It was only the first week of the season but if you're a Red Sox fan, you have to be happy with how they have looked in this tiny dose of 2013. They won two of three in New York against the Yankees and they followed that up by taking two of three North of the border in Toronto. This afternoon, they bludgeoned the Blue Jays (2-4 overall, 2-4 home) 13-0 at Rogers Centre.
Boston (4-2 overall, 4-2 away) got six homers as a team, led by Will Middlebrooks (career-high 3) while Daniel Nava, Jacoby Ellsbury and Mike Napoli all had roundtrippers. Jon Lester (2-0) pitched like an ace, going seven shutout innings as he allowed five hits with six strikeouts and no walks.
Poor R.A. Dickey (0-2)-last year's NL Cy Young winner with the Mets-was introduced to the AL East and the results were not pretty. In 4.2 innings, he allowed eight runs (seven earned) on 10 hits with five strikeouts and two walks. Dickey served up the first two homers to Middlebrooks before Dave Bush was rocked for five runs (four homers) in relief.
The Red Sox built a 5-0 lead in the first inning so this one was never really in doubt. Dustin Pedroia (2 for 4, 2 runs, walk) began the barrage with an RBI single, Napoli added a two-run double then Middlebrooks hit an opposite field home run (his second of the season) to drive in Napoli.
Nava had a sacrifice fly in the third inning then Ellsbury knocked in Jose Iglesias (2 hits, double, run) with an RBI single in the fourth inning. Boston's final six runs all came via homers, they were 5 for 7 in this game with runners in scoring position. Two things that very well might not happen again this season.
Middlebrooks had solo shots in the fifth and seventh (first time a Red Sox has hit 3 HRs in a game since Pedroia in June 2010 vs. Colorado), Nava )first of the season) went deep in the seventh, Ellsbury had a solo homer (first of the season) in the eighth and Napoli wrapped it up with a two-run bomb (second of the season) in the eighth.
Boston comes home for its Fenway opener tomorrow afternoon (2:05 p.m., NESN) vs. Baltimore (3-3, 2nd in AL East) as Clay Buchholz (1-0) opposes Wei-Yin Chen on fittingly what is supposed to be a beautiful day. The teams are off on Tuesday then Ryan Dempster (0-1) takes on Miguel Gonzalez (1-0) Wednesday night (7:10 p.m., NESN) and Felix Doubront (0-0) vs. Jake Arrieta (0-0) is the series finale on Thursday night (7:10 p.m., NESN).
I have no issues with the idea of Opening Day at Fenway but what makes me sick is all the useless pregame crap that the shameless Red Sox owners put on every season. It's all a sell job with them trying to get you to buy something or other. That's why I skip all that bullshit, there's a time and place for it (after a championship) but not now following the last two miserable seasons.
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