Leaky Pen

As far as Opening Day losses go, this one wasn't quite so hard to take. Sure, it was disappointing, but my expectations going into this game were tempered by the presence of a certain Detroit Tiger wearing a 35 on the back of his jersey, fresh off a season where he won both the Cy Young and the MVP. Yes, the pitching machine known as Justin Verlander toed the rubber for the Tigers today and performed as anticipated, buzz-sawing through a strong Red Sox lineup as elite pitchers are known to do.

Jon Lester, for his part, nearly matched Verlander, keeping the Tigers in their cages and off the scoreboard for 6 2/3 innings. He allowed more hits and more base runners than Verlander, but double plays and excellent work from the stretch kept Miggy, Prince & company at bay until the 7th inning. With 2 outs, Jhonny Peralta doubled and Alex Avila, whom Lester thought he had struck out, lined a double of his own just out of the reach of Cody Ross in left field. Peralta scored the game's first run. Lester struck out Ramon Santiago to end the inning. He went 7 innings with 6 hits, 3 walks, and 1 run. That's good enough to win most games. Games where his teammates don't have to face the likes of Justin Verlander, that is.

Vicente Padilla relieved Lester and promptly gave up a triple to Austin Jackson--a ball that Ryan Sweeney misplayed in right and ultimately led to the second Tigers run when Franklin Morales, in relief of Padilla, allowed Prince Fielder to hit a sac fly. The Red Sox, facing Valverde, who hadn't blown a save since 2010, put 2 on the board thanks to a double by Pedey, a single by Gonzo, a sac fly by Papi, and a redemptive triple by Sweeney. Blown save for Valverde!

Unfortunately, the Sox' rally to tie the game fell victim to a shaky back end of the bullpen in the bottom of the ninth. Melancon took the mound and after recording one out, Peralta and Avila strike again, both singling on hard-hit balls to right and left field respectively. Bobby V yanked Melancon and fetched Aceves in an effort to force extra innings. Aceves, in his debut as the newly-minted Red Sox closer in the absence of Andrew Bailey, couldn't get the job done, hitting the first batter he faced to load the bases with one out. Along came Austin Jackson who roped a single past a diving Nick Punto and the Tigers walk off with the win.

Being on the wrong side of a walk-off is not the best way to start the season, but some good things can be taken from this game, besides the fact that Verlander can't pitch again in this series. Jon Lester's start this Opening Day, unlike last year, was very strong. He stepped up and delivered, even if he didn't come away with a win. Also, the Sox offense showed some grit and came back to tie the game in the ninth Truth be told, they were probably just glad to see a pitcher other than Verlander on the mound.

After an off-day tomorrow, Beckett starts on Saturday against Doug Fister. Time to even up the series, boys!