G2: Red Sox 9, Orioles 8

Orioles - 304 100 000 - 8 13  0
Red Sox - 014 000 202 - 9 11  0

I really don't like the trend I see emerging this season. In the first two games, the Red Sox have fallen behind by several runs in the early innings (5-1 and 8-2 on Thursday, 3-0 and 7-1 today), scratched and clawed their way back, getting to within a solitary run of tying the game, but going no further because their supply of outs has run dry. 

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Holy motherfucking shit!!! Orioles left fielder Ryan McKenna dropped a routine pop fly that should have ended Saturday's game in Baltimore's favour, 8-7. But McKenna's utterly unexpected error – which happened just as I was writing "P" on my score sheet and was about to add a "7" – put Masataka Yoshida on first base. Two pitches later, Adam Duvall lined a home run to left-center that just cleared the Wall – which must have made McKenna suddenly feel a lot worse – giving the Red Sox a truly shocking – and absolutely hilarious – 9-8 victory.

It had been a very long time since I've yelled at my TV during a baseball game – "Get out, you fucker, get out, Aaaahhhhh!" – and then devolved into cackling laughter as Fenway Park exploded. When the Orioles asked for a review, NESN's Kevin Youkilis scoffed, dismissing it as a waste of time. The home run was upheld within seconds. I doubt the Red Sox's celebration even slowed down to notice the challenge.

It was Duvall's second home run of the afternoon; his two-run shot in the third capped a four-run rally that cut Baltimore's 7-1 lead to a manageable 7-5. Duvall also doubled in a run in the seventh, finishing the day with five RBI.

Red Sox fans say thank you, Ryan McKenna. pic.twitter.com/224YpxNZfJ

— Tyler Milliken ⚾️ (@tylermilliken_) April 1, 2023

ADAM DUVALL WALK OFF MISSILE pic.twitter.com/LJvRQ8M91f

— Red Sox Stats (@redsoxstats) April 1, 2023

Every Red Sox fan as soon as Adam Duval hit that ball.pic.twitter.com/O6LDCkxnjX

— Thomas Carrieri (@Thomas_Carrieri) April 1, 2023

It's best to start at the beginning. Chris Sale (3-7-7-2-6, 74) had velocity – his fastball hit 97 in the first inning – but his location came and went like spotty wifi. He struck out three in the first inning (actually, the first five Baltimore outs were Sale Ks), but he also gave up a single and two home runs. Sale said afterwards: "I was out there throwing batting practice".

Sale walked the leadoff man in the second and then gave up another single. He punched out two Birds – during which Baltimore had a double steal – and got out of the inning thanks to Rafael Devers's fantastic play on a slow roller by Adley Rutschman (who at that point was 6-for-6 (shades of Ted Cox) on the season). Devers ran in, barehanded the ball, and fired a one-hop throw to  first, which was expertly back-handed by Triston Casas.

Duvall tripled high off the garage door on center to start the home second. Dean Kremer's (3-6-5-1-3, 56) second pitch to Casas was wild and Boston was on the board. 

Sale got the first man in the third but it was tough sledding after that. Anthony Santander singled to short left and Austin Hays reached when his ground ball died in the grass in front of Devers. A walk to Gunnar Henderson loaded the bases. Jorge Mateo forced Henderson at second, but Christian Arroyo could not complete the relay, and Santander scored. With Cedric Mullins at-bat, Mateo stole second. On Sale's next pitch, Mullins homered to center, a three-run job that might have been helped by the wind gusting in that direction. (Youkilis referred to a "jet stream", which will always make me think of one thing and one thing only: Van Halen's "Everybody Wants Some!!") Sale wasn't quite done. He plunked McKenna, who stole second base before Ramón Urías went down swinging.

Return of The Cactus? Hays stole second in the top of the ninth. It was the Orioles' fifth steal of the game and with their five thefts on Opening Day, they became the only team in major league history to begin a season with five or more steals in each of its first two games. This will be part of the O's MO in 2023, it seems.

The Orioles led 7-1. Sale was likely done after three crappy innings. Not good. I wondered if there was something more productive I could be doing with my afternoon. There absolutely was, but I decided to keep watching, and the Red Sox turned what seemed like an emerging rout into an actual game by scoring four runs of their own.

Kiké Hernández walked and Alex Verdugo homered over the bullpens in right-center. That free money made it 7-3 and increased Boston's win possibility to 15%. Devers singled to right and made the stupid decision to try for a double. He was safe, but managed to over-slide the new, larger base and was tagged out. A runner on first would have been nice as Justin Turner hit a first-pitch double off the Wall. Yoshida flied to the dirt of the triangle for the second out, before Duvall reached down and hit a 1-0 pitch off one of the signs above the Monster Seats. 7-5 and 27.3%, okay. 

Zack Kelly took over for Sale and kind of pitched like Sale. With one out, he gave up a single to center and a double off the garage door in center. Hernández's relay from Duvall to the plate was both offline and late, but Reese McGuire's peg to third was on the money, nailing Santander. That meant the bases were empty when Hays doubled. A pop to left ended the inning.

And then both offenses took a nap for a while. Starting with Kelly's top of the fourth, the pitch counts for the next four half-innings went: 15, 16, 16, 15. In the bottom of the fourth, we learned Youkilis likes mullets and thinks rattails are "awesome". When Youkilis said Turner's pine tar stain was likely the biggest in the majors, Dave O'Brien estimated that it was "as big as Rhode Island". (It reminded me (and not in a good way) of Chris Berman calling the HR Derby (which will be playing non-stop and loudly for me in hell) "that one is headed for Montana" as it lands in the sixth row.) In the sixth, OB said Baltimore "was ahead 11-6 in hits", which is not – and will never be – a thing. The inning's third out was an easy 4-3 grounder, which OB stated was "rattled to Arroyo". Can ground balls be "rattled"?

The Red Sox very solid work from the bullpen. From the fifth inning on, Josh Winckowski (5th-6th), John Schreiber (7th), Chris Martin (8th), and Kenley Jansen (9th) kept the Orioles from adding to their lead. Their combined line: 5-3-0-2-5.

Austin Voth pitched a clean sixth for the Orioles and he came back out for the seventh. He got a called strike on Hernández and then hung a curveball, which Kiké smoothly redirected over the Wall in left.  O's 8-6. Buh-bye, Voth; hello, Cionel Pérez. With one out, Devers smoked the first pitch into the left field corner, which got the crowd to start making some noise. Turner lined a single over shortstop into left; Devers had to stop at third. Yoshida fanned, but Duvall hit a high fly down the right field line. It looked it had a chance to sneak past the pole. It didn't quite make it, but Hays wasn't sure where it was. The ball came down on the dirt of the track about 15-20 feet beyond Hays and bounced into the stands. Devers scored and Turner, who thought he had tied the game when he crossed the plate, had to go back to third. The Red Sox's win expectancy had risen from 11.8% to 37.6% in this inning. Casas struck out to end the inning. I felt good knowing there were two innings to go, not only one.

Urías, Baltimore's leadoff man, did not have a good afternoon. He struck out swinging in the first. He struck out swinging in the second. He struck out swinging in the third. He struck out swinging in the fifth. When he came to the plate with one out in the top of the eighth, Youkilis noted he was already wearing a Golden Sombrero, but wondered what the term was for striking out all five times in a game, if such a thing were to occur. He soon reported that someone in the truck said it was a Platinum Sombrero. No. No, no, no, no. 0-for-5 with five strikeouts is a Golden Shower. Which is what Urías won when he struck out swinging in the eighth. (I wanted to put that bold in yellow as well, but you probably would not be able to see it. Let's try. Golden Shower)

The Red Sox were quiet in the eighth. Hernández was supposedly hit by a pitch, up and in, near his hands. That was the call by plate umpire Will Little, which was confirmed after a replay challenge. Watching the replays convinced me beyond doubt that the ball never touched Hernández or any part of his uniofrm or batting gloves. It always amazes me when the replay team can't get its review right, even when the visual evidence is clear. It happend early in this game. In the top of the fourth, when Santander was thrown out at third, the Orioles asked for a review. I thought the runner was safe, but the review team upheld the original call.

Jansen got into a bit of a jam in the ninth. OB kept reciting stats about his good seasons with the Dodgers and how he led the NL in saves last year and the fact that he's pitched in three World Series. Who gives a shit? I watched those World Series and Jansen was shaky as fuck. I did not like the signing and I know anytime he comes into a game, I'm going to expect him to shit the bed. He's my new Matt Barnes. With two outs (K and a nifty scoop at first by Casas on a hard grounder), Jansen gave up a single to Hays, who stole second. Jansen walked Henderson. After a mound visit, Jansen fired some serious smoke past Mateo, getting him to swing and miss at three pitches, the second one a little higher than the first, and the third one a little higher than the second. It was impressive.

Félix Bautista (who, like Jansen, wears #74) came in for the last of the ninth. Devers fouled off two pitches before striking out and being thrown out at first. Bautista was throwing 100 to both Devers and Turner. Last year, he threw 203 pitches at 100+ mph, which sounded like a lot, but it was only 7th in MLB. The count went full before Turner grounded out to short. The Red Sox's win expectancy dropped to 4.4%.

Yoshida took a ball and popped to left. Mateo went out from shortstop and McKenna came in. It was obviously the left fielder's ball. He caught it off to his left side. The ball did not hit the heel of his glove exactly; it hit a bit higher than the heel, but not high enough to stick in the glove. O'Brien was either stuck in calling what he expected to happen (which I was guilty of as well, with my "P") or was simply speechless, so it was Youkilis who cried out that he had dropped the ball. Rob Refsnyder ran for Yoshida at first base.

Duvall stepped in, knowing he had struck out against Bautista to end the Red Sox's loss on Opening Day. "It was kind of eerie. And with the error and then getting a chance to end the game there, it was very strange walking up to the plate like, 'Man, this just happened literally two days ago.'"

Duvall took a fastball (99.9 mph) too far inside before getting another fastball (99.7) low in the zone. He hit a rope to left that slammed into the little shelf above the top of the wall. "Off the bat . . . I wasn't sure if it was a homer or not. And then I saw them stop going for it. I saw the lights start to flicker. I was hoping that it was going to stand as a homer."

When the picture from the park got dark, I assumed this was due to some NESN cockup. Nope, it turns out it's some new LED display bullshit the team is debuting this year. Yeah, that seems like a good use of a pile of money that could have been spent paying good players.

On Thursday, Adley Rutschman went 5-for-5, the first player to go 5-for-5 with a home run on Opening Day since 1937. Today, Austin Hays went 5-for-5 with a home run (and two doubles and two singles). How many times has a team had guys go 5-for-5 (with or without a dong) in consecutive games (or the first two games of a season)? It may have never happened before in the first two games.

My scorecard is a mess because of all the announcers notes I took throughout the game. Yay! 

Early in the top of the third, O'Brien started talking about how one of Sale's best games of his career came against the Orioles, when he had struck out 14. That was May 2019. He fanned Steve Wilkerson and Richie Martin a couple of times. Why didn't that help him today? Then OB went full Orsillo Non-Sequitur, pointing out that Sale started three consecutive All-Star games. Yes, he did . . . it all happened when he was with the fucking White Sox!

After Duvall doubled in the seventh, OB said, "If you grew up coming to Fenway, you saw a lot of games like this." Simple enough comment, but the viewers tuning in grew up coming to Fenway in 1950, 1964, 1973, 1982, 1995, 2003, 2011, and 2018. What OB meant was "If you grew up coming to Fenway during the same years I did, you saw a lot of games like this."

Yoshida batted in the seventh against Cionel Pérez, a hard-throwing lefty who O'Brien said was short for a pitcher. OB got nostalgic for short-ish fireballing lefties like Billy Wagner [Yook voices an "Oof" in the background] . . . [and?] . . . Ron Guidry. Seriously?!? The memories are supposedly flooding back, but you got to back to the late 70s, close to a half-century ago, to name your second guy? Jesus! Who else you remembering? . . . Rube Waddell? Okay, maybe not Waddell. He's listed at 6-1. And Koufax was 6-2. Guidry (5-11) and Wagner (5-10) check out. Oh, look, Pérez is listed at 6-0.

O'Brien did combine with me to call Duvall's third-inning homer. He said something about the wind, adding "he doesn't need any help from the wind". I replied: "If you want to show us how you do it right now, that'd be all right." Next pitch . . . Dongo!

NESN's super-zoom of the ball coming to the plate is often used when batters are hit or so we can really see the ball come off the bat. More than half the time, what we are supposed to see is off-screen because NESN has zoomed in way too close. This has been going on for years. Why is this still a problem after five years (at least; I'm being generous)? Why didn't someone see it happen once, twice, and fix the goddamn thing? If we can't see the ball hit the batter, you might as well put up some "live" video of fans eating hot dogs (from 2015). This also happened on double plays, when the second baseman getting the toss from short was out of the frame.

With less time between pitches and half-innings, the Red Sox appear to have adding more advertising behind home plate and on the wall in center. 

There's five different ads behind the plate. There is often a sixth ad in the score bug and a seventh ad superimposed on the third base side of the mound. If redsox.com counts as an ad, that's eight.

How many ads can you find in this picture?

I counted 20!!!

That's terrible and it's ugly as shit, too. There's also numerous ads on the Wall, but the white-on-green is far more (I can't believe I'm tying this) "aesethically pleasing" than this garbage.

Dean Kremer / Chris Sale

Chris Sale has made only 11 starts since 2019. While Opening Day was his 34th birthday, Sale claims, because of his limited playing time over the past three seasons, his left arm is only 31 — "athletically speaking".

Dr. Robert Parisien, an orthopedic sports medicine surgeon at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York:

We certainly don't have any data that suggests taking a full year to two or three years off, you're going to have some sort of increased improvement [compared to] the typical offseason.

Chad Jennings, The Athletic:

Doctors do have data that shows the kinetic chain — the core, lumbar musculature, dynamic hip stabilizers, and lower extremities — play a role in arm health and strength. If the time off allowed Sale to improve those aspects of his body, perhaps a relatively fresh arm could be better equipped to perform as it did a few years ago.

Dr. Parisien:

He might be stronger from that perspective. And this may all contribute to a few points in the velocity.

It's raining in Boston, but as of 11 AM ET, the game was expected to start on time.

From SoSHer LynnRice75:

Game one showed that this team can hit.

Unfortunately, we pitched like shit.

But my undying faith won't yield

And when we take the soggy field,

I'll watch as Chris Sale takes the ball

(And hope he doesn't slip and fall.)

The Sox will prove they are not meek

And start their first great winning streak.

Remember that a rainy day

Just means "water" is on the way.

The 2022 Red Sox's pitching staff walked 9+ batters in a game twice (July 1 and 6).

The 2023 Red Sox' pitching staff is already halfway to that total.

Some Things Never Change

What the hell is going on NESN!

— Boston Strong (@BostonStrong_34) March 30, 2023

A single half inning and NESN has already decided they shouldn’t try to even pretend to put out a comptent product

— Garrett Whitlock Fan Club (@WhitlockSzn) March 30, 2023

Good to see NESN in mid season form. Leaving the game mid sentence for another commercial and never showing replays.

— Russillo (@ryenarussillo) March 30, 2023

Welcome to the 2023 ump show pic.twitter.com/Gb9BwqfZGw

— Welcome to the Ump Show (@umpjob) March 30, 2023

Brian O'Nora missed 17 balls and strikes calls in San Diego last night according to @UmpScorecards. pic.twitter.com/pKmCIdcuUj

— Codify (@CodifyBaseball) April 1, 2023

Incredible broadcast experience pic.twitter.com/dOjQVxw5cU

— Pete Blackburn (@PeteBlackburn) March 29, 2023