It was not pretty. But we'll take it.John 'Shell-Acky'* was once again abysmal, yielding 6 earned runs in just five innings (and more base-runners than a human being should be allowed to allow). But the positives were far more important on this Opening Day: Dustin Pedroia backing up his tough words with 3 hits, a HR and 3 RBI. Adrian Gonzalez getting an RBI in his first Fenway game (and one of his two hits was a bunt to beat the shift). J.D. Drew getting 2 huge RBI to extend the Sox lead to 9-6. Jarrod Saltalamacchia going 2-4 with a clutch double and an RBI.
In addition, the 7-8-9 sequence of Jenks-Bard-Papelbon was nearly perfect. So, we're now 1-6 and finally off the schnide.
* Knick-name by FN Editor Henry Kanter's Electrician's Assistant