It took a while, but the Red Sox ended their home opener in style, posting a 3-2, 12-inning victory over the Tampa Bay Rays for their sixth win in a row.
Hanley Ramirez drilled a single to the warning track to right with the bases loaded, scoring Jackie Bradley Jr.,. who had doubled to start the 12th. Rookie Bobby Poyner got his first major league win with two scoreless innings.
The Sox had to rally in the ninth to extend the game. Trailing 2-0, Ramirez singled home one run and Xander Bogaerts doubled for the second.
With the game scoreless after seven innings, Carson Smith had allowed two runs in the eighth, marking the fourth time in seven games that the Sox bullpen had allowed runs in that inning.
David Price blanked the Rays for the first seven and has not allowed a run in 14 innings to begin the season.
WHO: Red Sox vs. Tampa Bay Rays
WHERE: Fenway Park
WHEN: 2:05 p.m.
TV/RADIO: NESN/WEEI 93.7 FM
STARTING PITCHERS: LHP David Price (1-0, 0.00) vs. RHP Yonny Chirinos (0-0, 0.00)
WHAT'S UP: The Red Sox are coming off an opening road trip in which they went 5-1 and have won five in a row. They occupy first place in the A.L. East with a game lead over the second-place Yankees. This is the first game of a 10-game homestand at Fenway. The Rays come in at 1-5, having lost five straight since coming back on the Red Sox in the eighth inning of the season opener. Tampa got swept in an snow-abbreviated two-game series in New York.
IN-GAME OBSERVATIONS:
5:08: Craig Kimbrel was atypically wild in the ninth, with seven straight balls at one point and two walks. At some point, you wonder if the combination of the strange schedule early in the season, irregular usage and his unavailability for most of the spring plays a factor early on.
4:55: Plenty of home opener drama in the 9th, as the Sox tie the game and load the bases with two outs, only to have Bradley thrown out at first on a grounder to second. Strangely, Tampa second baseman Daniel Robertson could have easily stepped on second for the inning-ending forceout, but instead, threw across his body and just nipped Bradley. The Sox challenged the call, but the call stood.
4:25 Jose Alvarado, who throws some serious heat, plows through the bottom third of the Sox' lineup on just eight pitches, with two strikeouts.
4:11: Two-run homer by Matt Duffy -- his first since Aug. of 2016 after missing all of last year -- gives the Rays a 2-0 lead in the eighth. The eighth inning has been a rough one for Red Sox relievers this season. They allowed six runs in the opener in the 8th -- Carson Smith was involved in that, too -- and solo runs to the Rays last Saturday and to the Marlins on Monday.
3:39: A efficient inning for Price, who, thanks to a double play, needs just eight pitches to get through the sixth. He's at 82 pitches through six and good for another inning
3:22: Price didn't walked a single battle in his first start, but has walked three today -- and all three were issued to the bottom of the Rays' order. He's walked No. 9 hitter Rob Refsnyder twice and No. 8 hitter Daniel Robertson once.
2:51: Price does a nice job pitching out of difficulty (runners at the corners, one out) by getting Kiermaier and Carlos Gomez on infield pop-ups.
2:48: It's been a rough day in the field already for Eduardo Nunez. He kicked around a routine grounder in the first before recovering and throwing out Matt Duffy. In the third, he boxed around a ball that seemed like it would be a double-play ball, and the Sox had to settle for just one out on the force play at second.
2:36: More follies on the bases. With Martinez on third, Xander Bogaerts hits a broken-bat squibber to the right side. Martinez got about halfway down the line, then hesitated and went back. He could/should have scored.
2:33: J.D. Martinez is the beneficiary of a gift triple. A relatively routine fly ball to center was taken by the wind and eluded Kevin Kiermaier, landing just behind him. Catwalks at the Trop, weather conditions here...I guess it evens out.
2:20: Maybe the Red Sox could get a sponsorship for a digital counter that keeps track of their outs on the bases -- like the one in Times Square that tracks the national debt. Andrew Benintnedi attempted to advance to second on a ball in the dirt and was thrown out at second, making it seven outs in seven games.
2:13: David Price retires the Rays in order on 14 pitches. A little more juice on his fastball today, as he sat 93-94 mph in the first, compared to last week when he was mostly 90-92 mph.
LINEUPS
RED SOX
Betts RF
Benintendi LF
Ramirez 1B
Martinez DH
Bogaerts SS
Devers 3B
Nunez 2B
Bradley CF
Vazquez C
RAYS
Duffy 3B
Kiermaier CF
Gomez RF
Cron DH
Ramos C
Miller 1B
Hechavarria SS
Robertson 2B
Refsnyder LF
NEWS AND NOTES:
- Alex Cora acknowledged the frigid weather for the home opener, with temperatures set to be in the low 40s by first pitch. "Where we're shooting to go, it's going to be cold in October and November.''
- Cora said he spent Wednesday's off-day shopping at a local Target, picking up some items for his house. He went virtually unrecognized, which probably won't be the case for long.
- Officially, the Sox have yet to announce a starting pitcher for Sunday's series finale, though all signs points to Eduardo Rodriguez making the start