Sox start season with a thud

Score: Kansas City 7, Sox 1
WP: Gil Meche (1-0)
LP: Schill (0-1)
HRs: KC-John Buck (1)

It was a beautiful day for baseball at packed Kauffman Stadium

KEY MOMENT: 2-1 KC, bot. of the 4th

With the score still tight Schilling allowed a two-out, two-run double to Mark Eye Chart Grudzielanek that made the score 4-1, and when Mark Tehan followed with an RBI single it was lights out for the boys from Boston.

HERO: Grudzielanek

The gritty, veteran second baseman torched Bosox pitching for 3 hits and 3 RBIs in 5 at bats, plus scored 2 runs and provided a spark from the two hole that carried throughout the rest of the lineup.

GOAT: Schilling

Eight hits, five earned runs and only four innings of work equals a horrendous opening day start; it was Schill's shortest start in a decade and his 4th consecutive loss to the Royals.

SUMMARY:
Big Papi did what he was supposed to do- give Curt Schilling a lead to work with- when he drove in Youk with a deep double in the first inning. Unfortunately for the Sox Schill didn't fulfill his end of the deal as he gave the run right back in the bottom of the frame on a based loaded walk, then went on to allow four more runs in four innings of erratic, sporadic opening day ball.

By the time Schill gave way to Javier Lopez in the 5th he had allowed 8 hits including two doubles & a triple, walked 2, struck out five and threw 89 pitches, 55 for strikes. Let's call that less than impressive, especially from a guy who is supposed to be the team's ace, who wants a new contract, and who is going to be counted on for stability in the rotation this year.

Lopez stopped the bleeding in the 5th, but Japanese rookie reliever Hideki Okijima allowed a lead off home run to catcher John Buck on his first major league pitch, and just for good measure Joel I am not a closer Pineiro allowed a run on Tona Pena Jr's (yes, that Tony Pena, Sox fans) second triple of the game in his Boston debut in the 8th.

Basically the loss came down to KC getting timely hitting (5 of the 7 runs scored came with 2 outs) and quality pitching from Seattle castoff Gil Meche. The poster boy for the off season free agent splurging MLB indulged in, especially on pitchers, Meche took his 55 career wins, $55 million contract while wearing #55 and not only out-pitched Schill but held the vaunted Sox lineup in check for 7.1 innings. The righty gave up only 6 hits and the single run while striking out six, including new Boston SS/lead off man Julio Lugo three times; Sox batters Kd 10 times on the day.

There were some positives for the Bosox: new RF J.D. Drew had a single & walk in his debut, Youk had two hits and scored a run from the #2 slot, and Dustin Pedroia went 2-3 from the 9th position. But for every positive there were at least 2 negatives, like the pair of base runners (Pedroia & Tek) gunned down after foolishly attempting to take extra bases that weren't there, the two measly extra base hits produced by this prodigious lineup, and the pair of runs given up by two new members of the pen.

All in all not the way you want to ring in opening day. But that's part of the beauty of the sport-lose the first game and there's still 161 more to follow.

BOX SCORE

RECORD: 0-1

UP NEXT: @ KC, WED 8PM Beckett vs. Perez