The Boston Red Sox once again found themselves in an early hole in Friday's showdown with the New York Yankees. Walker Buehler gave up five runs in the first inning and only lasted two frames against the AL East's first-place team.
This has been a common theme for Boston all season, and not just with Buehler. The 2025 Red Sox currently have a combined 7.06 ERA in first innings. Garrett Crochet has been the standout, workhorse ace we all expected, but the rest of Boston's staff is a mess. Something needs to change.
It's easy enough to say Boston should trade for another starter, and it should, but the Red Sox won't completely solve this issue at the trade deadline. Craig Breslow is as desperate as he's ever been, but it's virtually impossible to fill or upgrade four starting slots. Even if Boston adds a Mitch Keller or a Sandy Alcántara, the back-end of the rotation will keep on hemorrhaging runs early in games.
That puts the onus on Alex Cora and the Red Sox coaching staff to come up with a more creative solution. Is it time for Boston to start deploying openers to set the table in the first inning?
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Red Sox should consider deploying openers to stabilize a struggling rotation
Obviously the Red Sox aren't going to pitch a reliever in front of Garrett Crochet, but Hunter Dobbins? Brayan Bello? Lucus Giolito? Definitely Buehler... all these guys have struggled to pitch deep into games.
There is an element of bad luck and natural regression to the mean, which Boston needs to account for. All four names mentioned above — all four pitchers currently slated behind Crochet in the rotation — have dealt with injuries this season, which has prevented them from establishing a consistent workflow.
Things will get better. Giolito and Buehler in particular stand out as veteran aces with a lengthy track record of ace-level (or something close to ace-level) production. As the campaign unfolds, these guys should settle into a more reliable groove, barring future injury setbacks.
On the other hand, Boston can't really afford to wait. Alex Cora needs to roll with the punches and adjust on the fly. The Red Sox are dangerously close to falling out of contention with an expensive roster and a mandate to win at the highest level. The longer these struggles persist, the greater the chances that ownership takes drastic measures to improve the product on the field. Whether that's firing the manager, shaking up the front office, or instigating sweeping roster changes, the Red Sox probably don't want to learn the consequences of more losing. Ideally, this team can start stacking wins tomorrow.
We don't see very many teams deploy the opener strategy, especially not on a regular basis, but the logic is sound for a Red Sox team that just can't seem to keep a lid on the scoreboard in the first inning. It's hard to win when your injury-ravaged lineup is constantly fighting uphill. With Triston Casas done for the season and Alex Bregman out for a while, the Red Sox really need to find creative ways to set up a shallow, top-heavy lineup for success.
Letting the bullpen cook out of the gate before putting starters into a more advantageous position in the second inning is a strategy worth pondering.