Garrett Crochet pitched six scoreless innings and Ceddanne Rafaela broke a scoreless tie in the seventh with an RBI single to lead the visiting Boston Red Sox past the Cincinnati Reds 3-0 on Thursday in the season opener for both clubs.
Roman Anthony had three hits, while Trevor Story and Jarren Duran added insurance RBI singles in the ninth.
Crochet (1-0), the 2025 American League Cy Young runner-up, allowed three hits, walked two and struck out eight to earn the win.
Marcelo Mayer opened the seventh as a pinch-hitter against new Reds reliever Pierce Johnson (0-1) with a double to left-center, just beyond the diving reach of center fielder TJ Friedl. After moving to third on a sacrifice bunt, he scored on Rafaela’s single.
Sal Stewart overcame being drilled in the left wrist by an Anthony liner in the fifth to rack up three hits, becoming the first Cincinnati rookie since 1958 (when rookie rules were established) to record three hits on Opening Day.
His two-out ground-rule double — his second two-bagger of the game — to right set up a rematch of the World Baseball Classic title game when Eugenio Suarez beat Garrett Whitlock and Team USA with a go-ahead double in the 3-2 Venezuela win. This time, Whitlock fanned Suarez to end the eighth-inning threat.
Former Cincinnati closer Aroldis Chapman came on and pitched a scoreless ninth for the save.
With a summer-like temperature of 81 degrees and a stiff 15-mph breeze blowing out to left, dueling lefties Crochet and Andrew Abbott managed to match zeros for the first six innings.
Abbott finished with six scoreless innings, scattering seven hits and one walk with four strikeouts on 83 pitches.
Crochet matched Abbott and pitched out of his biggest jam in the sixth when he fanned Eugenio Suarez and Spencer Steer with the bases loaded.
Abbott was able to work his way out of jams in the first two innings, thanks to a pair of groundball double plays, one started by Ke’Bryan Hayes at third and the other fielded by Elly De La Cruz at short.
The Red Sox totaled five hits over the first three innings against Abbott, including two by Anthony, but could not score.
