Red Sox rookie manager Alex Cora off to historic start
By Sean Penney
Critics harped on Boston’s early success by claiming they’ve benefited from an easy schedule that included seven games against the Tampa Bay Rays and two against the Miami Marlins. The Red Sox recovered from a gutwrenching bullpen meltdown on Opening Day to win the rest of their games against those rebuilding teams. Great, so they can beat up on the bottom feeders. How will they fare against a contender?
The answer came in a statement win over the New York Yankees to open their three-game series at Fenway. The Red Sox clobbered Yankees ace Luis Severino en route to a convincing 14-1 victory. Boston took two out of three from their rivals with the only loss occurring in a game when starter David Price left after one inning when he temporarily lost feeling in his pitching hand.
After sweeping the Baltimore Orioles at Fenway, it was off to Los Angles for the first west coast trip of the season. The Angels had won seven straight entering the season and were neck-and-neck with Boston for the American League’s best record. The Red Sox won the first two games of the series by a combined score of 19-1. They’ve already won the series and can feel confident about how this road trip has started regardless of how Thursday night’s game pans out.