GREINKE AND MOUSTAKAS SHINE AS ROYALS CROWN RED SOX 6-1 ON OPENING DAY
Eternal Baseball Press
KANSAS CITY – Royals starter Zack Greinke stymied the Red Sox and Mike Moustakas did most of the damage in Kansas City’s 6-1 Opening Day victory over Boston.
Greinke pitched shutout ball into the ninth inning before eventually wearing out and allowing Carl Yastrzemski’s solo home run to center field. Ned Yost walked to the mound and took the ball from his ace, who received a standing ovation as he walked to the Kansas City dugout.
Second Baseman Mike Moustakas hounded Boston stater Cy Young all night, plating the first two runs with his second inning double and scoring on U.L. Washington’s double as the Royals rushed out to a 3-0 lead. Moustakas’ fourth-inning single scored Danny Tartabull as the Royals surged ahead 4-0. Moustakas led off the seventh inning with a line drive home run over the right field fence, and Jorge Soler’s RBI single capped the Royals’ day and pushed their lead to 6-0.
The seventh inning saw a different kind of fireworks when home plate umpire Jerome Castle called strike three on Kansas City’s John Mayberry. The Royals first baseman disagreed with the call, and glared at Castle as he stalked back to the dugout. He only made it halfway there before Castle signaled his ejection.
Greinke looked to be wearing down, but Yost stayed with him to start the ninth inning, giving him a chance to earn the shutout. David Ortiz struck out to start the frame, but Carl Yastrzemski followed with a thunderous home run into the Kauffman Stadium waterfall. Greinke left the game and Yost handed the ball to closer Wade Davis, who coaxed a groundout from Nomar Garciaparra and a pop fly to left field from Dustin Pedroia to seal the victory.
Greinke (1-0) earned the win (8.1 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 8 K) and Young (0-1) took the loss (8 IP, 9 H, 6 ER, 4 BB, 4 K) for Boston.
The Red Sox will attempt to even the series tomorrow night, sending right-hander Pedro Martinez to the mound to face Royals right-hander Bret Saberhagen. First pitch from Kauffman Stadium is at 7:05 PM CST.
Recent Comments