For the Red Sox, Sunday’s Grapefruit League home opener at JetBlue Park was a day to show off their shiny new toys.
And what a day it was.
Start with Alex Bregman. The team’s prized free-agent acquisition made himself right at home in his Spring Training debut. Playing at a ballpark that replicates Fenway Park with its dimensions, Bregman wasted no time taking aim at that friendly Green Monster.
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The right-handed hitter belted a towering shot to left for a two-run homer in his second at-bat. Batting in the No. 2 hole and starting at third base, Bregman lined a single to right in the first and finished his 3-for-3 day by roping a double off the Monster in his final plate appearance in the bottom of the fourth inning of an 8-7 loss to the Blue Jays.
Then there was Garrett Crochet, the blossoming ace acquired for four prospects at the Winter Meetings. The lefty was overpowering in the first inning, striking out the side. He lost some command in the second and finished his day with a walk and four punchouts over 1 2/3 innings.
What stuck out to both players was the vibe at Fenway South, even for a Spring Training game.
“Just having some good fan turnout helped a lot,” Crochet said. “That’s probably the most people I’ve thrown in front of in Spring Training so it’s cool to kind of get the juices going early.”
“It was great. It was a packed house today, which is pretty cool,” Bregman said. “Pretty awesome for a Spring Training game, and I could definitely feel the energy.”
Bregman, who hit seven regular-season homers at Fenway Park with the Astros plus two more in the playoffs, took Blue Jays right-hander Andrew Bash deep over the towering left-field wall that’s actually four feet taller in South Florida than its counterpart in Boston.
“It felt great. Kind of breaks the ice on Spring Training,” said Bregman.
While Bregman possessing a swing that is perfect for Fenway Park wasn’t the only reason the Red Sox targeted him for months, it was certainly a factor.
“Obviously, Bregman kind of showed today why we wanted him over here,” Crochet said.
Despite the distractions that can come with signing with a new team at the start of Spring Training, Bregman has been able to push the noise aside and get right to work.
“For him, that’s the norm, the way he goes about it, the intensity,” said Red Sox manager Alex Cora. “This is Spring Training and it’s serious [for him]. Every repetition, every pitch. Communication with the players. That’s the part people here, they’ve never seen. I’ve seen it. I know it. I know how it works. You better be ready as a coach, because every day he’s going to come up with stuff, and he wants us to win. He wants to be a part of this. He’s enjoying it. And I think that wall is going to play.”
After posting a career-low OPS of .768 with the Astros last season, Bregman spent the winter determined to fix his swing.
“I was a little more turned in [before], and my hands were launching from a lot further back the last few years,” Bregman said. “So we tried to kind of keep them inside my frame today, and it felt good to square a few balls up.”
Sunday marked the first day the Red Sox had several regulars in the lineup, as Bregman was joined by Triston Casas, Trevor Story and Ceddanne Rafaela. Jarren Duran, last year’s breakout star, was supposed to play but was scratched with tightness in his left calf. No problem, Cora inserted MLB Pipeline’s No. 2 prospect, Roman Anthony, in Duran’s spot in left field and leadoff.
“I think a lot of guys are super pumped to get underway,” Bregman said. “We’re all extremely excited about this season. We know we’ve got a lot of work to do, and we have a lot of preparation here in Florida before heading into the season, but it just felt nice. And I think everybody had a smile on their face today when they got here, because they knew they were in the lineup.”
They also knew who was pitching.
“[He] looked great,” Bregman said of Crochet. “Punched out the side in the first. His stuff is electric. Just in facing him over the past few years, he’s been fun to watch and difficult to face. Glad I’m on his team.”
