Red Sox at Indians
Fresh off a third last-place finish in four years, the Boston Red Sox went out over the winter and did something they refused to do the previous winter by shelling out big money for a free-agent starting pitcher. A scheduled opening day that included wind chills in the teens forced David Price's team debut to be pushed back a day, but he will be on the mound when the Red Sox visit the Cleveland Indians on Tuesday for the first of a three-game set.
Boston brought in veteran front office executive Dave Dombrowski late last season, and he set about tinkering with the roster by trading away prospects for closer Craig Kimbrel and outbidding a host of suitors with a seven-year, $217 million contract for Price. The former Cy Young Award winner gives the Red Sox the ace left-hander they lost when they were out-bid for Jon Lester the previous year and headlines a staff that finished 14th in the American League with a 4.31 ERA last season, ahead of only Dombrowski’s Detroit Tigers. Boston is trying to replicate the success it had under former manager Terry Francona, who is currently trying to guide the Indians to those same heights. Cleveland was second in the AL with a 3.67 ERA last season and is hoping a full season from 22-year-old stud shortstop Francisco Lindor can give the offense the boost it needs to support the pitching and lead the team to the postseason.
TV: 1:10 p.m. ET, NESN (Boston), SportsTime Ohio (Cleveland)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Red Sox LH David Price (2015: 18-5, 2.45 ERA) vs. Indians RH Corey Kluber (2015: 9-16, 3.49)
Price went 9-1 with a 2.30 ERA in 11 starts with the Blue Jays to close out last season, helping that team take the AL East. The 30-year-old former No. 1 overall pick has not posted an ERA higher than 3.49 since his 2009 rookie season and is expected to carry the staff. "We've added a guy who is very comfortable with that label, that No. 1 guy that other players look up to, whether you're a pitcher or a position player," Red Sox manager John Farrell told reporters. "They look to that one guy knowing that when he walks to the mound, we've got a chance to beat anyone we go up against."
Kluber won the 2014 Cy Young Award and draws similar praise from his organization for his influence on the rest of the staff. "That's the biggest key to our success," Indians pitching coach Mickey Callaway told MLB.com of Kluber's emergence. "If you go back and look, once Kluber became the main leader, everything changed. Everything changed for Danny (Salazar), everything changed for (Carlos) Carrasco.” Kluber battled some inconsistency and poor run support in 2015 but finished third in the AL with 245 strikeouts.
WALK-OFFS
1. Red Sox INF Travis Shaw beat out Pablo Sandoval for the starting 3B spot.
2. Cleveland LF Michael Brantley (shoulder), who led the AL with 45 doubles last season, will begin the season on the 15-day DL.
3. Boston DH David Ortiz, 40, is beginning his final season.