The Red Sox won on Opening Day for the first time in the 21st century. Their last Opening Day win was in 2000 against the Mariners. The big stories of the day were Curt Schilling, Coco Crisp, and David Ortiz.
Curt Schilling's fastball was alive all day and he used it to great effectiveness. He was hitting 94 in the 7th inning with it. He went 7 strong innings and threw 117 pitches. His only major mistake was a pitch to Phil Nevin that the Rangers DH hit for a homerun. Other than that he was brilliant. He struck out 5, allowed 5 hits and only walked 1.
The Sox gave Schilling a lead in the 4th inning when Jason Varitek hit a 2 run double. The rest of the game, the Sox added to that lead. In the 5th, Loretta knocked in Crisp with a double. Then Loretta experienced something he will probably experience a lot this season: walking to home plate after David Ortiz crushed a ball out of the park. In the 7th, Ortiz got another RBI by hitting a double to knock in Crisp. Mike Lowell capped off the Red Sox scoring with a solo shot to start the 8th. Slow bat? Maybe not.
The 7 runs were enough for the Sox. Papelbon came into the game in the 8th. He got a ground out, a strike out, and a fly out. With a 7-2 lead in the 9th, the Red Sox put out their defensive replacements in Snow and Stern. They also sent Foulke to the mound to end the game. Foulke struggled, following a single, then a double, then a long fly ball that was only a Sac-Fly thanks to Coco Crisp's defense. Foulke got a ground out to end the game.
Crisp didn't have a great day at the plate, but he scored twice. He also made some good plays in the field. Loretta had a solid day, going 1 for 2 with an RBI double. Ramirez only went 1 for 4, but he didn't have many scoring opportunities. Nixon was solid going 1 for 3. Varitek was great going 2 for 4 with a pair of RBIs. Lowell had his homerun which proves that he can swing quickly. Alex Gonzales surprisingly went 2 for 4. Only Youkilis totally struggled at the plate, going 0 for 4.
David Ortiz is, of course, the Man of the Game. He went 3 for 5 with a homer and a double. He knocked in 3 and scored twice. He's looking dead on.
Tomorrow, the Red Sox will send Tim Wakefield to pitch against Vicente Padilla. The Red Sox like doing this because the Rangers saw Schilling's fastball all day today and tomorrow will see Wake's knuckleball.
