New Haven Register (New Haven, CT)
Moreland homer sends Sox home with win
PHOENIX — An awful opening trip ended with a win for the Boston Red Sox.
Mitch Moreland homered off Merrill Kelly on the first pitch of the seventh inning, and the World Series champions beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 1-0 on Sunday.
Boston went 3-8 against Seattle, Oakland and Arizona, its worst start since losing nine of 11 to begin a 2011 season that ended with a third-place finish in the AL East at 90-72.
“It’s always nice to win that last one,” Moreland said. “Tough road trip for us, tough way to open the season.”
The last team to reach the postseason after losing at least eight its first 11 games was Tampa Bay, which finished 91-71 in 2011.
Boston hosts Toronto on Tuesday, its first game at Fenway Park since winning the World Series at Dodger Stadium last October, the fourth title for the Red Sox in 15 years.
“We know how good we are. We know that we have to get better,” manager Alex Cora said. “We learned a lot on this road trip, and now it’s over.”
Hector Velazquez, Brandon Workman, Marcus Walden (1-0), Matt Barnes and Ryan Brasier combined on a three-hitter and Boston’s first shutout this season. The Red Sox entered with a 6.97 ERA, ahead of only the Chicago White Sox at 7.87.
Walden, a 30-year-old righthander who made his debut on April 1 last year, got six outs for his first major league victory. Boston stopped a three-game losing streak in the finale of the longest opening trip in franchise history.