How Red Sox Can Set Tone With Hot Start On West Coast
The Boston Red Sox kick off their 2024 MLB season with a 10-game road trip on the West Coast.
Beginning on March 28, the Red Sox face the Seattle Mariners in a four-game set, before taking on the Oakland Athletics for three games and then finally the Los Angeles Angels for three games before heading home to Boston.
Coming off a second straight last-place finish, Boston can set the tone for the season by stringing together some wins against its first three opponents.
Although the quality of the Red Sox opponents is unknown because the season hasn’t started yet, the A’s are usually one of the worst teams in baseball, and the Angels aren’t that far off. Seattle, on the other hand, finished one game out of a wild card spot last year and is considered to be a top-10 team in the league.
Boston’s pitching will be the focus of the season. Getting off to a good start would certainly help the Red Sox counter some of the negativity surrounding the lack of big splash offseason moves.
Brayan Bello was tabbed as Boston’s Opening Day starter after Lucas Giolito underwent elbow surgery, and the Red Sox will lean heavily on Bello to be their ace to begin the season.
If the Red Sox get the Bello who began the 2023 season and not the one who limped through the final stretch, Boston could pull out at least one win from his two starts on the road trip. Bello pitched 18 1/3 innings in spring training with a 3.93 ERA, 1.31 WHIP, and 18 strikeouts.
If Bello fails to give Boston quality pitching, Kutter Crawford could step in after having a stellar spring training. In 19 1/3 innings, Crawford finished with a 3.72 ERA and 1.09 WHIP with 18 strikeouts.
If Boston’s starting pitching can go deep in games, the Red Sox have a better chance of pulling out wins by getting to the bullpen.
The Red Sox bullpen is the team’s strongest unit, with Kenley Jansen and Chris Martin anchoring the back end.
If Boston’s starting rotation can go deep in games, it will allow Red Sox manager Alex Cora to save Jansen’s and Martin’s arms for games that need the one-two-punch to close out games.
Josh Wincowski had a breakout year last season in the pen with a 2.88 ERA in 84 1/3 innings pitched with 82 strikeouts, 31 walks and nine home runs allowed.
More Red Sox
Defense was a huge problem for the Red Sox last season. Boston finished with 102 errors, behind only the San Francisco Giants, who had 117.
Having a strong defense behind the pitching rotation should help Boston this season, especially if the Red Sox can stop giving away outs.
Trevor Story being healthy from the start is a boost in the infield, but the Red Sox will need more consistency from Triston Casas and Rafael Devers on the corners. Devers should not duplicate the 19 errors he had last season with Story to his left.
Coupled with the infield, the outfield should be a strong point of the Red Sox this season, with Jarren Duran, Tyler O’Neill, Ceddanne Rafaela and Wilyer Abreu leading the way.
With the defense stronger this season than last, Boston’s bats will also look to have an impact with a deeper lineup.
Devers, Casas and Duran will look to build on their offensive output from last season, while Story and Masataka Yoshida will look to put together resurgent seasons. Having Rafaela and Abreu’s bats in the lineup also gives Boston power and speed.
If the Red Sox can stay healthy they could put together an impactful 10-game road trip to start the season and come home above .500 for Opening Day at Fenway on April 9 against the Baltimore Orioles.