Tyler O Neill homers for record-setting 5th straight opening day as Red Sox top Mariners 6-4
Tyler O Neill set some unlikely baseball history on opening day in the stadium he visited almost yearly as a kid growing up in British Columbia And it came against the team that drafted him more than a decade ago
Weekend review Arsenal celebrate St Totteringham s Day Seville derby gets tense
SEATTLE -- — Tyler O’Neill set some unlikely baseball history on opening day in the stadium he visited almost yearly as a kid growing up in British Columbia. And it came against the team that drafted him more than a decade ago.
“Baseball is a funny game,” O'Neill said. “It brings everything home like that.”
O'Neill homered in his fifth straight opening day game to set a major league record and helped the Boston Red Sox beat the Seattle Mariners 6-4 on Thursday night.
Rafael Devers homered and doubled off Seattle ace Luis Castillo, but it was O’Neill’s homer on the first pitch from Cody Bolton in the eighth inning that gave the Red Sox a 6-4 lead and made history.
O’Neill homered the previous four opening days with St. Louis, tying him with Todd Hundley (1994-97), Gary Carter (1977-80) and Yogi Berra (1955-58). He was a top prospect in the Mariners organization before being traded to St. Louis in 2017.
And it came in front of a large contingent of family and friends from British Columbia who made the trip down to see O'Neill's first game in a Red Sox uniform.
“You always want to kick the season off with a bang,” O'Neill said. “Fortunately, I've been able to do it a couple times in row now. Just having a lot of fun out there.”
The homers and some solid pitching helped Boston manager Alex Cora enjoy his first opening day win as a manager.
Devers hit an opposite-field two-run homer on an elevated fastball from Castillo in the third inning and his one-out double in the fifth helped lead to another run for Boston. Connor Wong added a two-out RBI single in the sixth on a pitch well off the plate.
“He was able to drive the ball to left-center, something that he wasn't able to do last year," Cora said of Devers. “That homer was impressive.”
Boston starter Brayan Bello (1-0) pitched five innings and limited the damage to Mitch Haniger’s two-run homer after he spent last season with San Francisco. Kenley Jansen pitched the ninth for the save after recording 29 last season for Boston.
Dylan Moore's pinch-hit, two run homer in the seventh inning pulled Seattle within 5-4, but that’s as close as Seattle would get. Two of Seattle’s big offseason additions, Jorge Polanco and Mitch Garver, both experienced some of the frustration that comes with playing at home early in the season. Each hit deep fly balls that likely would have been homers in their former parks, but instead became outs.
“They got some hits with two outs, RBI hits, and those are huge. They're difference makers,” Seattle manager Scott Servais said. “Not the way we wanted to start. We have a lot of games to go. We have a good team.”
Castillo (0-1) labored through five innings as his control got away from him at times, missing with a number of borderline pitches. Castillo, who needed 91 pitches to get through the fifth, gave up four runs and six hits.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Red Sox: RHP Liam Hendriks was placed on the 60-day IL as he continues recovery from Tommy John surgery. ... LHP Chris Murphy was also played on the 60-day IL with a UCL sprain. ... RHP Bryan Mata (hamstring) was placed on the 15-day IL. ... IF Vaughn Grissom (hamstring) and OF Rob Refsnyder (toe) were placed on the 10-day IL.
Mariners: IF/OF Sam Haggerty (undisclosed medical procedure) was placed on the 10-day injured list to begin the season. ... RHPs Matt Brash (elbow strain), Bryan Woo (elbow inflammation), Gregory Santos (lat strain) and Eduardo Bazardo (rotator cuff strain) were placed on the 15-day IL. ... Veteran IF Brian Anderson was released, but agreed to a minor-league contract and was assigned to Triple-A Tacoma.
UP NEXT
A pair of right-handers will face off as Nick Pivetta starts for Boston while George Kirby takes the hill for Seattle.
------
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry won the Zurich Classic of New Orleans team event Sunday beating Chad Ramey and Martin Trainer with a par on the first hole of a playoff
With his team leading its first-round series 3-0 Oklahoma City Thunder coach Mark Daigneault was named the NBA s Coach of the Year on Sunday night finishing ahead of Orlando Magic coach Jamahl Mosley and Minnesota Timberwolves coach Chris Finch
Arsenal celebrate St Totteringham s Day at the top of the Premier League table the Seville derby was a tense one and more Here s a review of what happened in Europe this weekend
Aaron Judge should have been called for interference for his slide on a botched double-play attempt that sparked New York s winning rally Sunday at Milwaukee crew chief Andy Fletcher acknowledged after the Yankees 15-5 victory
Offensive tackle Mekhi Becton a former first-round draft pick of the Jets plans to sign a one-year deal worth up to 5 5 million with the Eagles his agents told ESPN
Keith Urban reveals he was 'scared and nervous' to ask Nicole Kidman out on
a date | BANG Showbiz English? Keith Urban was "scared and nervous" to ask Nicole Kidman out on a date.
The 56-year-old singer has been married to 'Eyes Wide Shut' actress
6 Live Shows this Week- April 29, 2024? Monday, April 29, 7:30 pm. Bridgestone Arena, 501 Broadway, Nashville. This
extraordinary live run celebrates the 20th anniversary of each"You win the game, do whatever you want" - Kevin Durant has no problem with
Anthony Edwards' DX taunt in Game 3? Phoenix Suns superstar Kevin Durant had a blatant response to Anthony
Edwards' DX celebration in Game 3 amid the Minnesota Timberwolves'
Anthony Edwards' old comment on Kevin Durant, Jaden McDaniels now looks
prophetic? There's a viral clip from an old Anthony Edwards interview that pops up on
social media often in a certain corner of the basketball internet