this marked my 17th Fenway Park Opening Day, there were a couple of things different this year: they opened the season at home for a change (2002, ‘09, and ‘10 being the other times since I started going), and this was the first in a long time without the services of David Ortiz.  While I was going to miss the irreplaceable Big Papi, Year 1 A. D. (After David) brought a young, exciting team, and opening at home meant we got to see reigning Cy Young winner Rick Porcello on the mound.  I got to Fenway around 10:30 and made a couple of laps around the outside of the ballpark.

When they got to the infield, we finally got a break in the case of who stole Tom Brady’s historic Super Bowl LI game shirt.  But don’t worry, the thief was chased down and apprehended by Brady himself.  Following is a slide show of the still pictures I took as it all unfolded:

Once the five Patriots said, “Play ball!” the game was underway.  Rick Porcello picked up right where he left off at the end of the ‘16 season, retiring the side in order in the first on just 11 pitches.  In the second, the Pirates got their first baserunner, who was promptly gunned down by Sandy Leon as he tried to steal.  “He’s not even our best defensive catcher!” I yelled, not as a slight to Sandy, who’s a good defensive catcher in his own right, but as a compliment to Christian Vazquez on the bench.  In the fourth, Jackie Bradley made a long running catch deep into the triangle, a step shy of the bullpen, before banging into the wall.  Because it was the third out, we were able to keep cheering right into the inning break.  An inning later, at the half-way point of the game, it was still scoreless, as Pirates ace Gerrit Cole kept the Red Sox off the board.

In the bottom of the fifth, the Red Sox put together a rally.  JBJ hit a two-out triple, and then Pablo Sandoval beat out an infield hit to drive in the first run.  Sandy Leon followed with a bunt toward an unmanned third base, and made it safely to first.  Dustin Pedroia singled in the second run, and then Andrew Benintendi blasted a three-run homer into the visitors’ bullpen.

Powered by the five-run fifth, all the Red Sox had to do was hold the lead.  Matt Barnes got the final two outs of the seventh, although he did let a couple of inherited runners score.  Robby Scott came in to start the eighth, threw one pitch which was grounded to second for the first out of the inning, and then gave way to Heath Hembree for the next two outs.  In the ninth, Craig Kimbrel put two runners on, but struck out two, before getting the final out on a foul popup to first.  With that, the Red Sox showed that they had good pitching, good defense, and just enough timely hitting to win games in the post-Ortiz era.  All that was left was to see whether “Win Dance Repeat,” the outfielders’ celebratory dance, would return in some form for the new season.  Here’s the latest version of their victory moves:

• Author

  I'm Kristen, the webmaster. This blog chronicles my journey through the Red Sox season and beyond.

   

• RedSoxDiehard.com

  • Main Page
  • This Day In Red Sox History
  • Diary of a Diehard 2001-08
  • Best. Day. Ever.
  • Contact Me

• Recent Posts

  • A Memorial Day to Forget
  • For The Record
  • A Mid-Season Signing
  • Mother Nature’s Day
  • Bean Town
  • Fenway Parking
  • Thank You, Trot
  • Can’t Buy A Run
  • Knuckled Under
  • Game 1 A.D.

• Categories

  • Events
  • Games
    • 2009 Games
    • 2010 Games
    • 2011 Games
    • 2012 Games
    • 2013 Games
    • 2014 Games
    • 2015 Games
    • 2016 Games
    • 2017 Games
    • Opening Day
    • Postseason
  • Minors
  • Music
  • News
  • Personal
  • Spring Training
    • 2009 Spring Training
    • 2010 Spring Training
    • 2011 Spring Training
    • 2012 Spring training
    • 2013 Spring Training
    • 2014 Spring Training
    • 2015 Spring Training
    • 2016 Spring Training
    • 2017 Spring Training
  • Tickets
  • Trophy

• Archives

  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • October 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016
  • April 2016
  • March 2016
  • February 2016
  • September 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
  • February 2015
  • October 2014
  • May 2014
  • April 2014
  • February 2014
  • December 2013
  • November 2013
  • October 2013
  • September 2013
  • July 2013
  • June 2013
  • May 2013
  • April 2013
  • March 2013
  • February 2013
  • January 2013
  • October 2012
  • June 2012
  • May 2012
  • April 2012
  • March 2012
  • February 2012
  • January 2012
  • December 2011
  • August 2011
  • July 2011
  • June 2011
  • May 2011
  • April 2011
  • February 2011
  • January 2011
  • December 2010
  • November 2010
  • October 2010
  • September 2010
  • August 2010
  • July 2010
  • June 2010
  • May 2010
  • April 2010
  • March 2010
  • February 2010
  • January 2010
  • December 2009
  • November 2009
  • October 2009
  • September 2009
  • August 2009
  • July 2009
  • June 2009
  • May 2009
  • April 2009
  • March 2009
  • February 2009
  • January 2009
  • December 2008

• Blogroll

  • 45 Miles From Fenway
  • A Red Sox Fan From Pinstripe Territory
  • A View From The Pit
  • Baseball Buddha
  • Brownie Points
  • Cardboard Gods
  • Clubhouse Insider
  • Cooking in Red Sox
  • Cursed to First
  • El Guapo’s Ghost
  • ESPNBoston Red Sox Report
  • Extra Bases
  • Fenway the Dog
  • Fenway West
  • Full Count
  • Kristen Being Kristen
  • Over the Monster
  • Ruben's Baseball
  • Salem Sox Talk
  • Section 36
  • Sitting Still
  • SoxSpace
  • Surviving Grady
  • The Dustin Pedroia Quote Book
  • The Joy of Sox
  • The Mighty Quinn Media Machine
  • The Triumphant Red Sox Blog
  • Toeing the Rubber

• Resources

  • Ballparks by Munsey and Suppes
  • Baseball Almanac
  • Baseball Biography Project
  • Baseball Prospectus
  • Baseball Reference
  • Boston Globe
  • Boston Herald
  • Complete Baseball Record Book
  • Hit Tracker Online
  • Minor League Baseball
  • MLB Scoreboard – CBS Sportsline
  • MLB Scoreboard – ESPN
  • MLB.com
  • National Baseball Hall of Fame
  • NESN
  • New England Baseball Journal
  • Official Rules of MLB
  • Red Sox All-Time Roster
  • Red Sox All-Time Uniform Number List
  • Red Sox Birthdays
  • RedSox.com
  • Retrosheet
  • SABR
  • Sox Prospects
  • USA Today Baseball Salary Database

• Meta

  • Log in
  • Entries RSS
  • Comments RSS
  • Subscribe to RSS feed
  • Like on Facebook
  • Follow on Twitter

And one more thing...

•