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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Mar 31, 2021 13:32:12 GMT -5
Orioles manager Brandon Hyde said Wednesday that there's a "good chance" Maikel Franco will be on the Opening Day roster.
Franco didn't land with the O's until mid-March, but he was able to make 21 official plate appearances in the Grapefruit League and even hit a two-run homer last week. He should serve as the team's primary third baseman this season, probably beginning with Thursday's opener against the Red Sox. Hyde also told reporters Wednesday that Cole Sulser and Dillon Tate made the team. Travis Lakins will be optioned.
Source: Roch Kubatko on Twitter
Anthony Santander (oblique) is good to go for Opening Day, per Orioles manager Brandon Hyde.
Santander tweaked his oblique last Tuesday, but it turned out to be a relatively minor issue and he should be in the starting lineup for Thursday afternoon's opener against the Red Sox. The 26-year-old outfielder registered an impressive .890 OPS with 11 home runs and 32 RBI in 37 games played last season for Baltimore.
Source: Joe Trezza on Twitter
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Mar 31, 2021 13:41:47 GMT -5
Tomase: 10 big questions for 2021 Red Sox ahead of Opening Day
3H ago
/
by John Tomase
John Tomase
RED SOX INSIDER
The 2021 Red Sox won't have to clear a particularly high bar to surpass 2020. Finish .500, play a full season, don't make us watch the worst rotation in franchise history and voila: improvement.T
Boston fans have been conditioned to demand significantly more, however, thanks in no small part to the Red Sox, who have claimed four World Series titles since 2004. Plenty of fans view the start of each season as a championship-or-bust endeavor.
They should recalibrate their expectations. The Red Sox are beginning a rebuild that they believe will lead to the creation of a sustainable contender, assembled with homegrown talent and augmented by free agent strikes that only a big-market team can afford.
MLB Power Rankings: Where Red Sox stand entering Opening Day
Before they get there, they'll have to take their best shot at 2021. Most prognosticators peg them for 78 to 82 wins, which probably puts them fourth in the American League East behind the Yankees, Blue Jays, and Rays.
"We're ready to play baseball," said manager Alex Cora. "We have a good baseball team. We do."
With the season set to open on Thursday vs. the Orioles, there is a path for the Red Sox to reach the postseason, and it's worth exploring how they might succeed or fail.
So in that spirit, here are the questions and answers that could define the season.
1. What the hell happened to the Red Sox at the end of Spring Training?
A little over a week ago, we assumed Eduardo Rodriguez would pitch to Christian Vazquez on Opening Day, followed nine innings later by Matt Barnes closing out the victory. Then Rodriguez experienced a dead arm, Vazquez got drilled in the face with an errant throw during drills, and Barnes seemingly contracted COVID.
This led to a giant scramble, with Nathan Eovaldi being bumped into the Opening Day role for the second straight year, Cora considering replacements for Vazquez behind the plate, and the front office beginning the grim task of quarantining a handful of players and staff while hoping that Barnes' infection didn't spark an outbreak.
Tomase: Making sense of latest upheaval in Red Sox' rotation
That was a week ago. Clarity arrived in the last couple of days, with E-Rod probably headed for a short stint on the injured list, Vazquez awaiting the removal of stitches before officially being cleared to play, and Barnes seeing his positive COVID test tossed after a series of negatives.
The first turn through the rotation won't look like the team envisioned, but the best-laid plans of January often require contingencies in April -- or in this case, March.
2. How bad is Eduardo Rodriguez' injury?
When Rodriguez left his March 22 start after two innings that featured diminished velocity, Red Sox fans were right to fear the worst. He hasn't thrown a pitch in an actual big league game in more than 540 days after battling COVD-related myocarditis, and no matter how many times he or the Red Sox proclaim he's healthy, it's hard to believe it until we see it.
That said, Rodriguez threw a public bullpen over the weekend and sounded positive in a later Zoom interview. Were he badly injured, he wouldn't be throwing off a mound and he wouldn't be conducting interviews. Those are good signs that he's on the road to recovery.
Whether he can hold up for an entire season after not pitching last year is another story, but let's chalk up his current predicament to dead arm and hope that he's back soon.
3. Breaking down the Red Sox 2021 rotation without openers
There are no plans to use openers, even during the uncertain first turn through the rotation, which will feature Eovaldi on Thursday vs. the Orioles, followed by Tanner Houck on Saturday (unless Rodriguez is deemed ready to go), Garrett Richards on Sunday, Nick Pivetta on Monday vs. the Rays, and Martin Perez on Tuesday.
Assuming Houck returns to the alternate site once Rodriguez is cleared, the Red Sox should feature better starting depth, whether it's Houck, or fellow right-handers Thaddeus Ward and Connor Seabold.
4. Could the Red Sox bullpen be really good this year?
The Red Sox have the makings of a deep bullpen, which is part of the reason they're opening the season with 14 pitchers and only a three-man bench. Now that he's out of COVID protocol, Barnes should close, with veteran right-hander Adam Ottavino and hard-throwing lefty Darwinzon Hernandez the primary setup men.
The Red Sox feature multiple looks, whether it's the power splitter of Japanese import Hirokazu Sawamura, the fastball/slider combo of Rule 5 pick Garrett Whitlock, 95 mph heat from left-hander Josh Taylor, or righty Phillips Valdez deploying his changeup.
Tomase's spring training observations of Red Sox' pitching prospects
Barnes, Ottavino, Darwinzon Hernandez, Whitlock, and Taylor combined to allow only four runs in 33 spring innings. They appear locked in for the start of the season.
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5. The Red Sox will be versatile on offense. Should we care?
Sort of. Marwin Gonzalez and Kike Hernandez are two of the most versatile players in history, but the ability to play everywhere typically accompanies a reluctance to let them play every day. Neither has ever recorded 500 at-bats in a season, but the Red Sox plan for both to be everyday players, with Hernandez probably splitting his time between second base and center field while leading off, and the switch-hitting Gonzalez seeing significant action in left field and at first base.
Reserve Christian Arroyo can play all over the infield, while 1B-2B-3B-LF Michael Chavis will open the season at the alternate site despite slamming six homers in spring training.
That's a lot of versatility. Versatility is good. Production is better. The Red Sox hope to marry the two.
6. 2021 expectations for Alex Verdugo, Rafael Devers, Xander Bogaerts and J.D. Martinez
The Red Sox offense is built around four hitters: Alex Verdugo, Rafael Devers, Xander Bogaerts, J.D. Martinez.
All have the ability to be All-Stars, and each is dangerous in his own way. Verdugo sprays the ball around the park and plays with energy, Devers likes to impersonate a bad-ball-crushing Vladimir Guerrero Sr., Bogaerts can impact the game with average, power, and speed, and Martinez is a station-to-station slugger who's capable of hitting .320.
Add Vazquez, who could be an All-Star himself, as well as the possibility of home runs at the bottom of the order in Bobby Dalbec, Hunter Renfroe, and Franchy Cordero, and the Red Sox will be able to beat you in multiple ways.
7. Which Red Sox player will get the most MVP votes?
Devers. The 32 homers he hit in 2019 came in the final 125 games, because he slumped in April and didn't hit one for a month. If he avoids the slow start this year, he's 40 homers waiting to happen and that's going to transform the offense.
8. Who's facing the most pressure: Nathan Eovaldi or J.D. Martinez?
The former is entering the third year of a $68 million extension that has seen him throw barely 100 innings so far. The Red Sox will go as far as their rotation takes them, and that means getting not only a full season out of Eovaldi, but a productive one. Twenty-two starts with a 4.58 ERA won't cut it.
The latter is coming off a miserable season that he admitted traced in part to not being ready to play in the middle of the pandemic. There are no excuses this year, especially since Martinez knows he wouldn't be here if he had opted out of his contract.
If the Red Sox didn't want him when they believed he could bounce back and slam 30 homers, imagine how they'll feel if he fails to hit fastballs again. His presence in the middle of the lineup is essential to letting everyone else be themselves.
9. Alex Cora is back. What difference will he make?
From a culture perspective, Cora is a difference-maker. He had his hands in every level of the organization during his first stint, and that's not going to change now that he's back after serving a one-year suspension for his role in the Astros' sign-stealing scandal.
His greatest impact may come not so much in the dugout, but in preparing the next generation of contributors, whether it's speedy center fielder Jarren Duran, slugging first baseman Triston Casas, or well-rounded second baseman Jeter Downs.
The fact that all three were exposed to Cora's methods and expectations should only help them as they complete their climbs through the minors.
On the field, Cora will demand accountability. He's proven adept at preaching tough love with Rodriguez and providing words of encouragement for Devers. The Red Sox will be prepared. Whether they have the talent to reach the playoffs is another question. Speaking of which...
10. Predicting whether the Red Sox can reach the postseason in 2021
Yes they can, but they'll need some help and more than a little luck. A world where Rodriguez, Eovaldi, and Richards pitch to their ceilings instead of their injury-riddled floors is one in which the Red Sox can compete for a division title.
They'll need at least two of those guys to deliver to be a factor in the wild card race, because the offense should produce enough power to beat up on bad pitching and the bullpen looks like it will do its part.
The playoffs still feel like too big of an ask, thanks primarily to run prevention. Without Jackie Bradley Jr. patrolling center, the defense will suffer. Bogaerts, for all of his offensive strengths, isn't beloved by the defensive metrics. Devers must avoid leading American League third basemen in errors for the fourth straight year.
That's too many questions to view the Red Sox as legitimate contenders. PointsBet has their over-under at 79.5 wins and while they should beat it, it probably won't be by much. Maybe they can eke out 85 wins and remain in the hunt until the final couple of weeks.
After last season, we shouldn't get greedy. Take it and hope that the team's long-term plan means better days are actually on the horizon.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Mar 31, 2021 13:49:50 GMT -5
A Red Sox Opening Day that feels almost normal is cause to celebrate
By Tara Sullivan Globe Columnist,Updated March 31, 2021, 1 hour ago
It was Pete Seeger who turned the words into a hit song, but most people know they came almost verbatim from the Bible’s Book of Ecclesiastes: “To everything (turn, turn turn), there is a season (turn, turn, turn), and a time to every purpose under heaven.”
For the Byrds, whose recording of Seeger’s song “Turn! Turn! Turn!” rose to No. 1 on 1965′s Billboard Hot 100 list, the lyrics were a plea for peace.
But here, in the spring of 2021, I hear them for a different season.
I hear them as a song for baseball, a lyrical “welcome back” to a game that was a shell of itself last year, and might be a victim of its own labor wars next year, but for now feels whole in a way it hasn’t for so long.
With Opening Day 2021 upon us, the tumultuous sports calendar of the last COVID-ravaged year approaches something — dare we say it? — almost normal. Fans, albeit in smaller numbers, are returning to ballparks. And all the teams, all 30 of them, are playing on Opening Day for the first time since 1968, the buffet of daylong action satisfying every baseball-loving appetite.
But even before the pandemic laid waste to the rhythms of our athletic seasons, the first day of the baseball season always held a special corner of our sporting hearts, the perfect first bite to a 162-game menu.
The days are getting longer, the sun is getting warmer, and here comes baseball, its inherent promise of spring awakenings and fresh starts unmatched by other sports.
“I’ve always felt that it just sort of wiped clean the past,” said legendary baseball reporter Peter Gammons, whose youthful days in Groton set the backdrop for a lifelong career in the sport. “There is a very short period of time in-season when you start with that carte blanche, and every once in a great while, it works out.”
With a bleacher stub in his pocket, a young Gammons was at Fenway for Opening Day 1967 along with 8,000 of his closest fellow Sox fans in the vain hope the long-suffering franchise would have its first winning season in nine years.
“There was some hope,” Gammons recalled. “Dick Williams was the manager, Reggie Smith was playing second base. They won, 5-4, and I can remember leaving the park and thinking, ‘OK, well, Williams has a little fire, this is going to be fun.’
“But there was that weird feeling; we did a thing for MLB Network a couple years ago, and said it — we all consider that the most important season in Red Sox history.
“They were so bad, [owner Tom] Yawkey had talked about moving the team. [Carl] Yastrzemski had wanted to be traded but backed off at Yawkey’s request. Then three or four days later, you had a rookie named Billy Rohr, who got within one out of a no-hitter in Yankee Stadium. That thing carried over for a week and it really started something. People started saying, ‘This is the year now.’ ”
Rohr may have won only one more game in his short-lived Sox career, but his role in the culture change that started on Opening Day is secure.
“It re-created something that made that season so magical,” Gammons said. “They brought baseball back. All sorts of things happened — Yaz won the Triple Crown — but it also brought back Opening Day to New England. I really think it’s never been the same since. People have come back.”
The Sox welcome the Orioles Thursday, and despite winning the World Series only three seasons ago, their salary-dumping, cost-shedding reset means the national spotlight is aimed elsewhere. But what Gammons says is true: This is the one point in the season where every team is equal, when every team nurtures the same championship dream and same confident belief it can happen.
“Nationally it shouldn’t really matter, and it’s not what ’67 was, but this Opening Day you pull the curtain up and I think it could be a significant day for the Red Sox,” Gammons said. “Let’s say [Bobby] Dalbec hits two home runs. People will get excited about it. And it carries over.
“It’s all so fun. We don’t have this pleasure of being around the ballpark, the clubhouse, but we know how different it is when they walk in on Opening Day. The players go from suntan lotion to hot stuff.
“It’s real baseball.”
That it is. Opening Day, full of hope, full of promise.
Last season was so strange, beset by the pandemic as well as the acrimonious negotiations between management and players just to pull off a truncated 60-game schedule. Next year might not happen at all, not if that protracted, ugly labor conversation is an indication of what’s to come.
But this season is here, with its funky new twists like seven-inning doubleheaders and extra-inning baserunners, but mostly with its more familiar rhythms and sounds.
Welcome back.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Mar 31, 2021 14:49:56 GMT -5
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Mar 31, 2021 14:51:25 GMT -5
Pete Abraham
@peteabe
·
11m
Xander Bogaerts has made 7 consecutive Opening Day starts at shortstop for the #RedSox (2014-20).
With one more, he will match Everett Scott (1914-21) for the most consecutive Opening Day starts at shortstop in team history.
So every 100 years that happens.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Mar 31, 2021 15:13:17 GMT -5
Alex Speier
@alexspeier
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58m
Nate Eovaldi just mentioned the excitement of Red Sox players to move out of their Fenway suites from a year ago and back into a socially distanced clubhouse. 'We're back together as a team.' More on that why players are happy to abandon the suite life
Kiké Hernández says he’s been looking at video of Orioles Opening Day starter for a couple weeks in anticipation of batting leadoff in Game 1.
He said he went to the Home dugout today and was struck by ‘the magic of Fenway’ in a way that he said was different than when he’d been in Boston as a visitor.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Mar 31, 2021 15:16:11 GMT -5
Jahmai Webster
@websterontv
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54m
On a scheduled day off Eduardo Rodriguez just threw by my estimation a 24-25 pitch bullpen w/pitching coach Dave Bush watching intently & instructing him. E-Rod had been slated to start tomorrow but arm fatigue will have him miss his first turn. But this is a welcome sign indeed.
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Post by Kimmi on Mar 31, 2021 16:34:06 GMT -5
Woohoo! I know we're all excited for some real baseball games. I hope you guys enjoy Opening Day.
I will be watching the game on about a 2 hour delay.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Apr 1, 2021 2:10:54 GMT -5
Bill Koch
@billkoch25
·
6h
Current weather forecast in Boston calls for clearing by first pitch at Fenway Park. Will be a bit soggy pregame and generally raw -- temperatures in the upper 40s.
But is looks like there will be baseball. And fans. Two more steps toward normalcy. #RedSox
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Apr 1, 2021 2:11:45 GMT -5
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Apr 1, 2021 2:20:37 GMT -5
I do hope today
even though it is at Fenway
that Trey Mancnni gets recognized today....
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Apr 1, 2021 2:21:46 GMT -5
red sox notebook
Red Sox leadoff man Kiké Hernández can hardly wait to get things started
By Alex Speier Globe Staff,Updated March 31, 2021, 6:42 p.m.
Kiké Hernández started anticipating Opening Day at Fenway Park almost as soon as he signed his two-year deal with the Red Sox in January, but he couldn’t wait quite that long to soak in his new home environment.
With the Red Sox back in Boston, Hernández stopped at the park early Wednesday. He made a point of taking in the view from the home dugout and experienced something very different from what he encountered as a visitor with the Dodgers in 2018 and 2019.
“The view from the first-base dugout is a lot more special in this stadium than the view from the third-base dugout, I can tell you that,” said Hernández. “It felt special. The magic of Fenway, you can actually feel it from the first-base dugout.
“Like I’ve said, there’s a lot that I’m looking forward to, a lot that I’m excited about, and nothing that I take for granted.”
The 29-year-old’s eagerness for Opening Day only increased once manager Alex Cora approached him about batting leadoff. For weeks, Hernández has been breaking down video of Baltimore Opening Day starter John Means, looking forward to the challenge of setting the tone for the Red Sox season.
“I’ve thought about it ever since he sent me that text challenging me to be the leadoff hitter,” said Hernández.
Hernández has a recent history of impressive Opening Day performances. He cracked the Opening Day lineup for the first time in 2018, and stayed there the last two seasons. In those three contests, he went 6 for 10 with three homers and three walks, and he’s gone deep in each of the last two season-opening contests.
“The last two years have been pretty special on Opening Day, and this one is special regardless just because it’s a new team, new stadium, new city,” said Hernández. “Also my first official game being a dad. So I’m excited about a lot of things.”
Light mound work
Eduardo Rodriguez, who is working back to full strength after being briefly slowed by a dead arm late in spring training, was one of several Red Sox pitchers who did light mound work at Fenway Park on Wednesday. The Red Sox have yet to make an official decision about whether the lefthander will open the year on the injured list, though Cora hinted strongly at such a possibility before the team left Fort Myers … Catcher Christian Vázquez, who required stitches when a thrown ball hit him in the face during a drill last week, will be on the Opening Day active roster … Xander Bogaerts is slated to make his eighth consecutive Opening Day start at shortstop, tying Everett Scott (1914-21) for the most in franchise history.
Minor details
With the big league team gone north, Red Sox minor leaguers will convene for two camps. In Worcester, more than two dozen players making up the near-term big league depth (as well as some upper-level prospects) will work out at Polar Park, the new home of the Red Sox’ Triple A affiliate. That group will include three of the team’s most impressive spring performers — Jarren Duran, Jeter Downs, and Michael Chavis — as well as pitchers Connor Seabold, Ryan Weber, Matt Hall, and Daniel Gossett, and catcher Connor Wong. Several of the younger top prospects who were in big league camp, including first baseman Triston Casas, have stayed in Fort Myers, Fla. Other minor leaguers who hadn’t been invited to big league camp started arriving Wednesday in Fort Myers for the start of their spring training. Workouts in minor league camp will begin Friday. Teams are allowed to have 215 players and staff in camp. The Red Sox expect to have approximately 135 following the completion of COVID-19 intake protocols.
Timing it out
Gates at Fenway Park will open at 12:10 p.m. for the 2:10 p.m. game. The Opening Day ceremonies are scheduled to start at 1:40 p.m. The Red Sox are asking fans to be in their seats by 1:30 p.m. NESN will broadcast the ceremony as well as the game, beginning with its pregame show at 12:20 p.m. WEEI-FM’s broadcast starts at 1:10 p.m. and will include the ceremony … More than 100 health-care workers will be in attendance, part of a partnership between the Red Sox and Dell Technologies to give 10,000 tickets to health-care workers this season.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Apr 1, 2021 2:29:41 GMT -5
Red Sox Notebook: Kiké Hernández hopeful for another special Opening Day
‘The magic of Fenway, you can actually feel it from the first-base dugout’
By Steve Hewitt | stephen.hewitt@bostonherald.com | Boston Herald
PUBLISHED: March 31, 2021 at 7:03 p.m. | UPDATED: March 31, 2021 at 7:03 p.m.
When Kiké Hernández walked into Fenway Park for the first time with his new team on Wednesday, he took a moment to soak it all in.
Hernández has made just two visits to the ballpark in his major-league career, both with the Dodgers and including the 2018 World Series, but there was something even more special about this time, his first as a member of the Red Sox.
“I got here really early today,” Hernández said Wednesday, on the eve of Opening Day. “I went to the dugout. One of the first things I did was go into the dugout. The view from the first-base dugout is a lot more special in this stadium than the view from the third-base dugout. I can tell you that. It felt special. The magic of Fenway, you can actually feel it from the first-base dugout. …
“There’s been times and there will be times (Thursday) where I’ll sit back and think about everything. I’m just really happy to be here.”
Hernández has been looking forward to Thursday’s opener against the Orioles for a long time and for a variety of reasons. Obviously, it’s his first game with the Red Sox. It’s also his first as a father. And he’ll also have a chance to start the season on the right foot when he takes the Red Sox’ first at-bat of 2021 as their new leadoff hitter, something he’s been envisioning throughout spring training.
“I’ve thought about it ever since Alex (Cora) sent me that text challenging me to be the leadoff hitter,” Hernández said. “I looked at the schedule and saw we were playing the Orioles and figured we were going to face (John) Means. I’ve been watching some video of Means the last couple of weeks. I’m excited about (Thursday). Hopefully the rain lets us start on time so we can have a nice Opening Day.”
It will be even more special if Hernández can continue his recent success on Opening Day. In his last two openers, the second baseman is 6-for-8 with three home runs and eight RBI in a pair of Dodgers victories. But even after a strong spring at the plate, Hernández won’t try to do too much to replicate those performances.
“There’s no added pressure,” Hernández said. “The last two years have been pretty special on Opening Day, and this one is special regardless just because it’s a new team, new stadium, new city. Just really looking forward to it.”
JBJ says goodbye
A day before he made his debut with the Brewers, Jackie Bradley Jr. paid tribute to the Red Sox with a letter on The Players Tribune. The former Sox center fielder revisited his journey from being drafted in 2011 to making the Opening Day roster in 2013 and how special the last decade was to him.
“April 1, 2013 — eight years ago, tomorrow — was the beginning of a new chapter for my career,” Bradley wrote. “It’s one that would be filled with hardships and triumphs, but most importantly growth. From the Merloni Shuttle to the duck boat parades; from hitting slumps to hitting streaks; from All-Star Games to Gold Gloves; and from last-place finishes to World Series championships … my baseball career in New England has been one that’s challenged me to always be present in the moment. … And to always be better than the day before.”
Betts, Hernández among top jersey sales
Mookie Betts topped the list as the most popular jersey in MLB as the season begins, the league announced on Wednesday. The list is based on sales from MLBShop.com since the end of the 2020 postseason.
Hernández was the lone Red Sox player to be in the top 20 of the list, coming in at No. 9, one spot ahead of Angels star Mike Trout. The new Red Sox second baseman was surprised to see his name there.
“Not just the fact that it was in front of Mike, but the fact that I was top 10 in the big leagues,” Hernández said. “To me it was mind blowing. There are so many really, really good players in the big leagues, and the fact that only eight of them sold more jerseys than me last year, I don’t know how that happened, but I’m truly humbled and honored. It really, truly is an honor to be on that list. I mean, I don’t have much to say because that was completely unexpected.” …
Fenway Sports Group on Wednesday officially announced its partnership with RedBird and the additions of LeBron James, Maverick Carter and their longtime business partner Paul Wachter to its ownership group. The announcement also revealed that Red Sox president Sam Kennedy will become part of the ownership group. …
The Red Sox are asking fans attending Thursday’s opener to be in their seats by 1:30 p.m., as Opening Day ceremonies begin at 1:40 ahead of first pitch at 2:10. The two teams will be introduced along the baselines, with Springfield native Michelle Brooks-Thompson performing the national anthem. Three different aircrafts will perform the traditional flyover, a first for a Red Sox Opening Day ceremony.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Apr 1, 2021 8:44:01 GMT -5
Boston Red Sox vs. Baltimore Orioles preview: TV schedule, pitching probables, key stories (April 1-4)
Updated 7:48 AM; Today 7:34 AM
By Christopher Smith | csmith@masslive.com
BOSTON — The Red Sox open their 2021 regular season with righty Nathan Eovaldi starting against the Baltimore Orioles on Thursday.
Boston and Baltimore will play a three-game series (all day games) Thursday, Saturday and Sunday.
The Red Sox will welcome fans back to Fenway Park after no in-game attendance in 2020 because of the coronavirus pandemic. Fenway Park will be at 12% capacity to begin the season.
“Subject to the state and city’s approval, we would hope to bump up from the 12%, maybe some point in May, if possible,” Red Sox president Sam Kennedy said on MassLive.com’s The Fenway Rundown this week. “Then go to a larger percentage at some time after that. Maybe June. It’s kind of like picking round numbers going month-to-month.”
Thursday’s opener starts at 2:10 p.m. Gates open to fans at 12:10 p.m., two hours before first pitch. Gates open to fans 1 ½ hours before for all other regular season games.
Opening Day ceremonies will begin at 1:40 p.m. and will include a flyover with three different aircrafts. The ceremony will air on NESN.
Baltimore Orioles (0-0) vs. Boston Red Sox (0-0) · Fenway Park · Boston, MA
SERIES SCHEDULE (and TV information):
Thursday, April 1: Orioles at Red Sox, 2:10 p.m., NESN
Saturday, April 3: Orioles at Red Sox, 1:10 p.m., NESN, MLB Network (out of market)
Sunday, April 4: Orioles at Red Sox, 1:10 p.m., NESN
KNOW YOUR OPPONENT: The Orioles are 400-to-1 odds to win the World Series, according to sportsbettingdime.com The Texas Rangers also are 400-to-1. Only the Tigers (575-to-1), Rockies (600-to-1) and Pirates (700-to-1) have lower odds. Baltimore is expected to finish last in the AL East after finishing fourth last year (25-35), one game ahead of Boston (24-36).
PITCHING PROBABLES:
Thursday: Baltimore LHP John Means vs. Boston righty Nathan Eovaldi
Saturday: Baltimore RHP Matt Harvey vs. TBD
Sunday: Baltimore LHP Bruce Zimmermann vs. Boston RHP Garrett Richards
THREE SOX TO WATCH:
1. Matt Barnes/Adam Ottavino: Who is the closer? Alex Cora has yet to name his closer. It will be either Barnes or Adam Ottavino. Cora might announce it before Thursday’s opener — or we might just have to wait to see who comes out for the first save opportunity.
2. J.D. Martinez: The DH finished the shortened 2020 season with the 12th worst on-base percentage (.291), 17th worst batting average (.213), 21st worst OPS (.680) and 28th worst slugging percentage (.389) in the majors. He said he’s entering 2021 with a chip on his shoulder. He went 5-for-9 with a double, homer and five RBIs in his final three games of spring training. It’s important the DH bounces back as Cora plans to use him in the No. 3 hole this season ahead of Xander Bogaerts at cleanup.
3. Kiké Hernández: A lot is expected from Hernández who signed with Boston for two years, $14 million during the offseason. Cora plans to use him as his leadoff hitter. The manager thinks the right-handed hitter has more offensive potential than he has shown so far in his career. Hernández has a career .313 on-base percentage. But Cora thinks Hernández will be a more consistent hitter when he is playing every day against both righties and lefties. Alex Verdugo, who led off last year, will begin 2021 as the No. 2 hitter.
SERIES NOTES:
The top storyline is Trey Mancini’s return after missing the 2020 season because of colon cancer. The Athletic’s Dan Connolly wrote a remarkable story about Mancini. MassLive.com wrote a story in 2017 on how Mancini played for the Holyoke Blue Sox in 2011.
Alex Cora will manage in his first regular season game since September 2019, after he missed 2020 while suspended for his involvement in the Astros’ 2017 illegal sign-stealing scheme.
Righty Nathan Eovaldi will make the second straight Opening Day start for Boston because Eduardo Rodriguez (dead arm) is sidelined. Eovaldi allowed just one run in 6 innings against the Orioles on Opening Day 2020. He recorded the victory.
Eovaldi won all three of his starts vs. Baltimore last season. He allowed just two runs in 19 innings (0.95 ERA). He struck out 18.
The Orioles and Red Sox split their 2020 10-game season series, 5-5. Boston outscored Baltimore 60-49.
J.D. Martinez is 4-for-14 with three homers, one double and six RBIs in his career against O’s Opening Day starter John Means. Xander Bogaerts is 6-for-14 with two homers, one double and five RBIs.
The Red Sox have yet to announce a starter for Saturday, but it likely will be Tanner Houck.
The Red Sox face Matt Harvey on Saturday. Four Boston players have recorded a combined 14 at-bats against him. Franchy Cordero is 1-for-2 with a homer. Hunter Renfroe is 2-for-5 with a double. Marwin Gonzalez is 1-for-4 with a double. Xander Bogaerts is 1-for-3.
Baltimore righty Bruce Zimmermann is making just his second major league start and third big league appearance Sunday. He pitched 4 innings in relief against Boston on Sept. 23, 2020, allowing just one run, two hits and one walk while striking out five.
WHAT’S AHEAD:
April 5-7, vs. Rays at Fenway Park
April 8, 10-11, at Baltimore Orioles
April 12-15, at Minnesota Twins
April 16-19, vs. White Sox at Fenway Park
April 20-21, vs. Toronto at Fenway Park
April 22-25, vs. Mariners at Fenway Park
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Apr 1, 2021 8:45:57 GMT -5
Opening Day 2021 postponed: Boston Red Sox vs. Baltimore Orioles will now play Friday afternoon
Updated 9:25 AM; Today 9:15 AM
By Chris Cotillo | ccotillo@MassLive.com
UPDATE: The game has been postponed due to rain and will now be played Friday afternoon at 2:10 p.m. Click here for more information.
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Baseball season is upon us. The Boston Red Sox will open their 2021 season Thursday afternoon against the Baltimore Orioles at Fenway Park.
Boston made a series of additions over the winter, signing free agents Matt Andriese, Garrett Richards, Hirokazu Sawamura, Kiké Hernández, Marwin Gonzalez and Hunter Renfroe and acquiring Franchy Cordero and Adam Ottavino in trades. The club also re-hired Alex Cora as manager after he spent the 2020 season away from the team as he served a suspension for his involvement in the Astros’ cheating scandal in 2017.
The Red Sox went 16-11-1 in spring training but faced some adversity at the end of camp. Left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez, who was scheduled to start on Opening Day after missing 2020 due to myocarditis (heart inflammation), was scratched from the outing after experiencing a case of “dead arm” last week. He’ll begin the season on the injured list, so right-hander Nathan Eovaldi will start against the O’s on Opening Day for the second consecutive season.
Here’s how to watch:
Boston Red Sox vs. Baltimore Orioles (Opening Day 2021)
Start time: 2:10 p.m. EST
Pitching probables: LHP John Means (Baltimore) vs. RHP Nathan Eovaldi (Boston)
TV channel: NESN (Channel finder: Comcast Xfinity, Verizon Fios, Spectrum/Charter, Optimum/Altice, DIRECTV, Dish, AT&T U verse, fuboTV and Sling)
Live stream: NESN | fuboTV - If you have cable and live in the New England TV market, you can use your login credentials to watch via NESN on mobile and WiFi-enabled devices. If you don’t have cable, you can watch the game via fuboTV, in New England | MLB.tv (subscription required)
Radio: WEEI 93.7 FM
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