Red Sox: Scenes from Fenway opener

A firsthand look at the experience of taking in the Boston Red Sox home opener at Fenway Park.

A cool breeze flowed through the ballpark, making the temperature that hovered in the mid-50’s feel a bit chillier. At least the showers that threatened to come passing through held off, although it’s uncertain how many in attendance were paying attention to the gray clouds overhead that dared to try to block out the scattered rays of sunshine. The focus was on the field for the first home game of the season for the Boston Red Sox.

I sat in Lodge section 157 on the third base side. A bit of an awkward angle where you could’t see anything hit down the left field line, but the seats were still close to the action with a good view of home plate. Since I wasn’t willing to shell out several hundred dollars for the inflated prices of Opening Day, I couldn’t have hoped for any better than this.

Here, I’ll show you the view.

Not too bad, right?

Next: Pregame ceremony

Once the game got started it didn’t take the Red Sox long to get going against the Baltimore Orioles. Boston’s lineup recovered from Sunday’s shutout to put a three spot on the board in the first inning, while ace David Price set down 6 of the first 7 batters he faced. Everything was going Boston’s way in the early going, but it wouldn’t stay lopsided for long.

Price labored through the third inning, uncharacteristically bleeding runs as his pitch count soared. A three-run blast from Mark Trumbo capped off a five run inning for the Orioles before Price set down the next two batters to escape, but the damage had been done. While Price settled down to prevent any further damage after that, he was forced out of the game after only 5 innings with his pitch count sitting at 105.

Not exactly what Red Sox fans were hoping for from their new ace, especially after hearing all winter how successful Price has been pitching at Fenway. It figures that the worst start of his career in this ballpark happened to be the first one he made wearing the home team’s uniform.

At least his offense managed to come back with another couple of runs in the bottom of the fifth to ensure Price wouldn’t be tagged with the loss in his first home start at Fenway.

Baltimore starter Yovani Gallardo didn’t last any longer than Price did, so after five innings it became a battle of the bullpens. Boston invested heavily in revamping their bullpen over the offseason, while Baltimore already had one of the league’s best, yet the results were troubling for both sides.

Next: The 9th inning

By the time we got to the 9th inning we were knotted at 6. With no chance at a save situation presenting itself at this point, manager John Farrell turned to his new closer to get him through the frame and give his offense a chance to win it in the bottom of the inning. “Welcome to the Jungle” blared through the stadium’s speakers as Craig Kimbrel burst out of the bullpen to a video introduction that showcased images of the closer surrounded by fire. It was supposed to signify Kimbrel’s blazing fastball that can touch the upper 90’s, but instead it merely foreshadowed his outing going down in flames.

Kimbrel retired the first batter he faced, but walked two of the next three before Chris Davis sent one of his pitches on to the tarp in the center field bleachers. It was the first time Kimbrel had ever faced Davis and the first time he had ever given up a 3-run homer. Baltimore’s three-run lead sucked the life out of the crowd, sending many fans fleeing for the exits.

But the Red Sox would not go quietly. A lead-off home run from Mookie Betts re-energized the crowd, sparking hope that a comeback was possible. Dustin Pedroia followed with a base hit, then Xander Bogaerts walked, setting up the scenario Red Sox fans could only dream of – Ortiz at the plate with a chance for a walk-off homer.

It was all set up for a dramatic finish, but the ending turned out to be rather anti-climatic. Ortiz grounded into a double-play and Hanley Ramirez struck out to end the game. It was an exciting final frame that got the crowd buzzing until the final pitch, but the result was a bitter disappointment. You could see the shock on everyone’s face when Ortiz failed to deliver. We expect him to come through in these clutch situations, which goes to show how good he is. He’s done it so many times before. Hopefully we aren’t done seeing Ortiz pull off a miraculous clutch hit, it just didn’t happen today.

The Orioles remain undefeated, while the Red Sox fall to .500 through six games. It was hardly a perfect day, but aside from the final score there wasn’t a whole lot for fans to complain about. The Fenway opener is always an experience to be savored, no matter how it turns out.

Next: Observations from the stands

Loudest ovations

• David Ortiz – Pregame, any time he came to the plate, and especially his final at-bat when everyone knew there was a chance they were about to see something special.
• Bill Russell – The other Boston sports icons too, but mostly Russell.
• Pedro – Sure, Wake and Tek got a nice hand, but come on. It’s Pedro!
• Hanley Ramirez – Any time he made a defensive play. The loudest of which was when he cleanly fielded a plastic bag floating around the infield.

Loudest boos

• Pablo Sandoval – The poor guy didn’t even play, but the crowd got on him during pregame introductions. Fans just don’t like this guy at all.

Most disappointing performance

• Kimbrel – Possibly the worst outing of his career.
• Price – Certainly his worst in Fenway.
• Farrell – For pinch-hitting for Travis Shaw with Chris Young in the 6th inning. I get it, we got Young to face lefties, but it’s not like Shaw is inept against them. It was far too early to make that move, resulting in Young having to face a right-handed reliever in the 7th inning in a key spot. Of course he struck out, stranding a pair of runners late in a tie game.

Next: Red Sox vs Orioles Series Preview

Would it have been a better game if the Red Sox had won? Of course it would have, but the silver lining is that we have baseball back at Fenway again. Tomorrow’s another day and another chance to get that first home victory of the year.