Relaxed Alex Cora ready to end his Red Sox streak, see slugger extend his
SEATTLE — Manager Alex Cora joked when asked Thursday why he has right-handed hitting outfielder Tyler O’Neill in the Red Sox starting lineup instead of left-handed hitting outfielder Wilyer Abreu against Seattle righty Luis Castillo.
“I’ve got a five-game losing streak on Opening Day and he has a four-game home run streak going into Opening Day,” Cora said. “So analytics. Very simple.”
O’Neill, who Boston acquired from the Cardinals in the offseason, has homered four consecutive Opening Days. He’s tied for the longest such streak with Todd Hundley (1994-97), Gary Carter (1977-80) and Yogi Berra (1955-58), per Elias.
Meanwhile, Cora has lost all five Opening Days as Red Sox manager.
The Red Sox’ regular season opener Thursday is the first of 10 games in 11 days here on the West Coast. Boston plays four games here in Seattle, then three games in Oakland and three games in Anaheim.
Boston began the 2019 season losing three of four games in Seattle. It finished the opening trip (Seattle, Oakland and Arizona) with a 3-8 record.
“I feel a lot different than I did in 2019 here,” Cora said. “I remember Rochie (WBZ’s Dan Roche) asked the first question. I said, ‘I’m feeling tired.’ That was my first answer in ‘19. This year, it’s the total opposite. I’m excited about the year, excited about the team, excited about our situation. And let’s see where it takes us.”
Cora said the Red Sox are better prepared for this West Coast road trip to begin the season in part because they are a younger team. He also said scheduling some spring training games at night during the final week helped get the team acclimated.
“I think youth has a lot to do with it,” Cora said. “I think we did a good job towards the end pushing everything back (in the day). We had that experience (in 2019) and it wasn’t a good one. I think we were a little bit banged up coming into that season pitching-wise. But position player-wise, we weren’t moving. … This is the total opposite. Guys are moving well. We did a good job the last few weeks trying to get to this point. And now we have no excuses. We’ve just got to go out there and play good baseball.”
