Needless to say, there were quite a few positives from the Boston Red Sox’s Opening Day shellacking of the Philadelphia Phillies.
Boston hammered Philly with five home runs — including a Hanley Ramirez grand slam — as Clay Buchholz and the bullpen shut out the Phillies with an 8-0 win. But just as importantly, Buchholz, Ramirez and Dustin Pedroia gave Red Sox fans something to be excited about after a 71-win season in 2014.
Buchholz might have been the biggest surprise, as the talk in Boston this offseason revolved around its lack of an ace in the rotation. But the right-hander sure looked like an ace against the Phillies. Buchholz pitched seven shutout innings, fanning nine while allowing just three hits and one walk.
Then, there were Pedroia and Ramirez.
The second baseman became the first Red Sox to hit two home runs on Opening Day since Carlton Fisk in 1973, when he launched a solo shot in the fifth inning after already hitting one in his first at-bat. Ramirez added a solo home run two batters later and became the first Red Sox to hit two home runs on Opening Day since the fifth inning, when he hit his ninth-inning grand salami.
Both sluggers entered 2015 with health questions. Pedroia hadn’t been 100 percent since Opening Day in 2013, when he tore the UCL in his thumb sliding into first base. Boston’s World Series run that year gave him a shorter offseason rehab, and he still wasn’t in top form by 2014. As for Ramirez, he spent his entire three-year tenure with the Los Angeles Dodgers battling injuries, but he bulked up for the Red Sox to become a pure power hitter.
Now, it doesn’t seem as though there are any questions about either of them.
So whose Opening Day performance encouraged you most?
Thumbnail photo via Bill Streicher/USA TODAY Sports Images
