Rollin’ into Fenway
Cora & Co. ride streak into opener
Alex Cora’s mother doesn’t like to fly, so she’s yet to see her son manage a game in a Red Sox uniform.
That will change today when the Red Sox host the Tampa Bay Rays for the home opener.
“My mom will be there so that will be great,” said Cora, who hasn’t been in the home dugout for a game at Fenway since 2008. “It’s going to be a special one. I was actually thinking about it in the 10th inning (Tuesday), like, ‘We’re going home. Home opener.’
“And the way they’re playing, it’s going to be great for the fans to see them finally after a great road trip. We’ll take a day off (yesterday), relax, everybody is moving or has family flying in. They need that, we need that. Thursday is going to be very special.”
The Sox are riding a five-game winning streak into the home opener thanks to some incredible performances by the starting pitchers, who lead the majors with a 1.03 ERA. It’s the Sox’ lowest starting pitcher ERA through the first six games of any season.
They’re the only team in MLB history whose starters have allowed one run or none in their first six games.
David Price, on the bump today, said he’s developed a good understanding of how to pitch at Fenway after two seasons with the Sox.
“Make him hit to right if you can,” he said. “You have a lot of room out there. Just have to make pitches. Left field can be unfriendly at times. You really have to make pitches whenever you’re going in to a righty and away to a lefty.”
The Red Sox are asking fans to be in their seats by 1:15 p.m. for ceremonies that will begin at 1:30 p.m.
Both teams will be introduced along the first-base lines when the colors are presented by the Hanscom Air Force Base and the anthem will be song by Ruth Pointer. The 134th Fighter Squadron from the Air National Guard in Burlington, Vt., will complete a fly-over of four F-16s.
“It’s going to be fun,” said Hanley Ramirez. “First game at home, Sox Nation is going to be loud and we can’t wait.”
Big day for J.D.
J.D. Martinez is expected to be in the lineup after getting Monday off. He will be making his first start at Fenway Park since the Sox signed him to a five-year, $110-million deal.
Martinez is 12-for-27 (.444) with two doubles but has yet to homer during his seven career games at Fenway Park. He had two hits in his most recent game at Fenway, an 8-3 win for the Detroit Tigers last June.
Known as an opposite-field hitter, Martinez said recently he wasn’t sure how his swing would play at Fenway.
“I’m kind of on the fence with it,” he said. “Most of my power and my strength is the opposite field, the other way. But I do hit balls to left field. It’s one of those things where I’m trying to see how it’s going to be.
“A lot of those balls that are flyouts to left are probably gone, but I think it’s going to play fair because a lot of the balls I hit to right are probably not going to go out. Just hope the balance is there. I’m not going to change the way I approach anything. I’m staying with what got me here.”
Keep on runnin’
The Sox have been running wild their first six games.
They’re second in the majors with five stolen bases, but are second-to-last with three times caught stealing.
They also lead the majors with six other outs made while running the bases. Only one other team, the Chicago White Sox, has made more than three outs on the bases.
There were two notable mistakes in their game on Tuesday.
“The contact play (where Jackie Bradley Jr. was thrown at home), we’ll take that,” Cora said. “That was a great play by the catcher. Bad throw, they spun and tagged him. Rafael Devers (getting thrown at third), that wasn’t a good one. Probably we will have to look at the secondary lead because that wasn’t a hard hit ball and he got thrown out at third. We’ll look at it on Thursday and see his lead.”
The Red Sox led the majors with 81 outs on the bases last year.
“It’s in their DNA,” Cora said. “It is. It’s hard. I don’t want to take away their aggressiveness. But we have to get better and they know it.”