Boston Red Sox: 5 Things We Learned from Opening Day Loss

The loss on Opening Day is nothing to worry about, Red Sox Nation. The Boston Red Sox battled back in the ninth inning to almost win the game, but the absence of Andrew Bailey really stood out when Mark Melancon and Alfredo Aceves could not get the job done.

It was a brutal finish, but this game showed us what the Sox can do in crunch time.

5. Jon Lester Is the Ace

Jon Lester threw a solid seven innings in the matchup versus Justin Verlander on Thursday afternoon. He only had four strikeouts, but he gave up the only run for either starter in the bottom of the seventh inning after getting two quick outs by allowing back to back doubles.

The lefty ace showed his worth to the Boston Red Sox with this effort and made it known to every one, especially the Detroit Tigers, that he is a very talented pitcher.

4. The Offense Needs to Mesh

The Boston Red Sox offense was held in check against Verlander as he cruised for eight innings while allowing only two hits and striking out seven. He also walked a batter.

Sure, it is unfair to judge the Sox when they face Verlander. We shall see on Saturday how they fare against a pitcher like Doug Fister.

3. The Sox Have Some Fight

Jose Valverde blew a two run lead in the ninth after making all of his saves in 2011. The heart of the order for the Boston Red Sox came through in a big way, especially Ryan Sweeney. Sweeney hit a two out triple that tied this game up by scoring Darnell McDonald.

Cody Ross may have lined out to short on the next pitch, but the Red Sox will be fighters the rest of the season after their showing on Opening Day.

2. Great Infield Defense

The Boston Red Sox infield is one of the best in the game defensively and offensively, and it showed against the Detroit Tigers Thursday.

There were a total of three double plays in the game and they were turned when the Sox needed the outs, as Lester got into multiple jams when allowing the leadoff hitter in multiple innings to get on base.

Also, there were no errors on the day by the Red Sox, which is a sign of things to come.

1. Bullpen Will Be an Adventure

Alfredo Aceves could not get out of the jam and blew the tie game in the 3-2 loss to Detroit, but it was not all his fault.

Vicente Padilla allowed a leadoff triple in the eighth that eventually scored to make it 2-0 for the Tigers. The bullpen allowed two runs in one and one-third innings while allowing four hits and one walk.

Mark Melancon only went one-third of an inning and allow two hits before Bobby Valentine yanked him for Aceves.

It will be interesting to see just how long Valentine decides to not use Aceves right away on the road in a tie game situation. He should have done it Thursday, but oh well. There are still 161 games to go.