It took a while for the offenses to heat up at Fenway Park on Thursday afternoon.
In what was the coldest home opener for the Boston Red Sox since 1988, the hometown club and the Tampa Bays played to a scoreless tie through seven innings, as starting pitchers David Price and Yonny Chirinos each shut down the opposing the offenses.
The Rays eventually struck first for two runs in the eighth, but Boston stormed back in the ninth.
Hanley Ramirez knocked in a run to cut the deficit to 2-1, and then two batters later, Xander Bogaerts laced a two-out RBI double off the Green Monster to tie the game at two.
The game remained tied until the 12th inning, when Ramirez stepped to the plate with the bases loaded and one out. The Red Sox first baseman blasted a walk-off single to right field to give the Red Sox a 3-2 win.
The Red Sox improve to 6-1 with the win, while the Rays fall to 1-6.
Here’s how it all went down:
IT WAS OVER WHEN…
Ramirez shot an RBI single into right field to end the game.
ON THE BUMP
— Price was dialed in against his former team once again. The lefty tossed seven shutout innings, allowing three hits while striking out five and walking three.
The Red Sox left-hander ran into some trouble in the third inning when Daniel Robertson doubled to leadoff the frame and Rob Refsnyder followed with a walk. Price would wiggle out of the jam, though. He got Matt Duffy to roll into a fielder’s choice before getting Kevin Kiermaier and Carlos Gomez to pop out.
He cruised through his remaining four innings of work, recording his second straight start of seven shutout innings.
— Carson Smith relieved Price in the eighth inning and things didn’t go well. The right-hander issued a leadoff walk to Mallex Smith and then gave up a two-run home run to Duffy, giving Tampa Bay a 2-0 lead.
— Hector Velazquez pitched a scoreless ninth.
— Craig Kimbrel worked into and out of trouble in a scoreless 10th.
— Bobby Poyner recorded a scoreless 11th. The lefty got into trouble in the 12th but struck out Kiermaier with a runner on third to keep the game tied.
IN THE BATTER’S BOX
— The Red Sox squandered a premiere scoring opportunity in the second inning. J.D. Martinez led off the inning with what appeared to be a routine fly ball to center field. The April wind got a hold of it, however, causing the ball to drop behind Rays center fielder Kiermaier, allowing Martinez to fly around to third for a leadoff triple. Boston was unable to score, however, as Bogaerts and Rafael Devers each hit weak ground balls to the pitcher and first baseman, respectively. Eduardo Nunez ended the inning by rolling over to shortstop.
— Despite being held to three hits through eight innings, the Red Sox didn’t quit. Mookie Betts led off the ninth inning with a single and Benintendi followed with a walk. Hanley Ramirez then ripped an RBI single to center to cut the lead to one.
After Martinez grounded into a double play it looked like the rally was doomed, but Bogaerts came through in the clutch, lacing an RBI double off the Green Monster to tie the game. Boston then loaded the bases, but Jackie Bradley Jr. grounded out to second base to send the game to extra innings.
— The Red Sox finally broke through in the 12th. Bradley Jr. led off the inning with a double and moved to third on a sacrifice bunt. After Betts and Benintendi both reached via walk, Ramirez came to the plate and ripped a walk-off RBI single to end the game. Ramirez went 2-for-6 with two RBI.
TWEET OF THE GAME
An Olympic gold medalist and a Big Papi.
UP NEXT
The Red Sox will resume their series with the Rays on Saturday after an off day Friday. Rick Porcello and Jacob Faria are the scheduled starters for each team. First pitch is set for 1:05 p.m. ET.
