All you need to know, in quickie form, about the Red Sox' 1-0 win over the Diamondbacks, complete with BSJ analysis and insight:
BOX SCORE
HEADLINES
Velazquez provides (half) a quality start: From the middle of spring training, Alex Cora determined that he was going to use a sixth starter on the first road trip. With 11 games in 11 days, Cora figured that his starters, not yet fully built up in terms of usage and arm strength, could use an extra day at some point. Initially, the plan was to have lefty Brian Johnson take the start, but that plan was abandoned when Johnson developed elbow soreness in a relief outing Friday night. Without any other options, Cora turned to Hector Velazquez, who was very nearly perfect over three innings. He retired the first seven hitters of the game before yielding a two-out single to catcher John-Ryan Murphy, but after a sacrifice pushed Murphy to scoring position, fanned Jarod Dyson to get out of the jam. Velazquez, who hadn't been stretched out himself since the early part of the spring, confessed to Cora that his legs were dead after three innings and 39 pitches, but give Velazquez credit for helping to set the tone for a big win with three terrific innings to start.
Moreland delivers in the clutch -- again: There's likely not much call to name an MVP for a team off to a 3-8 start, but if there were, Mitch Moreland would be the logical choice. His three-run pinch-hit homer in the second game in Seattle gave the Sox their first win of the season. His bases-clearing double in Oakland last Wednesday helped the Sox erase an early A's lead. And on Sunday, Moreland provided the only run of the afternoon with a solo homer in the seventh, driving a cutter from Merrill Kelly over the fence in right -- inches beyond the grasp of a leaping Adam Jones. Moreland can be as streaky as anyone in the game, but when he's going well, he's a force in the middle of the Boston lineup. On a day in which they were shutout for the first six innings and had only one baserunner in scoring position in that span, the Sox desperately needed a big hit and Moreland gave it to them.
Bullpen does the job: When Velazquez ran out of gas after three innings, it left the Red Sox wondering how they were going to cover the final 18 outs, especially after the bullpen had pitched 36.1 innings in the first 10 games -- an average of more than three innings per outing. But the tag-team plan worked perfectly, with Brandon Workman giving the Sox an inning, Marcus Walden offering two more, followed by Matt Barnes' two and, finally, a ninth-inning save for Ryan Brasier. Workman, Barnes and Brasier has yet to allow a run this season, providing some stability for Cora. For all the failings of the starting rotation (9.13 ERA before Velazquez chipped in with three scoreless Sunday) and the inconsistency of the lineup and the shakiness of the defense, the bullpen has actually pitched quite well since the opener. On Sunday, the Sox wouldn't have won without the contributions of four different relievers who stepped up and delivered on what was essentially a Bullpen Day.
SECOND GUESS
Cora made a few unorthodox moves on Sunday and lived to tell about it. He sent Walden to the plate to lead off the fifth in a scoreless game. Walden took a called third strike and walked back to the dugout. It ended up working out with the win, but keeping pinch-hitters on the bench to squeeze another inning out of Walden seemed a stretch.
TWO UP
Andrew Benintendi: Following a slow start to his season, Benintendi has cranked it up of late and is getting on base from the leadoff spot with consistency. He was 2-for-4 Sunday and has hit safely in six straight games.
Marcus Walden: Promoted Saturday when Brian Johnson went to the injured list, Walden came out of the bullpen to give the Red Sox two scoreless innings in the fifth and sixth innings.
ONE DOWN
Eduardo Nunez: Nunez was hitless in three trips to the plate and is now hitting just .167, providing the Red Sox with very little offensive help in the first week and a half of the season.
QUOTE OF NOTE
"It was a grind.'' Alex Cora.
STATISTICALLY SPEAKING
- J.D. Martinez saw his 10-game hitting streak come to an end..
- Two Red Sox pitchers -- Marcus Walden and Matt Barnes -- had their first at-bats in the big leagues.
- Mitch Moreland took over the team lead in RBI with nine.