BOSTON — What are we supposed to make of the Boston Red Sox?
Is this going to be another long season? Are they about to validate all of their biggest critics? Could this team maybe, just maybe, be a little better than people think?
It’s too early to draw any conclusions, but one thing we can safely say about this group is they’ve got some fight in them.
After falling behind by six runs in each of their first two games, the Red Sox offense rallied and gave themselves a chance to win it in the ninth, falling short on Thursday before pulling off the dramatic walk-off win Saturday. Then on Sunday they grabbed the early lead and held the Orioles at bay, taking the 9-5 win to clinch the season’s opening series.
It was a stark contrast from last year’s team, who, let’s face it, probably would have rolled over or otherwise found some way to lose.
“From top to bottom we believe we’re going to put pressure on the opposition,” said Red Sox manager Alex Cora. “There’s certain days it’s not going to work, but we’re going to grind and do what we did over the weekend.”
The obvious difference so far has been Adam Duvall, who has been a monster in the heart of the order. So far Duvall’s gone 8 for 14 (.571) with two home runs, three doubles, a triple, six runs scored and eight RBI.
Funnily enough, both Thursday and Saturday’s games came down to Duvall as well. In the opener he struck out to end the game, but on Saturday he made the most of his second chance by smoking a two-run walk-off home run into the Monster seats to cap off one of the wildest Red Sox wins in recent memory.
He’s hardly the only one. Rafael Devers is batting .467, Justin Turner .417, Alex Verdugo .357 and Masataka Yoshida is .308. Quietly one of the most encouraging performances has come courtesy of Kiké Hernández, who’s already hit two home runs through the season’s first three games and looks much more like the player he was in 2021.
Overall the Red Sox offense has scored nine runs in each of its first three games, becoming the third team in MLB history to accomplish the feat. The club also picked up its first season opening series victory since 2018, and after failing to do so until August last season got a win over an AL East rival right out of the chute.
“It feels good,” Cora said. “For us this is what we’re trying to do, try to win series and keep moving forward.”
Starting pitchers stumble out of gate
Great as it was to see the Sox offense rally, the fact they were put in such a tough position by the club’s top two starters in the first place wasn’t ideal.
Corey Kluber, ostensibly the best starter in the business at avoiding walks, didn’t have it on Thursday and walked four over 3.1 uninspiring innings. Then on Saturday Chris Sale flashed some impressive stuff but was utterly unable to command it, serving up three home runs en route to a seven-run meltdown.
Tanner Houck was better on Sunday, putting his terrible spring training behind him and delivering a solid five innings of work. He ran out of steam in the fifth and allowed a pair of home runs to tie the game, but the offense quickly picked him up, helping him earn his first win of the season.
“Kudos to the offense, they’ve gone out there and done the same thing every day,” Houck said. “It’s a great lineup and a great clubhouse as well, a lot of leaders and a lot of people who are built for the long haul and to do the right thing. So it’s incredible to have them.”
Kutter Crawford will get the ball on Monday against the Pirates, followed by Corey Kluber again on Tuesday. One way or another the Red Sox will need their starters to deliver if they hope to contend, so it will be interesting to see what adjustments they make the next cycle through the rotation.
Orioles unimpressive
Coming off a 2022 season in which they went from perennial cellar-dweller to MLB’s most improved team, the Orioles entered the year as a popular dark horse playoff contender projected by many to finish ahead of the Red Sox in the standings.
Based on what we saw this weekend, the Red Sox have no business finishing behind the Orioles, and if they do it’ll be a real problem.
Baltimore definitely has some talent. Second-year catcher Adley Rutschman is the goods and the Orioles flashed power and speed throughout the opening series. But the club’s pitching is suspect and the defense was a mess, and when the Orioles were up they seemingly did everything they could to give the first two games away.
The Orioles may yet take a step forward as their talented young players continue developing, but this team isn’t ready for prime time just yet.
