Wilyer Abreu went 3-for-3 with two home runs, four RBIs and three runs scored as the Boston Red Sox earned a 5-2 Opening Day win over the host Texas Rangers on Thursday afternoon in Arlington.
The top slugger among American League rookies last season, Abreu homered in the fifth and ninth innings to lead the Red Sox to their second straight season-opening victory.
Abreu’s second round-tripper broke a 2-2 tie in the ninth, coming after Trevor Story drew a one-out walk and stole second before highly rated prospect Kristian Campbell recorded his first MLB hit on a line single to third base. David Hamilton pinch ran for Campbell before the deciding swing.
The Boston bullpen — Garrett Whitlock, Aroldis Chapman (1-0) and Justin Slaten — allowed just two hits over a combined four scoreless innings in relief of Garrett Crochet. Slaten pitched a 1-2-3 ninth with a strikeout for the save.
Josh Jung and Kevin Pillar each had multiple hits for Texas.
The Red Sox won late after recording two runs on three hits and striking out nine times across Texas starter Nathan Eovaldi’s six-inning start. Luke Jackson (0-1) took the loss.
A leadoff walk to Jake Burger bit Crochet in the bottom of the second, as back-to-back singles from Jung and Pillar followed to lift Texas to an early lead. Pillar’s liner through the middle drove home the opening run from second base.
After Eovaldi struck out the side in his second of two opening 1-2-3 innings, Boston quickly generated the tying run in the third. Consecutive knocks by Abreu and Connor Wong set up runners on the corners, and Ceddanne Rafaela’s fielder’s choice grounder to short followed to make it 1-1.
Crochet set down eight Rangers in a row after surrendering the first run, but the hosts climbed back in front in the fourth after Pillar extended the inning with a two-run single and scored on Higashioka’s deep double over the head of Rafaela in center field.
Crochet departed after five innings of two-run ball, allowing five hits and two walks while striking out five in his Red Sox debut.
One swing of the bat in the Boston fifth broke Eovaldi’s streak of six straight batters retired following the Rafaela RBI, as Abreu crushed a one-out homer to right to tie the game at 2.
Before rallying to win, Boston left two runners stranded after Chris Martin came on to strike out Wong in the seventh.
Jarren Duran singled and reached third in the eighth, but Alex Bregman, who went 0-for-4 in his Red Sox debut, lined out to end the inning.
