Boston Red Sox

Morning sports update: Alex Cora advised early Red Sox skeptics to ‘check what happened last year’

“We did the same thing. It’s easy to second guess now. It’s a program. You have to be disciplined."

Rick Porcello hands the baseball to Alex Cora as the Red Sox manager takes his starting pitcher out of the game.

By Hayden Bird

3 minutes to read

The Red Sox lost 10-8 to the Mariners in the finale of Boston’s season-opening series, falling to 1-3 so far in 2019.

The Bruins also lost on Sunday, dropping a game against the Red Wings, 6-3.

The Celtics face the Heat tonight at TD Garden. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m.

Alex Cora challenges the early skeptics: Following a difficult four-game season opening series in Seattle, Red Sox manager Alex Cora spoke up to defend his team’s preparation for 2019. Boston pitching allowed 35 runs in four games, dropping three out of four to the Mariners.

Still, Cora said it’s too early to panic.

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“Whoever is doubting us, check what happened last year,” Cora told reporters. “We did the same thing. It’s easy to second guess now. It’s a program. You have to be disciplined. So that’s the way I see it. If people think they didn’t start too many games or they went too many innings, they should go back to what we did last year in spring training. We played until October 28. The previous year, when I got here, everybody was talking about how they were out of bullets in October against the Houston Astros.”

Trivia: J.D. Martinez collected his 1,000th career hit on Sunday, though he still has a long way to go to get near other Red Sox greats. Of the eight Red Sox players with the most hits in franchise history, how many can you name? (Answer at the bottom).

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Hint: Their initials are: CY, TW, JR, DE, WB, DO, BD, DP.

More from Boston.com:

J.D. Martinez had no idea he’d reached a career milestone

:  In the Red Sox loss on Sunday, J.D. Martinez smashed a three-run home run in the fourth inning. It was the 1,000th hit of his career.

“I didn’t know until I came back in and guys were telling me congrats,” said Martinez. “I was like, ‘Oh, that’s pretty cool.'” [The Boston Globe]

The latest on Craig Kimbrel: Reliever Craig Kimbrel is reportedly in touch with three teams, though there is no indication that he’s close to signing anywhere. The still unemployed former Red Sox closer has been most recently connected with the Brewers, Mets, and Rays, according to Ken Rosenthal and Dennis Lin. [The Athletic]

The Bruins lost, but this was a sublime short-handed goal from Brad Marchand:

This Blue Jays fan was impressively unfazed by a foul ball:

On this day: In 1985, Sports Illustrated ran George Plimpton’s famous fake story, “The Curious Case of Sidd Finch.” In it, Plimpton harnessed the full potential of April Fools’ Day, writing about a fictitious Mets rookie pitcher named Sidd Finch. Plimpton chronicled how the strange rookie pitched while wearing just one shoe, and could reach a top velocity of 168 miles an hour.

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The response to the magazine’s prank – including some cancelled subscriptions – was enough to eventually generate an ESPN “30 for 30” short, called “Unhittable: Sidd Finch and the Tibetan Fastball.”

Daily highlight: DC United’s Wayne Rooney scored an exquisite free kick in a 2-1 win over Orlando City on Sunday.

Trivia answers: Carl Yastrzemski, Ted Williams, Jim Rice, Dwight Evans Wade Boggs, David Ortiz, Bobby Doerr, and Dustin Pedroia.