Well that didn't go quite like anyone hoped it would.
John Smoltz's debut with the Boston Red Sox can pretty much be called a failure. Smoltz managed to go five innings, but he allowed five runs, seven hits, one walk and struck out five - all against the worst team in baseball (granted, it's not the bigs' worst offense in baseball).
Smoltz, most likely, was a bit rusty. That's understandable. While no one can say Smoltz won't contribute this season, the fact of the matter is game No. 1 just didn't go very well for the future Hall of Famer. The K/BB weren't too bad, but he got lit up for four runs in the first. He did settle down, though, which is a positive sign.
Oh, and the Red Sox lost, 9-3.
The Sox's offense was absent. David Ortiz hit a sac fly to score J.D. Drew and Rocco Baldelli hit a two-run home run (Julio Lugo on base), but that was pretty much it. Drew was the team's only hitter with two hits.
The bullpen struggled, too. Daniel Bard and Takashi Saito both allowed two runs in one inning of work. Ramon Ramirez worked the eighth, though, and struck out one in a scoreless inning.
No sweep of the Nats. That kind of stinks, but as that saying goes: you can't win ‘em all. It's not like the Red Sox really expected a ‘W' out of this one, either. Sure, Smoltz was pitching but no one knew what to expect from him. He could have shut down the Nats for eight innings or do just what he did. It's a loss, nonetheless.
The Sox travel to Atlanta to start a three-game series with the Braves on Friday. It'll be Josh Beckett v. Jair Jurrjens at 7:35 p.m.