The Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees will have to wait a day to begin the 2022 season.
The Opening Day game between the two teams, which was originally scheduled to be played Thursday at 1:05 p.m. at Yankee Stadium, was postponed due to a forecast of inclement weather in New York. It will now be played on Friday with a 1:05 p.m. first pitch. The Yankees made the announcement early Wednesday morning.
Boston’s Nathan Eovaldi is expected to face Gerrit Cole as the Red Sox and Yankees begin a three-game season-opening series at Yankee Stadium.
The Red Sox then fly to Detroit for three games before their home opener at Fenway Park against the Minnesota Twins on April 15.
Friday will be the 31st time the Yankees and Red Sox meet on Opening Day. Meeting in an opener for the first time since 2005, the Yankees and Red Sox were supposed to play the first game of the major league season, which was pushed back a week because of the 99-day lockout.
With the rainout, the first game becomes the Chicago Cubs hosting the Milwaukee Brewers at Wrigley Field – a 2:20 p.m. start.
Seattle’s game at Minnesota on Thursday also was postponed because of weather, with a mixture of rain and snow forecast. Seven games remain on Thursday’s schedule, with Brewers-Cubs joined by the New York Mets at Washington, Cleveland at Kansas City, Pittsburgh at St. Louis, Cincinnati at World Series champion Atlanta, Houston at the Los Angeles Angels and San Diego at Arizona.
NATHAN EOVALDI will make his third consecutive Opening Day start for the Red Sox on Friday at Yankee Stadium, though that was never really the plan.
In 2020, he took the ball after Chris Sale had Tommy John surgery and Eduardo Rodriguez contracted COVID-19. In 2021, the Red Sox turned to Eovaldi again after Rodriguez developed a dead arm late in spring training.
In many ways, though, Boston’s Opening Day reliance on Eovaldi has represented how important he’s become to their pitching staff. That continues to be the case as this season begins, one in which the Red Sox will be without Sale again for at least two months.
“When you get that Opening Day nod, to be able to open up and start that first game, it means a lot to me,” Eovaldi said. “You kind of set the tone.”
Eovaldi will become the 16th pitcher with three or more Opening Day starts for the Red Sox – a group that includes Roger Clemens, Pedro Martinez and Luis Tiant. And he’s the 10th pitcher among them to make three consecutive Opening Day starts. In his previous two, Eovaldi has given up two earned runs and struck out eight over 11 1/3 innings, both against the Orioles.
Friday will present a far greater challenge, but one he’s familiar with. He’ll oppose Yankees starter Gerrit Cole, who he faced three times last season. The last meeting came in the wild-card game at Fenway Park, where the Sox chased Cole after two innings in a 6-2 win.
The rematch will come almost exactly six months after that October matchup, and Eovaldi has been looking forward to it. The 32-year-old is entering a critical year in his career. He becomes a free agent after the season, and he’s looking to build on his first All-Star season in 2021. Friday could not only set the tone for the Red Sox, but his own season.
“It’s going to be a great game,” Eovaldi said. “To open up against the Yankees, our fans will be there, theirs will be there, day game. I’m just trying to go out there and make sure I stay within my mechanics, one pitch at a time, quick outs and attack the zone.”
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