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A RLINGTON, Texas — Daniel Bard allowed four runs in the eighth inning and took the loss on Opening Day. Carl Crawford went hitless in his first seven at-bats. And the pitching staff gave up 11 home runs in three games, all defeats.
But none of the Red Sox [ team stats ] had a tougher weekend than Jarrod Saltalamacchia .
Tabbed by manageras the starting catcher for each game against the Texas Rangers, Saltalamacchia called every pitch that got smacked over the fence at the Ballpark in Arlington. Making matters worse, he went 0-for-10 with one walk and one run scored from the No. 8 spot in the lineup.
“I was overaggressive,” Saltalamacchia said. “I’ve just got to slow down, see the ball a little bit. I’ve got a long ways to go. I’m not going to judge my season on 10 at-bats.”
Neither will Francona. With his team trailing, 3-1, with two on and one out in the seventh inning yesterday against Rangers left-hander Matt Harrison , Francona said he never considered sending up a pinch hitter for Saltalamacchia, who swung at the first pitch and flied out to right fielder Nelson Cruz . Two batters later, the Red Sox’ rally ended with astrikeout.
“One thing Salty does so well is work the count and swing at strikes,” Francona said. “You could see how anxious he is right now, swinging at first-pitch strikes. He just has to relax and do what he can do, not try to get it all back in one at-bat.”
The impatience is understandable, though, considering everything that happened with Saltalamacchia behind the plate. On Friday, ace leftyallowed a career-high three home runs.
Right-hander Clay Buchholz gave up four solo shots yesterday after serving up only nine homers all of last season.
But Saltalamacchia said he didn’t second-guess any of the pitches that were hit out.
“We went after them with our strengths,” he said.
“I don’t think anyone regrets any pitch they threw, and I don’t regret calling any pitch. They’re a good-hitting team, but like I said, we went after everybody. We’re not going to change anything just because we’ve given up a few hits.”
Odds are, given the rapport between right-handerand backup catcher, Saltalamacchia won’t start tomorrow night’s series opener at Cleveland. But Francona won’t waver in his commitment to him either.
“Results aside, I think Salty does a very good job with the pitchers,” Francona said. “If a ball goes over the middle, that’s the way the game is. These guys are good enough where, if you make a mistake, they’ll hit it a long way. A tough three-game series isn’t going to change our view on Salty.”
Jonathan Papelbon needed to pitch, especially with no game today. So, without any save opportunities against the Rangers, the closer made his regular-season debut in the eighth inning with the Red Sox trailing by three runs.
Papelbon allowed a leadoff double by Andres Blanco , and after hitting Ian Kinsler with a pitch, he gave up an RBI double to Michael Young . He intentionally walked Josh Hamilton to load the bases but responded by striking out Adrian Beltre , Cruz and David Murphy .
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