BOSTON – Baltimore Orioles ace pitcher John Means threw 7.0 innings of one-hit, scoreless baseball and the Orioles scored two runs in the 6th inning and one in the 8th to earn a 3-0 Opening Day victory over the Red Sox at Fenway Park. The opener was delayed one day because of inclement weather on Thursday, April 1. It was the first time the Boston Red Sox were shut-out on their MLB Opening Day since 1976.
Means retired 18 consecutive batters with the only blemish being a lead-off single by Boston’s Kiki Hernandez and the Orioles’ 3B Maikel Franco allowing Xander Bogaerts to get on board with a fielding error. Otherwise, it was all command, control and an effective change-ups by Means that baffled Boston batters all afternoon long.
Baltimore earned its victory when Ryan Montcastle doubled in two runs in the 6th inning and an Anthony Santander RBI single to score Cedric Mullins in the 8th inning.
Orioles closer Cesar Valdez relieved Tanner Scott and retired the Red Sox with only a DH J.D. Martinez double in the 9th.
Boston SP Nathan Eovaldi (5.1 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 4 SO) made his 2nd straight Opening Day start. He took the loss.
The teams will return to Fenway Park for 1:10pm EDT starts on both Saturday and Sunday.