Bedard: Red Sox get a strong dose of reality around home-opening loss to the Orioles

On the field, the day started well enough.

Perfect weather for the 2024 home opener in front of a sellout crowd. Stirring video tributes to, among others, Tim and Stacy Wakefield, Larry Lucchino, and the 2004 World Champions.

Then the '04 members emerged from the left-field wall, and Brianna Wakefield threw out an emotional first pitch with Jason Varitek doing the catching.

One of those special teams in baseball, you thought. And Tyler O'Neill sending a nuke over everything in left, denting a car window in the process, in the first inning only cemented it was going to be a fitting day for the Olde Towne Team.

And then reality struck. And you remembered ... reality bites, especially for this outfit of late.

The Red Sox didn't have another hit beyond the two they got in the first inning, and the final 18 Boston batters were retired in order by the impressive Orioles trio of Corbin Burnes (7 IP, 90 pitches), Danny Coulombe (struck out the side in the 8th), and Jacob Webb (perfect 9th).

The offense was bad enough, but it was the defense that let the team down again and gave you visions of this being the 2023 Red Sox all over again.

"Poor defensively," said Alex Cora. "It wasn't a good game today. We're gonna have some of those. We have some young guys playing. Too bad it happened today."

The biggest miscue was Jarren Duran dropping a tailing liner in left field that would have ended the fourth inning with no blood. But the Orioles pounced with a two-run double (that should have been a single if Enmanuel Valdez didn't drop the ball after the tag. It was 2-1 at that point, and things didn't get better.

Need less to say, Duran was not happy in the clubhouse after the game. He sat, staring at his locker for a long while. Punched the stall at one point. But he also took ownership after the game as well.

"I (expletive) sucked man. (Expletive) ... it's my (expletive) fault, dude," Duran said. "I make that play we get out of the inning and none of those other (expletive) things happen. I just (expletive) sucked, honestly.

"I mean it's just baseball you know it happens but honestly it just feels like after that error they got a couple hits got a couple of runs and then just kind of ... we never got back into rhythm so it's on me."

That was just the beginning.

Rafael Devers and David Hamilton each had balls go off their gloves for borderline hits. The Orioles stole third on Devers, who couldn't get back to the bag in time while shifted. And Hamilton let one go through his wickets. Only four of the Orioles' seven runs were earned.

"It's been three or four games (of subpar defense)," said Cora. "For us to get our goal we have to play good defense. We've been talking about this the whole time. We don't make a play, they score two. We have to be better than that.

"Bad game, gotta throw it out and come back tomorrow."

Things weren't great around the team to begin with. First Nick Pivetta was placed on the IL with an elbow injury that doesn't involve the UCL, so he feels he'll be back at some point in a few weeks.

"A little disappointing but you know, went and got an MRI yesterday, small flexor strain, and just going to look to take these couple weeks off, try to recover and then get back out," Pivetta said.

Trevor Story will undergo shoulder surgery and be out for the rest of the season. He was extremely emotional after the game with his arm in a sling, as his fourth season in five years will be cut short by injury.

"You know missing last season. you feel that, you know, you miss your teammates, you miss playing the game," Story said, needing several pauses to compose himself and fight back tears. "You just know what it takes, but ... I'll be all right.

"I know we have a special group. We got off to a good start, you know. And, yeah, just the frustration of, you know, battling kind of this injury thing over the last few years. Something I've hung my hat on in my career is being able to play and post but that hasn't been the case the last couple of years. I just love this game, man. I put my heart and soul into it. I just feel bad.

"I'll find the strength to do it again. I did it last year. I've done it recently. This missing time is never easy. But you know, I don't want people to feel sorry for me. It's part of the game."

Cora was hopeful Pivetta won't have a major setback, but he knows Story's injury will loom large for this team as they go with a platoon of David Hamilton and Romy Gonzalez. That being said, Cora isn't going to let the Red Sox linger on their situation — or this one result.

"We've got to move on. I know it sounds harsh, but this is the nature of the game," Cora said. "We will miss him? Yeah, as a leader, as a player, as a base runner, as a defender, yeah, But we have to move on.

"Whoever is going to play short that day, just play up to where you are, don't try to be Trevor Story, there's only one of those, he's probably not going to play this year. Just be you. If it's Hammy or Pablo or Romy ... just make the routine plays, put (together) good at bats. They're good athletes who are going to put pressure on the opposition.

"This is a tough one. We got goals and he's part of it. He's gonna help us out and somehow, someway, in the dugout, clubhouse and all that. It sucks because he put in the work and we were pretty confident that he was going to stay healthy throughout the season and do things that he's done in the past. Now it's where we are at and hopefully the recovery is the one we expect and he'll be ready whenever he's ready to contribute at one point to this organization."