|
 Buchholz combined with two relievers on a three-hit shutout and the
Red Sox hit five home runs, four off Cole Hamels, to batter the
Philadelphia Phillies 8-0 on Monday afternoon.
Second baseman Dustin Pedroia and left fielder Hanley Ramirez each
hit two homers for Boston, with the second by Ramirez a ninth-inning
grand slam off reliever Jake Diekman.
Buchholz, making his first Opening Day start after going 8-11 with a
5.34 ERA in 2014, did not allow a hit until first baseman Ryan
Howard doubled on an 0-2 pitch with two outs in the fourth. Phillies
catcher Carlos Ruiz and right fielder Grady Sizemore also lashed
back-to-back singles in the seventh, though Buchholz escaped
unscathed in that inning, which was his final inning of the day.
The Phillies managed just two other baserunners against Buchholz,
who struck out nine and joined Pedro Martinez (1998) as the only Red
Sox pitchers to work at least seven shutout innings in their first
career Opening Day start. Second baseman Chase Utley reached on the
pitcher's two-out error in the first, and catcher Carlos Ruiz walked
in the fourth. Buchholz struck out nine.
Junichi Tazawa and Tommy Layne each worked a scoreless inning in
relief for Boston.
"There was a lot of building up to this moment," Buchholz said. "I
felt good all spring, so it was just another step, I guess. There
was a little more interest than (there has) been for first starts,
but after the first couple pitches, it felt like a normal game."
There was also added interest because the Red Sox and Phillies have
reportedly discussed a deal involving Hamels, who lasted just five
innings Monday.
"I guess people could say it's ironic," Buchholz said, "but
obviously he's going out there trying to win baseball games, too. He
left a couple pitches up and our guys hit them. It goes back to what
everybody's been talking about with our lineup. I'm glad I don't
have to pitch to them. I'm glad they're on our side. It feels like
2007 again, when I got called up with Manny (Ramirez) and David
(Ortiz) and everybody."
Pedroia, who went 3-for-5, homered off Hamels in the first and
fifth. Center fielder Mookie Betts and Ramirez hit solo shots off
Hamels in the third and fifth, respectively, with Ramirez's homer
coming two batters after the one by Pedroia.
Hamels -- who struck out six, walked three and allowed five hits --
was making his second Opening Day start. He was beaten in his
previous one, at Atlanta in 2013, and has lost his season debut each
of the last five years. He is 1-6 over nine such starts in his
career, and the Phils are 2-7 in those games.
"Any time you start the season you want to be able to get that first
win -- not only for your teammates but for the organization and
everything you've worked on in spring training," he said. "That's
not the case, and it definitely didn't go the way we all wished. I'm
one of the big culprits of that."
Pedroia, who hit just seven homers in 135 games in 2014 and nine in
160 games the season before, launched Hamels' fifth pitch of the
game, a 1-1 fastball, into the seats in left field. He also homered
on a 1-1 fastball with one out in the fifth.
[to top of second column] |
It was the fourth multi-homer game of Pedroia's career, and his
first since Sept. 13, 2011, against Toronto. He said it is some
indication that he is finally healthy.
"I grinded a lot last year, (and the) last couple years," he said.
"I'm back to being who I am."
Ramirez, signed as a free agent in November after three years with
the Dodgers, lined Hamels' change-up into the left-field seats for
his first homer, with two outs in the fifth. In the ninth he hit an
0-2 slider from Diekman out. It was his sixth career grand slam, and
his first since July 2, 2011, when he hit one against Texas while
with the Florida Marlins.
He joked that he was "definitely" trying to match the homer total of
Pedroia, with whom he had played as a Red Sox farmhand early in his
career. He also said the offense wasn't Monday's big story.
"The best thing I saw was Buchholz," he said. "He threw a lot of
strikes. He went right after hitters. That gets you going."
NOTES: Red Sox CF Mookie Betts, 22, became the third-youngest Boston
player to hit an Opening Day homer. Tony Conigliaro did it at age 20
in 1965, as did 21-year-old Tom Winsett in 1931. ... Boston RF Shane
Victorino, who played seven seasons in Philadelphia, was accorded
warm ovations during pregame introductions and before his first
at-bat, in the second inning. Victorino went 0-for-2 with two walks.
He also stole a base. ... The Phillies opened their season at home
for the first time since 2011. ... The two teams met 100 years ago,
in the 1915 World Series, with the Red Sox winning in five games.
... It was the first time the Red Sox began their season against the
Phillies, and the first time they opened against an NL team. Boston
has, however, opened in Philadelphia on 10 previous occasions, all
against the old Athletics. ... The Red Sox had two players in their
starting lineup younger than 23, CF Mookie Betts and SS Xander
Bogaerts, the first time Boston had two players that young in their
Opening Day lineup since RF Tony Conigliaro and 2B Reggie Smith
opened the 1967 season. ... Phillies CF Odubel Herrera is just the
second rookie to make Philadelphia's Opening Day roster since 1970.
The other was INF Freddy Galvis in 2012.
[© 2015 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
Copyright 2015 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
