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BOSTON — Instant reactions from a 10-3 blowout win for the Red Sox (21-20) in which Trevor Story started an important homestand with a bang, launching two three-run homers against the White Sox:
1) The Red Sox cruised to a win in their home opener because they got instant offense in the bottom of the first and never looked back. It was a similar story (no pun intended) in the opening game of their second homestand. Boston came out swinging against old friend Martín Pérez and hit rocket after rocket to start the game. The Red Sox hit five balls at 102.1 mph or harder in the first, including Rafael Devers’ double and Story’s three-run homer to open the scoring.
2) The impact of Story to this point in the season can’t be understated. With two three-run homers Friday, he’s up to five blasts in 21 games while hitting .321. The Red Sox were happy to welcome Story back as a stabilizer in the middle of the infield defense and leader but it was unclear what he could provide on the offensive side of the ball. He has been fantastic so far.
Story now has 20 career multi-homer games, but just two with Boston. His last was on May 19, 2022, when he hit three blasts in a rout over the Mariners.
3) Hunter Dobbins was about as good as one can be in a second career big league start. He worked quickly and effectively and allowed just two runs (one earned) on four hits in six innings while striking out six White Sox batters. Pitching with a lead helped, but Dobbins was rather dominant. He is the first Red Sox pitcher to win his first two career starts since Tanner Houck won three in a row in 2020.
The Red Sox traded Quinn Priester because they were comfortable with their starting depth, a group that included Richard Fitts, Sean Newcomb and Cooper Criswell ahead of Dobbins to start the year. But Dobbins has emerged as a real threat to take spot starts, even if he’s slated to potentially be sent down Saturday to create a roster spot for Liam Hendriks.
4) It’s fair to wonder if Ceddanne Rafaela’s first homer of the season will unlock some things for him at the plate. He entered Friday with just one extra-base hit (a triple) on his resumé in 62 plate appearances (and 12 strikeouts). That changed in the fourth when he hit a 105.2 mph missile off Penn Murfee for a two-run homer that almost put a hole in the Monster seats.
The Red Sox don’t need Rafaela to mash but improved on-base ability and occasional power from the No. 9 spot would be welcomed. Of course, the defensive stalwart might be fighting for his spot with Roman Anthony pushing for a big league call-up.
5) Alex Cora starts Rob Refsnyder because he knows he can absolutely crush lefties. Friday was his best offensive performance of the young season. He singled in the first, then hit doubles in the third and fifth for his first three-hit night since September 9 against Baltimore.
Refsnyder isn’t going to get many starts against right-handed pitchers so he best make the most of his opportunities against lefties. The Red Sox won’t face another southpaw for the rest of the homestand (and maybe longer).
6) Carlos Narváez got in on the action in the bottom of the eighth, launching his first career major league homer. It was a no-doubter that cleared the Monster in a hurry and made it an eight-run game. The real drama came after the ball bounced off a sign above the fence and came back into play. Andrew Benintendi threw it to a ball attendant, who handed it to a fan down the left-field line (standard protocol). After pleading from the Red Sox dugout and third base coach Kyle Hudson, the attendant got the ball back from a fan and Hudson kept it until the end of the inning for authentication purposes.
The safe bet is that the Sox made it up to the fan in some fashion.
6) The Red Sox, four days after the sky was falling, have put together a nice little three-game winning streak and are back above .500 at 21-20. It’s a much different feeling than a week ago when they spent their Friday night getting boatraced at Rate Field.
7) I’ve seen a lot of baseball at Fenway Park and would have guessed that the fifth-inning double off the bat of Nick Maton that hit the top of the right field wall would have been ruled a homer 100 times out of 100. It was not.
8) Less than a week after flirting with a no-hitter in Chicago, lefty Garrett Crochet (2-1, 1.38 ERA) will be back on the mound Saturday afternoon against his former team. Danvers native Shane Smith (0-1, 2.04 ERA) will get a hometown start for Chicago. First pitch is at 4:10 p.m. ET.
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1) The Red Sox cruised to a win in their home opener because they got instant offense in the bottom of the first and never looked back. It was a similar story (no pun intended) in the opening game of their second homestand. Boston came out swinging against old friend Martín Pérez and hit rocket after rocket to start the game. The Red Sox hit five balls at 102.1 mph or harder in the first, including Rafael Devers’ double and Story’s three-run homer to open the scoring.
2) The impact of Story to this point in the season can’t be understated. With two three-run homers Friday, he’s up to five blasts in 21 games while hitting .321. The Red Sox were happy to welcome Story back as a stabilizer in the middle of the infield defense and leader but it was unclear what he could provide on the offensive side of the ball. He has been fantastic so far.
Story now has 20 career multi-homer games, but just two with Boston. His last was on May 19, 2022, when he hit three blasts in a rout over the Mariners.
3) Hunter Dobbins was about as good as one can be in a second career big league start. He worked quickly and effectively and allowed just two runs (one earned) on four hits in six innings while striking out six White Sox batters. Pitching with a lead helped, but Dobbins was rather dominant. He is the first Red Sox pitcher to win his first two career starts since Tanner Houck won three in a row in 2020.
The Red Sox traded Quinn Priester because they were comfortable with their starting depth, a group that included Richard Fitts, Sean Newcomb and Cooper Criswell ahead of Dobbins to start the year. But Dobbins has emerged as a real threat to take spot starts, even if he’s slated to potentially be sent down Saturday to create a roster spot for Liam Hendriks.
4) It’s fair to wonder if Ceddanne Rafaela’s first homer of the season will unlock some things for him at the plate. He entered Friday with just one extra-base hit (a triple) on his resumé in 62 plate appearances (and 12 strikeouts). That changed in the fourth when he hit a 105.2 mph missile off Penn Murfee for a two-run homer that almost put a hole in the Monster seats.
The Red Sox don’t need Rafaela to mash but improved on-base ability and occasional power from the No. 9 spot would be welcomed. Of course, the defensive stalwart might be fighting for his spot with Roman Anthony pushing for a big league call-up.
5) Alex Cora starts Rob Refsnyder because he knows he can absolutely crush lefties. Friday was his best offensive performance of the young season. He singled in the first, then hit doubles in the third and fifth for his first three-hit night since September 9 against Baltimore.
Refsnyder isn’t going to get many starts against right-handed pitchers so he best make the most of his opportunities against lefties. The Red Sox won’t face another southpaw for the rest of the homestand (and maybe longer).
6) Carlos Narváez got in on the action in the bottom of the eighth, launching his first career major league homer. It was a no-doubter that cleared the Monster in a hurry and made it an eight-run game. The real drama came after the ball bounced off a sign above the fence and came back into play. Andrew Benintendi threw it to a ball attendant, who handed it to a fan down the left-field line (standard protocol). After pleading from the Red Sox dugout and third base coach Kyle Hudson, the attendant got the ball back from a fan and Hudson kept it until the end of the inning for authentication purposes.
The safe bet is that the Sox made it up to the fan in some fashion.
6) The Red Sox, four days after the sky was falling, have put together a nice little three-game winning streak and are back above .500 at 21-20. It’s a much different feeling than a week ago when they spent their Friday night getting boatraced at Rate Field.
7) I’ve seen a lot of baseball at Fenway Park and would have guessed that the fifth-inning double off the bat of Nick Maton that hit the top of the right field wall would have been ruled a homer 100 times out of 100. It was not.
8) Less than a week after flirting with a no-hitter in Chicago, lefty Garrett Crochet (2-1, 1.38 ERA) will be back on the mound Saturday afternoon against his former team. Danvers native Shane Smith (0-1, 2.04 ERA) will get a hometown start for Chicago. First pitch is at 4:10 p.m. ET.
More Red Sox coverage
- Red Sox’ Alex Cora explains sitting Triston Casas, Wilyer Abreu against lefty again
- Red Sox injuries: Connor Wong ahead of schedule, Masataka Yoshida having ‘good days and bad’
- Red Sox lineup: Triston Casas, Wilyer Abreu sit vs. LHP in homestand opener
- Red Sox roster moves include Alex Bregman’s return, veteran pitcher cut after one outing
- MLB Notebook: What’s real — and what isn’t — through the first three weeks of Red Sox season
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