Red Sox Waste No Time, Show Exactly Who They Are On Opening Day

The Boston Red Sox opened their season with a victory over the Seattle Mariners on Thursday, cobbling together a 6-4 win on Opening Day at T-Mobile Park.

If they hope to make the postseason, which we’re fully aware is a ways away, they’ll likely need to do that about 85 more times.

That’s the reality of Boston’s situation, as the organization has decided to lean on youth — and the added athleticism that comes with it — to steer the ship in 2024. The Red Sox showcased both traits Thursday, but as many could have seen coming, the onus will fall on the arms to hold up their end of the bargain if they hope to find sustained success.

They did on Thursday.

Brayan Bello had an extremely Brayan Bello outing, pitching his way out of a few jams across a solid — yet somewhat unspectacular — five-inning, two-run outing. He has more in the tank, which he proved at the tail end of last season when the Red Sox relied on him to pitch deeper into games. He did just that in outings against the New York Yankees and Houston Astros in 2023, he did just that. It would be just peachy if he could be that guy permanently, but at 24 years old, he still needs some time to fully develop into that front-of-the-rotation horse. He gave Boston an opportunity to win Thursday, though, which is all manager Alex Cora ever asks for.

“He can be better, we know that,” Cora said postgame, as transcribed by Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic. “I think command was off, but he was able to make pitches. For a kid from Samana (Dominican Republic), to be on this stage and go out there and perform it was awesome. We made a big commitment a few weeks ago.”

If this were September, he probably would have come back out for the sixth inning.

Kenley Jansen and Chris Martin, the leaders of last season’s surprisingly awesome bullpen, picked up where they left off, but we saw a glimpse into what could hinder the unit this season. Isaiah Campbell pitched his way through a 1-2-3 inning in his return to Seattle, but after giving up a single to lead off his second frame, he was pulled for Joely Rodríguez– the only left-handed option in Boston’s bullpen. What happened? The Mariners pulled within one run fairly quickly, as Dylan Moore put one into the seats to make it 5-4 in the seventh inning. Is Rodríguez going to be giving up bombs left and right? No, probably not. If he’s the only lefty in the pen, however, teams are going to be able to do exactly what Seattle did, which was pinch-hit with a lefty specialist and reap the rewards.

If you’re looking for some insight into how the offense looked, the answer is pretty damn good.

You’ll hear a ton about the Red Sox’s youth and athleticism this season, and rightfully so. Ceddanne Rafaela’s the living embodiment of both those traits, while Jarren Duran, the guy who could have stolen home Thursday but opted not to for some odd reason, is still one of the most electrifying base runners in MLB. Boston’s starters all recorded at least one hit, while Rafael Devers and Tyler O’Neill each left the yard. Rafaela stretched a double into a triple. Connor Wong came up clutch, and Trevor Story drew a walk in addition to his hit.

“We’re 1-0,” Cora gleamed, as seen on NESN’s postgame coverage.

The Red Sox, as expected, were more than competitive on offense and gave themselves a chance to win. If the pitching staff can continue to find outs, they just might be all right.