The Red Sox started their season with an impressive victory in Seattle late Thursday night, with key contributions from new guy Tyler O’Neill, franchise cornerstone Rafael Devers, and a young pitcher they’ve placed a ton of faith in with a big contract, Brayan Bello.
The Red Sox removed Devers from the starting lineup before the game because of left shoulder soreness. Mariners designated hitter Mitch Garver was removed from the starting lineup before the game due to back spasms.
Every player in the lineup except one had a hit Thursday, and the five pitchers Boston used only gave one free pass.
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Since Seattle has a retractable-roof stadium, there was no need for MLB to schedule a day off after the opener as a hedge against lousy weather, and the Red Sox and Mariners will play the second game of their four-game set Friday night.
Here’s a preview.
Lineups
RED SOX (1-0): Duran LF, O’Neill RF, Yoshida DH, Story SS, Casas 1B, Rafaela CF, Valdez 2B, Dalbec 3B, McGuire C, Pivetta P
Pitching: RHP Nick Pivetta (10-9, 4.04 ERA in 2023)
MARINERS (0-1): Crawford SS, Rodríguez CF, Polanco 2B, Haniger DH, Raleigh C, France 1B, Canzone LF, Urías 3B, Raley RF, Kirby P
Pitching: RHP George Kirby (13-10, 3.35 ERA in 2023)
Time: 9:40 p.m.
TV, radio: NESN, WEEI-FM 93.7
Red Sox vs. Kirby: Triston Casas 0-5, Bobby Dalbec 0-4, Rafael Devers 5-10, Jarren Duran 2-5, Pablo Reyes 2-5, Trevor Story 2-5, Enmanuel Valdez 1-2, Connor Wong 0-5, Masataka Yoshida 0-3
Mariners vs. Pivetta: J.P. Crawford 1-6, Ty France 3-10, Mitch Haniger 0-1, Dylan Moore 0-2, Jorge Polanco 4-5, Cal Raleigh 3-5, Luke Raley 2-4, Julio Rodríguez 0-6, Josh Rojas 0-2, Luis Urías 1-4, Seby Zavala 0-1
Stat of the day: Tyler O’Neill set an MLB record on Thursday with his fifth consecutive Opening Day home run.
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Notes: Boston starter Nick Pivetta, who was born in the Pacific Northwest (Victoria, British Columbia), is 1-1 with a 4.34 ERA in three career starts against the Mariners. In his final spring training start, Pivetta struck out nine and walked one over six innings against the Twins, while allowing three runs, finishing the spring with 22 strikeouts and four walks in 18 innings. ... Seattle’s George Kirby is 1-1 with a 4.15 ERA in four starts vs. Boston. Kirby had 31 starts in 2023, his second season in the big leagues ... On Thursday, the Sox moved reliever Liam Hendriks to the 60-day injured list as he continues to recover from Tommy John surgery. The Red Sox placed lefthander Chris Murphy (left UCL sprain) on the 60-day IL. The club moved righthander Bryan Mata (right hamstring strain) to the 15-day IL, while Vaughn Grissom (left hamstring strain) and Rob Refsnyder (left toe fracture) were placed on the 10-day IL. Both injuries are retroactive to March 25. The Red Sox selected righthander Naoyuki Uwasawa to the big league roster and optioned him to the club’s spring training complex. There is no timeline when he might join the parent club.
Material from previous Globe stories was used in this report.
Matt Pepin can be reached at matt.pepin@globe.com.