Today was the Red Sox opening day, as they faced the Phillies in Philadelphia.  There were a couple record breakers for the season opener.  Dustin Pedroia and Hanley Ramirez are two of seven Red Sox players to hit multiple home runs on opening day.

Now for a game recap.  In the top of the 1st, things immediately got exciting.  Dustin Pedroia hit a solo home run that became play of the game.  It was a short inning, but jammed between three outs was a solo home run, that gave the Red Sox the 1-0 lead early.  When the Phillies came up to bat, Clay Buchhloz was off to a good start, despite a helpless error that let Chase Utley take first base.  Besides that, Buchholz pitched well, getting three outs easy.  The second inning went by quickly, and it tired out Cole Hamels.  The Red Sox walked two times, again between outs, but all throughout the inning, they worked the count well.  Buchholz got through a quick 1-2-3 inning to end the 2nd.

The third inning was another quick one, but it started off on the first pitch of it with a solo home run by Mookie Betts.  He was clearly looking for a first pitch fastball.  Betts won the center field job over rookie Rusney Castillo who will be in the minors for now.  They again walked once, and worked the count well for the three outs.  The 3rd was another 1-2-3 inning that went by fast.  Clay Buchholz still had a lot of energy in him.

The fourth consisted of a base hit by Ryan Hanigan, his first as a Red Sox player.  However, nobody else at the bottom of the lineup could get a hit, so the inning ended after four at bats.  The Phillies were a similar story.  Ryan Howard hit a double, but other than a walk an three outs, the Phillies didn’t have much action and Buchholz kept up a 1 hitter.

In the fifth Pedroia hit his second home run of the game between two strikeouts.  But after the strikeout following Pedroia’s home run came another home run.  Hanley Ramirez hit his first one as a Red Sox player.  He would later hit the grand slam that would surely secure the Red Sox’s win.  His homer followed a quick strikeout by a struggling Pablo Sandoval.  He ended up going 0-5 with three strikeouts.  Buchholz pitched a 1-2-3 bottom of the fifth, which ended with an amazing catch by Shane Victorino.  That shows that it’s worth starting Victorino in right field.  In minutes the Sox were up to start the 6th.  After a walk, relief pitcher Luis Garcia pitched three consecutive strikeouts.  Another 1-2-3 by Buchholz ended the 6th.

The seventh inning started out on a good note, with two base hits, one by Mookie Betts, one by Dustin Pedroia.  But, then Ortiz struck out and Hanley Ramirez grounded into a double play to end the inning.  The Phillies also had a 7th inning full of hits, and it finally tired out Clay Buchholz.  After a groundout by Ryan Howard, both Carlos Ruiz and Grady Sizemore hit base hits back to back.  Then, Cody Asche grounded into fielder’s choice, causing Sizemore to be out at second base.  After that, they struck out and ended the inning with a man on first and third.

By the top of the 8th, Mike Napoli was in for Big Papi, and the score remained 4-0 Red Sox.  It was quiet, consisting of three consecutive ground outs after a walk.  Junichi Tazawa was in for Buchholz in the 8th, and also threw a 1-2-3 inning.  In the ninth, it started off with Allen Craig hitting a base hit as a pinch hitter for Buchholz.  Then, it was followed by two walks and a strikeout.  By then, the bases were loaded.  Hanley Ramirez was up to bat.  He swung and crushed and 0-2 breaking ball out of the park, hitting the foul pole, then gone!!!!!!!!!!  Hanley Ramirez hit a grand slam!!!!!!!!!!!   The Red Sox took an 8-0 lead!!!  After two quick outs, Tommy Layne came in to finish the game for the Sox.  A ground out, a line out, and after a quick walk, the final out.  The Red Sox crushed the Phillies shutting them out 8-0.  Below I have listed some amazing or interesting stats about the game.

Fun Facts:

1. Dustin Pedroia an Hanley Ramirez are two of seven Red Sox players ever to hit multiple home runs in the season opener

2. Buchholz struck out 9 batters, and only gave up three hits

3. Pedroia only hit 7 home runs last year, and he hit two today

4. Ryan Hanigan got his first hit as a Red Sox player

5. The Red Sox only had one game where they hit 4 home runs last year.  They hit FIVE today.

With 161 games to go, something tells me we’re going to see a lot more multi-HR games.