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For a struggling Red Sox team, Friday’s opener at Fenway Park provided a fresh start
Winter is over. Baseball season has arrived.
COMMENTARY
There’s something very comforting and therapeutic about the home opener at Fenway Park.
Hopping on the overcrowded T and hearing kids ask their parents incessantly, “Are we there yet?” brings a sense of familiarity. The locks overlooking the highway, $5 programs, and overflowing line outside the Cask ‘N Flagon serve as reminders that winter is over.
Devouring a Fenway Frank and soft-serve twist induces a feeling of nostalgia and childhood carefreeness. Gazing out at the immaculately trimmed grass, watching the teams spill out of the dugouts and onto the red carpet, and standing for the National Anthem mirrors a first-day-of-school feel.
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“Being here at Fenway Park, it’s good for everybody,” said Red Sox manager Alex Cora. “This place, you know, Opening Day is special.”
For a struggling Red Sox team in need of a jolt, Friday’s 5-2 triumph over the San Diego Padres provided a fresh start.
A fresh start for Sonny Gray, who tossed six strong innings after going just four in his Red Sox debut and showed he can emerge as a reliable No. 2 option.
A fresh start for Willson Contreras, who blasted the winning home run 423 feet over the Green Monster in the sixth inning after entering hitting .050.
A fresh start for Marcelo Mayer, who is hoping to prove he’s fully healthy and establish himself as a reliable every-day second baseman after hitting .228 last year.
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A fresh start for Caleb Durbin, who delivered an RBI single after starting his Boston career 0 for 19 and receiving boos following a double play in his first Fenway at-bat.
Durbin’s breakthrough was a microcosm of the team’s, as they gritted their way out of a slump together.
“You stay within yourself,” Durbin said. “I think you’ve been through it, right? A lot of people at this level, we’ve all been through stretches like that. I’ve been through stretches like that last year, so it’s nothing new. Just keep in mind that it’s a long season. Just try to take it game by game, pitch by pitch.”
It wasn’t a perfect effort, but it was a necessary one, as it provided the fan base with a reason for optimism following a dreadful start. The Red Sox are still 2-5, and have many areas to clean up, but this was a promising step in the right direction.
The Red Sox are now 15-7 in home openers since 2005. That doesn’t feel like a coincidence. The Monster Energy logo on the Green Monster certainly pops, but for the home opener, the Fenway faithful create their own energy.
“The team loves playing here,” Mayer said. “The city is amazing, and there’s no better place to play. You ask visiting players, and they all say Fenway Park is their favorite. So we’re super lucky to play here, super blessed.”
While this roster has holes, and power hitting, relief pitching, and infield depth are still concerns, the 1-5 start was certainly head-scratching. It felt like they could have taken two of three from the Reds, but the Astros series was never a series. They looked outmatched, out of sorts, and out of options.
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But that’s in the past. This is the present. On Friday, the Red Sox resembled a competent baseball team and one that is fully capable of doing some damage this year.
“Today was a good day,” Cora said. “I felt in Cincinnati we played well. In Houston, like I said, they were better than us.”
Durbin freezing after the dribbler wasn’t ideal. Ceddanne Rafaela seemingly losing the ball in the sun wasn’t picturesque. Trevor Story going hitless wasn’t beneficial.
In this case, though, the positives outweighed the negatives. After Rafaela plated Mayer with a single in the third and Durbin drove in Jarren Duran in the fourth, the Red Sox didn’t unravel when the Padres tied it at 2 in the fifth.
Instead, they responded with conviction, as Gray regrouped and Contreras and Mayer gave the fans a show put the home team comfortably in front. Gray, a fierce competitor who is his own toughest critic, was pleased with his execution outside of a couple mistakes.
“It’s a starting pitcher’s job to come out attack, put zeros on the board. and give your team a chance,” Gray said. “That’s just kind of what my mind-set was today, was just attack early, get back to being you.”
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Gray got back to being himself, and his teammates followed suit and got back to being themselves.
Then came “Take Me Out To The Ball Game,” followed by “Sweet Caroline,” as the majority of the 36,233 fans in attendance belted out the lyrics in unison.
It was just one game, but this was a healthy reminder that spring has sprung and the Red Sox are just getting started. Don’t count them out just yet.
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