Fresh off their first series win of the season in Baltimore, the Boston Red Sox are set for their home opener on Friday, the start of a three-game series against the St. Louis Cardinals.
The Red Sox are homeward bound following back-to-back wins over the Orioles, including an 8-4 victory on Thursday in which Alex Bregman, Kristian Campbell and Triston Casas each hit a two-run homer. A night earlier, in a 3-0 victory, Boston third baseman-turned-designated hitter Rafael Devers snapped a 0-for-21 skid with an RBI double before adding a single.
“People talk about the decision of (Bregman) playing third and (Devers) being the DH,” Boston manager Alex Cora said on Thursday. “I always thought we needed two impactful right-handed batters, you know? Obviously, (Campbell) is still a kid, but we believe that he can impact a lineup. He’s doing it so far.”
Campbell, a 22-year-old rookie second baseman is batting .417 (10-for-24) with two homers and four RBIs through seven games. Devers went 1-for-4 on Thursday, leaving his average at .111.
Bregman was hitting just .231 (6-for-26) without an RBI or an extra-base hit before Thursday, when he went 3-for-5.
Boston will be looking to turn around its home fortunes after going just 38-43 at Fenway Park last season. Their home win total was tied for the third lowest in the American League, better than the tallies for only the Los Angeles Angels and the 121-loss Chicago White Sox.
“We’re looking to flip that scribe and dominate at home. We have to,” shortstop Trevor Story said.
First on the Fenway mound will be Red Sox newcomer Walker Buehler (0-1, 8.31 ERA). The right-hander is aiming for a bounce-back start after allowing four runs on seven hits in 4 1/3 innings on Saturday against the Texas Rangers.
“Not the start in this uniform that we’re looking for,” Buehler said. “Disappointing. But hopefully we get 30 or 32 (starts).”
Buehler has had success over four career starts against St. Louis, going 2-0 with a 2.88 ERA and 31 strikeouts in 25 innings.
Before departing for Boston, the Cardinals displayed their power in a 12-5 win over the visiting Angels on Wednesday. Ivan Herrera led the way by becoming the first catcher in the franchise history to hit three homers in a game.
“He’s a confident kid, regardless of how it’s going, and he just carries himself that way,” Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said. “He’s hit his whole career. No one knows what his ceiling looks like, but it’s high.”
Overall, it was the sixth straight 10-hit game for St. Louis. Another such performance would match the franchise mark for the start of a season.
Herrera finished with six RBIs, while Willson Contreras (0-for-22) and Masyn Winn (0-for-20) both broke long hitless streaks.
St. Louis third baseman Nolan Arenado has been a constant in the early going, having hit safely in every game and having collected an RBI in five of the six contests.
The Cardinals will hand the ball to Erick Fedde (1-0, 1.50 ERA) for his second start of the season. In his first outing, the 32-year-old right-hander held the Minnesota Twins to one run on two hits over six innings in a 5-1 St. Louis victory on Saturday.
“Any time you can go after guys having no fear and knowing the (defensive players) behind you are great, it’s a big boost and every pitcher’s dream,” Fedde said. “Pitching with confidence is about half the battle in some sense.”
Fedde has allowed no more than a single run in five of his past seven starts dating back to last August. In two career outings (one start) against the Red Sox, he is 0-0 with a 16.20 ERA.
St. Louis claimed the teams’ head-to-head series in each of the past two seasons, winning five of the six total games.
–Field Level Media
