New Red Sox acquisition makes history in Opening Day win over Mariners

The Boston Red Sox got off to a solid start on Thursday night, which led them to a 6-4 Opening Day win over the Seattle Mariners. The story of the game, however, was newly acquired outfielder Tyler O'Neill.

O'Neill was acquired from the St. Louis Cardinals in an offseason trade to help the Red Sox bolster their offense and fill a need in the outfield left by Alex Verdugo, who was dealt to the rival New York Yankees.. He came into last night's game riding a four-year streak of Opening Day home runs.

All it took for him to set an Opening Day record was one blast, and sure enough, he hit one in the top of the eighth inning off of Cody Bolton to give the Red Sox a little breathing room against the Mariners.

O'Neill sets Opening Day record with late blast

This is some impressive Opening Day history that was made by O'Neill last night. To make it even more special, he set the record against the team that had drafted him.

O'Neill had been tied with Todd Hundley, Gary Carter, and Yogi Berra with four consecutive Opening Day home runs. But it was his eighth inning blast that broke the record as the Red Sox held on for the win.

"You always want to kick off the season with a bang," said O'Neill, h/t ESPN. "Fortunately, I've been able to do it a couple times in a row now. Just a lot of fun being out there."

The veteran outfielder has struggled to stay healthy in recent years, but if he's able to stay on the field, the Red Sox will have pulled off a steal in the offseason trade with the Cardinals. Boston gave up pitchers Victor Santos and Nick Robertson to pull off the deal back in December.

For now, an Opening Day home run will do just fine. The Red Sox will obviously hope that this is a harbinger of things to come as the season progresses. Only 161 more games to go to see if that will be the case.