Postgame, Red Sox 13-2: Terry Francona’s postgame press conference lasted about 70 seconds. He did manage to pack in a few items of note.
First, he was asked about Jacoby Ellsbury and Mike Cameron.
“It was nice to see them both in action,” Francona said. “Early on everybody’s a little jumpy, swinging at pitches out of the zone and stuff.”
Cameron will play some outfield when the Red Sox head to Hammond Stadium to play the Twins on Sunday night. Ellsbury will sit, but Francona indicated that he is still figuring some things out in terms of his outfield rotation since Carl Crawford was not around Saturday.
Crawford is expected to be with the team Sunday and play Monday.
Francona was also asked about Jose Iglesias, who was 2-for-3 with three RBIs.
“It’s hard after playing Northeastern for seven innings to give you a read,” Francona said. “He took a couple of nice swings. He took a nice swing. The big thing for Jose will be not his swing, I think he’s got a pretty swing. It’s just swinging at strikes, trying to work counts and learning that aspect of it, because he can hit. He can put the barrel to the ball.”
Aside from that, all systems go.
Here are a few highlights from the box score, which I know might be hard to track down right now. Northeastern did in fact have seven errors, although I counted eight. In any event, it led to 10 unearned runs for the Red Sox. Twelve walks aided in the process as Boston only had six hits.
Hard to imagine that Northeastern led 2-0 halfway through this one. Well, maybe it isn’t that hard to imagine.
Red Sox pitchers gave up two runs — both earned — on four hits. They struck out eight and walked four. Rich Hill was given the win.
Look for the same wire-to-wire coverage Sunday night when Josh Beckett gets the start opposite Carl Pavano of the Twins.
Final, Red Sox 13-2: Fortunately, that is over with. We’ll head down to hear from Terry Francona in advance of Sunday night’s Grapefruit League opener. Back in a bit.
End 6th, Red Sox 13-2: The eighth error and sixth in the last three innings by Northeastern helps Boston begin a long two-out rally. The scoreboard says it is only seven errors, but we know better.
The Red Sox have also drawn about a dozen walks.
One of the highlights has been two solid run-scoring singles by Jose Iglesias, the latest scoring Aaron Bates in the sixth.
Peter Hissey drove in Iglesias and another runner with a bomb to straightaway center that went for a triple.
Matt Albers is on to protect the 11-run lead.
For Kyle, Oscar Tejeda has been in for a few innings. We stepped away to go to the clubhouse and in the interim the game has become pretty messy. But he is out there and has been involved in the scoring. I’ll try to get some statistical highlights from the box score.
Mid 6th, Red Sox 7-2: Tony Pena Jr. came on to work the sixth for the Red Sox, and did so in speedy fashion. Matt Albers is slated to be the guy to get the last three outs.
End 5th, Red Sox 7-2: Two more Northeastern errors — their sixth and seventh — allow the Red Sox to score two more runs without getting a hit.
Boston has just three hits, all singles. I’ve lost track of the walks, but it might be close to double figures.
Mid 5th, Red Sox 5-2: We will have more on Jacoby Ellsbury once I can transcribe the quotes and all.
As for the game, we have some odd line scores up there. Northeastern has two runs on three hits with four errors. Boston has five runs on three hits and no errors.
We nearly had a chance to see Jose Iglesias do something special at shortstop in the fifth, but he bobbled a chopper hit over the pitcher’s mound. It went as an infield single and rightfully so.
7:33 p.m.: In the time it took to go and hear from Jacoby Ellsbury and then return to the press box, the Red Sox scored another run to make it 5-2.
Blake Maxwell is on the mound for the Red Sox and there are two outs in the top of the fifth.
7:21 p.m.: It had to happen at some point. The Red Sox had runners all over the paths in the second and third innings but failed to score. They finally break through in the fourth.
Facing lefty Kevin Ferguson, Boston loaded the bases for the third straight time on two walks and a single by Juan Carlos Linares.
Che-Hsuan Lin then drew a walk to force in the first run for the Red Sox.
Jose Iglesias, everyone’s favorite minor leaguer, then singled to left on the first pitch to score two. A pair of errors on the same play by first baseman Jason Roth allowed Boston to plate one more.
Northeastern has four errors in this one.
The Red Sox are still batting as Ferguson is removed. Jacoby Ellsbury is speaking in the clubhouse so I’m out for a second. Back in a bit.
Mid 4th, Huskies 2-0: The Red Sox need to go back to the drawing board. The offseason didn’t accomplish much.
Another hit batter and a ringing double by Oliver Hart sets up an RBI groundout by Ricky Salvucci.
Northeastern has never scored more than two runs in its eight meetings with Boston, and it only did that twice.
End 3rd, Huskies 1-0: We got to see Jacoby Ellsbury go first to third in the third. He walked and made the 180-foot dash on a two-base error by first baseman Matt Miller.
The Red Sox loaded the bases for the second straight time, but a pop to Miller off the bat of Luis Exposito ended it.
Just to remind you, Boston has outscored Northeastern 98-4 in their seven meetings. This is a bit uncharacteristic.
Jose Iglesias is in at shortstop, replacing Jed Lowrie. Pete Hissey is in left. Che-Hsuan Lin is in center. Tim Federowicz is the catcher. And on the mound is Rich Hill. That’s Milton’s own Rich Hill.
Mid 3rd, Huskies 1-0: Northeastern fails to score in the third but it made Alex Wilson work.
Wilson walked two batters, the first of which, John Puttress, stole second base. The Huskies have had two runners reach in each inning so far.
Now pitching for Northeastern is Greg Ferguson, a junior from New Jersey.
End 2nd, Huskies 1-0: Northeastern came to play, ladies and gentleman.
A single, walk and an error (right fielder Matt Howard slipped on a routine fly) loaded the bases for the Red Sox with just one out.
JT Ross got Drew Sutton to ground to short, beginning a 6-4-3 double play. It looked as if Sutton might’ve beaten the relay to first, but heck, it was a nice moment for the Huskies.
Alex Wilson is the new pitcher for Boston.
Mid 2nd, Huskies 1-0: Not the best of outings for Kyle Weiland, who figures to be in the rotation for Pawtucket.
Weiland hit one batter and walked another in the second, after giving up the solo homer and a single in the first. He did battle back to strike out two of the last three hitters to strand the runners.
End 1st, Huskies 1-0: Jacoby Ellsbury grounds out weakly in his first at-bat, as does Jed Lowrie and Mike Cameron. Nice inning for JT Ross as he needs only a few pitches to retired the Red Sox in order.
Mid 1st, Huskies 1-0: The Boston College Eagles got one single and no runs off of Red Sox pitching. Northeastern needed one pitch to get the better of their in-city rivals.
Ryan Maguire, a senior from Arlington, hammered the first pitch by Kyle Weiland over the wall in left.
The very next pitch by Weiland was blooped into center by Jeff Dunlap for a single.
That was all the Huskies would get, but a pretty impressive beginning, especially when you consider that they hadn’t scored a run against the Red Sox since 2006, getting outscored 56-0 in the process.
5:35 p.m.: We gave you the old lineup earlier. My apologies for that. Here is an updated Red Sox batting order, as well as one for Northeastern:
Boston
Jacoby Ellsbury, CF
Jed Lowrie, SS
Mike Cameron, DH
Daniel Nava, LF
Luis Exposito, C
Yamaico Navarro, 3B
Juan Carlos Linares, RF
Drew Sutton, 2B
Jorge Padron, 1B
Northeastern
Ryan Maguire, 3B
Jeff Dunlap, LF
John Puttress, DH
Matt Howard, RF
Matt Miller, 1B
Tucker Roeder, C
Sean Lyons, CF
Oliver Hart, SS
Alan Pastyrnak Jr., 2B
JT Ross is the starting pitcher for the Huskies. He is a Newton native.
4:46 p.m.: As Northeastern takes batting practice and the shadows move across the infield here at City of Palms Park, we prepare for game two.
The Red Sox lineup is as follows:
Jacoby Ellsbury, CF
Jed Lowrie, SS
Mike Cameron, DH
Daniel Nava, LF
Luis Exposito, C
Hector Luna, 1B
Yamaico Navarro, 3B
Juan Carlos Linares, RF
Drew Sutton, 2B
Kyle Weiland will be on the mound for Boston. Scheduled to follow him are Alex Wilson, Rich Hill, Tony Pena Jr. and Matt Albers.
The Huskies enter 0-1 after a season-opening 6-3 loss to Sacred Heart on Friday night.
Postgame, Red Sox 6-0: We are back from the clubhouse, where we heard from Dustin Pedroia, Kevin Youkilis and Terry Francona.
We will have plenty more on the site in a story on the first game, but let’s just say that everything went extremely well. All the players returning from injury felt great getting back on the field, and Francona was overjoyed to see his stars back on the field.
“It’s exciting to see it in a game,” he said, referencing nearly two weeks of workouts that are now in the past.
Pedroia will likely proceed on an every-other-day basis for now. On his days off he will still work out and is continuing to receive one-hour treatments on his left foot. This is nothing more than a standard measure.
More in a bit as we are now less than three hours from the Northeastern game.
Final, Red Sox 6-0: Boston College avoids being no-hit when Jim Laufer singles to left. He got thrown out trying to stretch it into a double, but at least they got one on the board.
Randy Williams then gets the next two outs in a game that lasted exactly 100 minutes. Heading to the clubhouse now. Back in a bit.
End 6th, Red Sox 6-0: A single by Brent Dlugach and a double by Nate Spears set the table for the annual at-bat by Ino Guerrero, who throws batting practice for the Red Sox.
The intimidating Guerrero drew a four-pitch walk to load the bases. One out later, Alex Hassan drove in the sixth run of the game with a sacrifice fly to center.
Boston College is down to its final hacks still in search of that elusive first hit. Randy Williams is jogging on to pitch the seventh and final inning.
Mid 6th, Red Sox 5-0: Matt Fox records the sixth and seventh strikeouts for Red Sox pitching in a 1-2-3 sixth.
The weight of the world will likely fall on Randy Williams, the only other Boston pitcher scheduled to go in this one.
Boston College has its first lefty of the day on the mound. It is Andrew Lawrence. Brent Dlugach, Nate Spears and Ryan Khoury are due up for the Sox.
End 5th, Red Sox 5-0: Well, BC may never get a hit, but they have a chance to hold the Red Sox to their lowest run total in the series since 2002 (2-1 Boston win).
Garret Smith works around a one-out walk to right fielder Matt Sheely to get the Eagles through five. Paul Hoover, one of seven Boston catchers in camp, lined to left to end it.
Matt Fox is the fifth Red Sox pitcher. He has loads of pressure to keep this no-no alive. Aaron Bates has taken over for Lars Anderson at first base.
Mid 5th, Red Sox 5-0: Boston College gets its first base runner when Mike Sudol draws a one-out walk, but Clevelan Santeliz strikes out the other three men he faces.
Garret Smith, who started this game at catcher, is on the mound for the Eagles to start the fifth.
End 4th, Red Sox 5-0: Dave Laufer, twin brother of catcher Jim Laufer, throws a scoreless fourth for Boston College.
Brent Dlugach and Will Middlebrooks had a pair of infield hits but are stranded.
Clevelan Santeliz is the fourth Boston pitcher of the afternoon.I believe the only starter still in the game is Lars Anderson.
Mid 4th, Red Sox 5-0: Jason Rice throws the fourth straight perfect inning for the Red Sox. Boston College still looking for its first man to reach.
End 3rd, Red Sox 5-0: Since this is a day for firsts, we have a few more to mention. Ryan Kalish had the first single of the spring, driving in pinch runner Will Middlebrooks with Boston’s fourth run.
Kalish then stole second base, the first theft of the season. Lars Anderson then lifted a sacrifice fly to right — yes, a first — to push in Darnell McDonald.
McDonald drew one of three walks in the inning. The Red Sox have drawn seven so far, which is why they have five runs on two hits.
Middlebrooks was running for Kevin Youkilis, who led off the inning with a walk against Dane Clemens.
Several changes for the Red Sox. Jason Rice is the pitcher, Paul Hoover the catcher, Alex Hassan the left fielder, Bubba Bell the center fielder, Brent Dlugach the shortstop, Middlebrooks the third baseman and I think one more.
Mid 3rd, Red Sox 3-0: Give these Boston College kids credit. They are going up there swinging early and often.
Both Brad Zapenas and Rob Moir gave it a ride in the third against Michael Bowden. Darnell McDonald tracked down the drive by Zapenas just shy of the track in left. Ryan Kalish had to go back 20 feet or so to haul in Moir’s fly.
Dane Clemens is the third BC pitcher of the afternoon. Jim Laufer is the new catcher.
End 2nd, Red Sox 3-0: Hunter Gordon had faced one hitter in the first five games for Boston College and that man hit a home run. He fared a bit better this time around, with plenty of help from his second baseman, Anthony Melchionda.
Gordon walked Josh Reddick with one out and Marco Scutaro with two. Dustin Pedroia then hit a ball up the middle that Melchionda dove for and gloved before rising to his feet and throwing out Pedroia.
That’s it for Pedroia. He is replaced at second by Nate Spears. Michael Bowden takes over on the mound for Boston.
Stolmy Pimentel retired all six men he faced. He threw 13 of his 18 pitches for strikes.
Mid 2nd, Red Sox 3-0: Stolmy Pimentel threw under 10 pitches in the second, getting three quick outs.
With the Kevin Youkilis homer in the first, the Red Sox have now outscored Boston College 197-37. This is the 21st meeting between the teams.
There will be many changes in this game and they’ve already begun. I’ll try to keep up but forgive me if there are any oversights.
Hunter Gordon, a sophomore, is the new Eagles pitcher. He is a right-hander.
End 1st, Red Sox 3-0: Thus far it’s Kevin Youkilis’ game and we’re all just standing around watching.
After making a nice defensive play in the top of the first, Youkilis hammered a three-run homer off Geoff Oxley that hit the light tower in right field.
Marco Scutaro and Dustin Pedroia walked to start it off. They were moved up 90 feet on a tapper to first by David Ortiz.
Following Youk’s smash, Darnell McDonald popped to center and Oxley fanned Ryan Kalish.
Mid 1st, 0-0: One of many scenes Red Sox fans are eager to see this spring is Kevin Youkilis at third base. He’s played there before, but knowing he is the guy for all of 2011 has increased the focus. So far, so good.
Youkilis made a sensational diving stop to his backhand of a hard grounder by Garret Smith and threw to first for the second out of the inning.
Stolmy Pimentel struck out leadoff hitter Marc Perdios and No. 3 man Kyle Prohovich.
Marco Scutaro, Dustin Pedroia and David Ortiz are due up.
12:49 p.m.: For you Eagles fans back home, here is the starting lineup for Boston College:
Marc Perdios, LF
Garret Smith, C
Kyle Prohovich, DH
Mike Sudol, 1B
Andrew Lawrence, CF
Brad Zapenas, SS
Anthony Melchionda, 2B
Rob Moir, RF
Spenser Payne, 3B
Senior Geoff Oxley is the starting pitcher for B.C., which had plenty of hitters go deep during batting practice. We could tell because we were behind the left field wall watching some simulated games and had to duck several times.
Also, I know several of you have already commented on wanting to see the game on TV. That’s certainly not my department, but I will do everything I can to give you a good idea of what is going on out here. If you have any questions about a play or anything that comes to mind, feel free to leave it in a comment on the live blog and I’ll do my best to answer your question or provide a little more feedback.
12:12 p.m.: We were just given a nice dose of what Bobby Jenks is all about.
Throwing to hitters for the first time this spring in a simulated game, Jenks first offering to Brent Dlugach was hammered. The next one got Dlugach right in the rear.
Jenks had a wry smile on his face when we asked him about it. Look for more on his day in a separate piece that should be up in a few moments.
Jon Lester, John Lackey and Alfredo Aceves also threw on the back field at City of Palms Park. Dlugach and Nate Spears were the hitters throughout the process.
11:15 a.m.: Jon Lester, John Lackey, Bobby Jenks and Alfredo Aceves are beginning to throw simulated games right now.
We will head down to take a look and see how they come out of things. None of the four are scheduled to appear in a game until March 1, when Lester and Aceves are on the tentative slate at Minnesota.
9:47 a.m.: Just a quick reminder of the starting lineup for the Boston College game in a few hours. With Stolmy Pimentel on the mound, here is the batting order for the Red Sox:
Marco Scutaro, SS
Dustin Pedroia, 2B
David Ortiz, DH
Kevin Youkilis, 3B
Darnell McDonald, LF
Ryan Kalish, CF
Lars Anderson, 1B
Josh Reddick, RF
Ryan Lavarnway, C
Pimentel will be followed by Michael Bowden, Jason Rice, Clevelan Santeliz, Matt Fox and Randy Williams, although the order could be changed around.
It’s another gorgeous day in Fort Myers. Keep it here for all your updates through the end of the nightcap against Northeastern.
9 a.m.: The incredible excitement surrounding the offseason for the Red Sox has led to a remarkably smooth and upbeat camp in Fort Myers. It has the organization optimistic (cautiously so after 2010) for what could be a special season.
In a way, that season begins Saturday when the Red Sox play their annual doubleheader with Boston College and Northeastern University. We will follow every pitch for you right here, serving as your No. 1 choice for an inning-by-inning account of the team’s first game action of the year.
Both games will be played at City of Palms Park. The opener features the Eagles in a contest set to begin at 1 p.m. Stolmy Pimentel, rated as one of the top young pitchers in Boston’s system, will oppose BC, which is 2-3 after a loss 9-3 loss at the University of Florida on Friday night. Senior Geoff Oxley will start for the Eagles in his first appearance since undergoing Tommy John surgery last May.
Marco Scutaro, Dustin Pedroia, David Ortiz and Kevin Youkilis are the first four hitters in Boston’s lineup for the opener.
Kyle Weiland, who was 5-9 with Double-A Portland last season, starts the nightcap against the Huskies and senior lefty J.T. Ross, a Newton native. Jacoby Ellsbury will be batting leadoff and playing center field for the 6 p.m. start.
The Red Sox begin their Grapefruit League schedule Sunday night at Minnesota.
