Photo by LM Otero/AP Photos
In an exciting Opening Day thriller, Wilyer Abreu and the Boston Red Sox win 5-2 over the Texas Rangers.
Abreu carried the offense with two home runs, with one of them being a go-ahead three-run shot in the top of the 9th inning.
Abreu will be the first to tell you he hasn’t had an easy start to the season. After getting sick and losing 20 pounds during camp, while also juggling the personal responsibilities of becoming a new dad to two twin boys, Wilyer had a lot on his shoulders heading into game 1 of 162.
But he turned his troubles into triumph, blasting a home run for each of his two newborns and having one of the most impressive days across the league.
Red Sox manager Alex Cora said, “You can’t go [just] one. For twins, you’ve got to get two.”
In other team news, rookie Kristian Campbell notched his first big league hit on a sharp ground ball to left. It should have been scored an error on Rangers third baseman Josh Jung, but that’s a rant for another time.
Campbell had a shaky day defensively at second base, so keep a close eye on what transpires there amidst the recent controversy surrounding him, Devers, and Bregman.
Speaking of Devers, he looked terrible yesterday. Devers struck out in three-straight at-bats and finished the day 0-for-4.
Look, it’s one game, and there’s no need to overreact. Afterall, Devers didn’t even play this spring until camp was nearly over.
That being said, how Devers deals with the transition to DH and how it effects his play is a story to watch this year.
The Red Sox’s new third baseman, Alex Bregman, didn’t get his first hit of the season but did put up decent at-bats and had a hard line-out to right field.
Garret Crochet’s first start of the season was decent. His pitches looked as filthy as ever, but he had trouble finding the zone consistently.
Crochet finished with 5-innings pitched with two earned runs and 4 K’s.
Baseball is back, and the Red Sox are finally competitive again. Let’s see if they can stay consistent and healthy.
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