The Boston Red Sox and Cincinnati Reds kicked off their 2026 seasons this afternoon at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati, OH. Garrett Crochet got the ball for the Red Sox, while Andrew Abbott got the ball for the Reds.
Boston Red Sox Starting Lineup
LF – Roman Anthony
SS – Trevor Story
DH – Jarren Duran
1B – Willson Contreras
3B – Caleb Durbin
RF – Wiley Abreu
2B – Isiah Kiner-Falefa
C – Carlos Narvaez
CF – Ceddanne Rafaela
LHP – Garrett Crochet
Cincinnati Reds Starting Lineup
CF – TJ Friedl
2B – Matt McLain
SS – Elly De La Cruz
1B – Sal Stewart
DH – Eugenio Suarez
LF – Spencer Steer
C – Tyler Stephenson
RF – Noelvi Marte
3B – Ke’Bryan Hayes
LHP – Andrew Abbott
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Red Sox vs. Reds
Scoring
The Red Sox struck first in the pitcher’s duel. Once the game was turned over to the bullpen, Marcelo Mayer pinch-hit for Isiah Kiner-Falefa, and he led off with a double. Carlos Narvaez moved him over with a bunt, and Ceddanne Rafael singled him home. In the ninth, the Red Sox added a second run after a Marcelo Mayer single led off the inning. Roman Anthony used the ABS system and walked, then Trevor Story singled home Mayer to make it 2-0. Jarren Duran then singled home Anthony to make it 3-0.
Pitching
Boston
Garrett Crochet got the ball for the Red Sox. He went six shutout innings, allowing three hits. He walked two and struck out eight. Justin Slaten was the first pitcher out of the bullpen for the Red Sox. Garrett Whitlock got the eighth, and despite allowing a two-out double, he struck out Suarez to end the inning; it was his second strikeout of the inning. Aroldis Chapman got the ninth, and he got the Reds 1-2-3.
Cincinnati
Andrew Abbott took the mound for the Reds. He went six scoreless innings, allowing seven hits. He walked one and struck out four. Pierce Johnson was brought in by Cincinnati for Abbott. He lasted only 0.1 innings, allowing a run on two hits. Sam Moll finished off the inning and started the eighth. He had one strikeout. Graham Ashcraft finished off the eighth, walking one and striking out one. Connor Phillips got the ninth for Cincinnati. He lasted 0.2 innings, allowing two runs on two hits; he walked one and struck out one. Brock Burke came in and allowed a hit that scored the second run, which was charged to Phillips. He did get the last out in the inning, though.
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Player of the Game
Marcelo Mayer, after sitting on the bench for a majority of the game, came in and hit a double which ended up leading to him scoring the game’s first run. He also hit a single in his second plate appearance and scored their second run.
Next Up:
These two teams will meet again on Saturday, with the first pitch set for 4:10 PM EST. Sonny Gray will take the ball for the Red Sox, while Brady Singer takes the ball for the Reds.
