Boston Redsox: Boston Bats Come Alive On Opening Day
Red Sox fans had to wait a long time to see just how good their 2020 team would look. Thanks to the pandemic, Opening Day had an empty stadium for Boston but their scorecard was far from empty. Facing a division rival in the Baltimore Orioles, the Boston Red Sox would go on to win 13-2 in a lopsided affair.
Off To A Good Start
The Red Sox had as good as a start as you could ask for. Not only did they walk away with the win, but 5 out of their 10 batters would also have a multiple hit day. J.D Martinez went 3-5 with 2 doubles, 2 runs, a walk, and 3 RBIs after moving up to the #2 slot in the lineup. At the bottom of the lineup, batting 8th Jackie Bradley Jr. would also enjoy Opening Day’s success. Going 3-4, with 2 doubles, 3 runs, a walk, and 2 RBIs it looks like their stars are off to a hot start.
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No Need to Panic, but…
Despite the hit parade, there is reason for concern. Bats can cool just as quickly as they heat up and role players will need to step up. The Red Sox left 10 runners on base last night, all of them were in scoring position. In a division game, getting runners across the plate is huge, especially early on. Maybe they let off the gas a little, but with baseball largely dependent on streaks there should’ve been reason to keep their foot down.
Pitching Problems?
In a lopsided game, there’s no need to push your pitcher past their limits. Opening Day starter Nathan Eovaldi recorded a win with 4 K’s allowing just 1 earned run on 5 hits. Not a bad stat line for the first game of the season. However, Boston is very thin at pitching this season and if they can’t make something happen, there will be concern down the stretch. Now that its a shortened season, it might not be such an issue.
But when you look back at the playoff-caliber teams of 2020, they’ve all got big bats. Facing a team with a little better pitching and a 6 hit/2 run game by the opposing team could be the deciding factor in closer games.
Next up the Red Sox have back to back 1:35p games against the Orioles, a four-game stretch with the New York Mets, then 3 games against the rival New York Yankees. By the time they get their next day off August 3rd, they’ll have played a 10-game stretch with 6 of them being division games. With the extra time off, fatigue shouldn’t be an issue but could see their bats cool off.
Rick ODonnell aka Caveman Rick has many years covering the Miami Dolphins, Sports, and all sorts of movies and television.
