Mariners drop opener 6-4 as Boston’s O’Neill makes history

SEATTLE (AP) — Tyler O’Neill homered in his fifth straight opening day game to set a major league record, this time against the organization that drafted him, and the Boston Red Sox beat the Seattle Mariners 6-4 on Thursday night.

Boston Red Sox 6, Seattle Mariners 4: Box score

Rafael Devers homered and doubled off Seattle ace Luis Castillo, but it was O’Neill’s homer on the first pitch from Cody Bolton in the eighth inning that gave the Red Sox a 6-4 lead and made history.

O’Neill homered the previous four opening days with St. Louis, tying him with Todd Hundley (1994-97), Gary Carter (1977-80) and Yogi Berra (1955-58). He was a top prospect in the Mariners organization before being traded to St. Louis in 2017.

Tyler O'Neill is the first player in MLB history to homer in five straight #OpeningDay games! pic.twitter.com/qOwIKjvYZA

— MLB (@MLB) March 29, 2024

The homers and some solid pitching helped Boston manager Alex Cora enjoy his first opening day win as a manager.

Devers hit an opposite-field two-run homer on an elevated fastball from Castillo in the third inning and his one-out double in the fifth helped lead to another run for Boston.

RAFFY SAID IT'S BASEBALL SEASON. pic.twitter.com/nCoIgBolfO

— Red Sox (@RedSox) March 29, 2024

Connor Wong added a two-out RBI single in the sixth on a pitch well off the plate.

Boston starter Brayan Bello (1-0) pitched five innings and limited the damage to Mitch Haniger’s two-run homer after he spent last season with San Francisco.

Welcome Back: Mitch Haniger blasts homer in Mariners return

Kenley Jansen pitched the ninth for the save after recording 29 last season for Boston.

Dylan Moore’s pinch-hit, two run homer in the seventh inning pulled Seattle within 5-4, but that’s as close as Seattle would get.

Happy DMOpening Day! pic.twitter.com/eDmmgJIl4W

— Seattle Mariners (@Mariners) March 29, 2024

Two of Seattle’s big offseason additions, Jorge Polanco and Mitch Garver, both experienced some of the frustration that comes with playing at home early in the season. Each hit deep fly balls that likely would have been homers in their former parks, but instead became outs.

Castillo (0-1) labored through five innings as his control got away from him at times, missing with a number of borderline pitches. Castillo, who needed 91 pitches to get through the fifth, gave up four runs and six hits.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Red Sox: RHP Liam Hendriks was placed on the 60-day IL as he continues recovery from Tommy John surgery. … LHP Chris Murphy was also played on the 60-day IL with a UCL sprain. … RHP Bryan Mata (hamstring) was placed on the 15-day IL. … IF Vaughn Grissom (hamstring) and OF Rob Refsnyder (toe) were placed on the 10-day IL.

Mariners: IF/OF Sam Haggerty (undisclosed medical procedure) was placed on the 10-day injured list to begin the season. … RHPs Matt Brash (elbow strain), Bryan Woo (elbow inflammation), Gregory Santos (lat strain) and Eduardo Bazardo (rotator cuff strain) were placed on the 15-day IL. … Veteran IF Brian Anderson was released, but agreed to a minor-league contract and was assigned to Triple-A Tacoma.

UP NEXT

A pair of right-handers will face off as Nick Pivetta starts for Boston while George Kirby takes the hill for Seattle.

After throwing out first pitch, Nelson Cruz retires with Seattle Mariners