CINCINNATI, Ohio -- The 2025 Red Sox excelled at creating opportunities for themselves, but often struggled to capitalize on them.
That was the story of Opening Day 2026, too, as the Boston bats tallied 12 hits, including three from leadoff man Roman Anthony, but left 10 men on base and were kept off the scoreboard until late in their 3-0 victory over the Reds.
Garrett Crochet was the linchpin of the win. While his teammates struggled to convert hits into runs, the Red Sox southpaw held the Reds at bay for six innings, allowing just three hits, two walks, and striking out eight.
"He did an amazing job," manager Alex Cora said of his ace. "That last inning, (he) started with a walk and then he just found it back and finished strong, and gave us a chance for the offense to cash in."
Crochet breezed through most of his outing but capped it off with a triumphant escape. After combining for three base runners through the first five innings, the Reds loaded the bases in the bottom of the sixth on a one-out walk and back-to-back singles for veteran slugger Eugenio Suárez, who hit 49 home runs last season.
Undeterred, Crochet got Suárez and Spencer Steer swinging, and walked off the still-loaded diamond unscathed.
"It's an important sign, I feel like, always," Crochet said of working out of the jam. "It's always how you draw it up, though, so it's nice to finish on that note."
The Red Sox southpaw called the win "very satisfying."
"Came into today with a goal of just putting the team in a position to win," Crochet said. "It's a lot simpler when you keep it to as black-and-white as that, you know. I did my job."
Late-inning sparkplug
Reds starter Andrew Abbott struck out four and worked around seven hits and a walk to blank Boston for six innings. The Red Sox put multiple men on base three times in the first five innings, but none of their runners so much as advanced to third until the seventh.
"I know Abbott, I'm familiar with his game," Crochet said. "He's a good arm, the four-seam's real, the curveball is real, the changeup is definitely real. So I think that coming into this we had a lot of respect for the opponent."
But when Crochet shut down the Reds in the sixth, he felt the energy shift.
(“It was) very uplifting,” Crochet said. “Feel like that does wonders just for momentum for our team, from an offensive standpoint, even for guys in the bullpen coming in. Yeah, moments like that only happen either once a game, if even, maybe a couple times a week, so it’s nice to have that one go our way.”
Marcelo Mayer, who wasn't in the starting lineup on his first Red Sox Opening Day, became the late-innings hero the offense needed. Pinch-hitting for second baseman Isiah Kiner-Falefa, Mayer led off the seventh with a double, the team's first extra-base hit of the year, advanced to third on Carlos Narváez's sacrifice bunt and scored the first Red Sox run on an RBI single by Ceddanne Rafaela.
“They know we’re going to use everybody,” Cora said of not starting Mayer against a lefty. “We talked to him at the end of camp; I know he wants to play against lefties but that’s where we’re at right now. ... We’ll maximize the roster.”
The two insurance runs Boston added in the ninth began with Mayer, too. He led off with a single, then stood on first and watched the first two outs go up on the scoreboard.
It was then that the strategic element of the ABS system came into play. The Red Sox had runners on first and second with one out when Trevor Story opted not to challenge a called strike three in the fifth inning. Cora said they felt the pitch was outside the zone and the Red Sox "don't mind him challenging there," but noted that it could've had negative late-game implications.
Instead, Boston had a challenge remaining in the ninth. Anthony turned an inning-ending strike three call into a two-out walk, which paved the way for Story and Jarren Duran to plate a run apiece with RBI singles.
“The pinch-hit there, it was huge,” Cora said of Mayer. “Narvi with the bunt, Ceddanne put the ball in play with two strikes. And that’s who we are. That’s what we’re trying to do.
“Last year I think we led the big league with at-bats (with) men in scoring position but we struck out a lot. Today, we kind of put the ball in play, we took a walk, Jarren put the ball in play, Story did too, and it was good to see.”
Anthony finished his first Red Sox Opening Day with three hits, a walk, and a strikeout. He's the first MLB player his age or younger (21 years, 317 days) to reach base four or more times on Opening Day since Hall of Famer Joe Mauer in 2004.
“You’ve got to make pitches with him from the get-go. He puts pressure on the opposition,” Cora said with a chuckle. “Last year, I learned very fast that this kid is good. And I had some good leadoff hitters that they changed the game right away: George Springer in ’17; Mookie (Betts) did it here; (Duran) did it two years ago; and we expect the same thing from Roman.”
Up in arms
Cora upstaged his former Red Sox manager Terry Francona with airtight pitching management. Justin Slaten and Garrett Whitlock worked around a leadoff walk and ground-rule double, respectively, to keep the Reds off the board in the seventh and eighth innings.
Aroldis Chapman, who began his career with the Reds in 2010, completed the shut out and earned his first save with a 1-2-3 ninth.
"I believe we have a good offense," Cora said. "We're going to score more (than three runs), but we will pitch."
Cora added: "We still have to go out there and perform (offensively), but we feel really good about the pitching staff; we feel good about defense; and offensively we put ball in play today. And I think offensively we're going to be a lot better."