PHILADELPHIA — Dustin Pedroia already is walking the walk.
Pedroia vowed over the offseason and in spring training that he’d return to being an offensive force in 2015. The four-time All-Star started to fulfill his promise Monday by hitting two solo home runs in the Boston Red Sox’s 8-0 win over the Philadelphia Phillies on Opening Day at Citizens Bank Park.
“He said before this year, ‘Mook, I’m going to get my numbers back up, my home run and my power numbers back up,’ ” said Mookie Betts, who also homered in Boston’s victory. “And then he goes out and hits two home runs. There’s not much I can really say about that.”
It took Pedroia one at-bat for him to set the tone for the afternoon Monday. He jumped all over a 1-1 offering from Phillies ace Cole Hamels in his first plate appearance of 2015 and sent it sailing over the left field fence to give the Red Sox a 1-0 edge. It was off to the races from there, as the Red Sox marked the occasion with a five-homer effort in the City of Brotherly Love.
“We saw some swings even in camp — a little bit like (Monday) — where to the pull side, it’s much more aggressive, there’s more freeness in his swing,” Red Sox manager John Farrell said of Pedroia. “Good to see that.”
Betts, whose battles with Hamels already carried a certain level of intrigue given the trade rumors that persisted over the winter, smacked a solo homer in the third inning before Pedroia went back to work in the fifth. Pedroia’s second homer came on a 92 mph fastball and further demonstrated that his hand injuries are a thing of the past.
“I could tell in the offseason I was healthy and getting back to normal,” Pedroia said. “I don’t really listen to all the outside stuff. All that is for other people. I just concentrate on doing what I do to help us win, and we’ll go from there.”
Pedroia, who added a single in the seventh, didn’t limit himself to producing at the plate. The four-time Gold Glove winner dazzled in the field on several occasions, even making a nice sliding stop in the seventh to prevent the Phillies from mounting a rally against Clay Buchholz in the pitcher’s final inning.
“He’s the best defensive second baseman in baseball,” Farrell said, “and (Monday) he showed why.”
The Red Sox’s offense looked as potent as advertised Monday, with Hanley Ramirez, who also hit two homers, putting the final nail in the coffin with a broken-bat grand slam in the ninth inning.
But Pedroia’s multihomer performance — his first since Sept. 13, 2011 — suggested he could make good on his word out of the No. 2 hole, which would go a long way toward helping the Red Sox rebound and silencing his critics after his most disappointing offensive season to date.
“I’m not trying to prove anything to anybody,” Pedroia said. “The only thing I try to prove is to my teammates that I’m here and that I’m going to help them win games.
“I couldn’t care less what everyone else says. I’m going to show up and if my name’s in the lineup, which it probably will be, I’m going to try to help us win.”
Some players fold under pressure after a winter of chirping. Pedroia went right to work on Day 1.
Thumbnail photo via Bill Streicher/USA TODAY Sports Images
