The Cincinnati Reds got a rock solid start by Andrew Abbott in his first career start on Opening Day. The left-handed All Star fired 6.0 IP of scoreless ball, but the problem was that the Boston Red Sox similarly had an All Star lefty on the mound in Garrett Crochet.
Crochet kept Cincinnati just as scoreless as did Abbott, with Boston’s ace firing 6.0 IP of 3 hit, 2 BB ball to go along with 8 strikeouts, and Boston’s bullpen managed to keep the Reds just as scoreless as did their starter. Cincinnati,
though, yielded a run when Pierce Johnson allowed a leadoff double to Marcelo Mayer the moment he took over for Abbott, and Mayer later came around to score the game’s first run in the Top of the 7th.
Connor Phillips then ran into trouble in the Top of the 8th as Boston used an ABS challenge to undo what would’ve been an inning-ending strikeout and turned that into an RBI-single by Trevor Story that put this game in cement, and Brock Burke later allowed another inherited runner to score to make the 3-0 score a final.
While the disappointment of the loss will sting, there were still several positives to take away from the team’s first game of 2026. Abbott, for one, was infinitely better than he’d been all spring, and he danced around 7 hits and a walk while striking out 4 in his 83 pitch day. The hits he did allow were mostly kept on the ground, and two in particular were of the infield hit variety.
One of those was a 110.2 mph rocket off the bat of Boston star Roman Anthony, though, that took a wicked hop and smashed Sal Stewart on the left wrist in a scary moment. Sal stayed in the game, thankfully, and didn’t look any worse for the wear. In fact, he later added a double after he’d already had a double and single in the game, in the process becoming the first Reds rookie ever to have 3 hits on Opening Day.
For that, Sal takes home the first Joe Nuxhall Memorial Honorary Star of the Game of 2026.
161-1 is still on the table.
Other Notes
- Eugenio Suarez got huge ovations early, but his first game back with the Reds was a rough one. He struck out a trio of times, including once with the bases loaded in their best chance against Crochet in the 6th.
- In total, Reds hitters struck out 12 times on the day.
- Ke’Bryan Hayes’ defense did not score a run today.
- Graham Ashcraft touched 101.5 mph with a heater today, which is a damn encouraging thing.
- Noelvi Marte, who struggled terribly against LHP last year (as did most Reds), went 0 for 2 against Crochet. The moment a righty was on the mound and his spot in the lineup came up, Will Benson was used as a pinch hitter (and struck out).
- Per usual, the Reds have the day off on Friday and will resume their series against Boston in GABP on Saturday afternoon with another 4:10 PM ET start. Announcers will talk about shadows all game, and Brady Singer will start opposite old friend Sonny Gray.
