Cincinnati – Everything seemed good and right at the beginning. Opening Day of the 2020 season, nearly four months late, but here at last.…
Cincinnati – Everything seemed good and right at the beginning. Opening Day of the 2020 season, nearly four months late, but here at last.
The Tigers and Reds both lined up along the baselines, the Tigers socially distant along the third base line and the Reds well-spaced on the first base line, all kneeling on a long black ribbon while Black Lives Matter messages were relayed in a video on the giant scoreboard in left field.
“We all know what we’re trying to do here — awareness,” said manager Ron Gardenhire, like the rest of the Tigers’ and Reds’ players wearing a BLM T-shirt before the game. “We want to make people aware of what’s going on in our country. This is for respect… There are things in this country that need to change.
“We made a statement with these shirts.”
BOX SCORE: Reds 7, Tigers 1
But somewhere between the national anthem and the first pitch, Tigers lefty ace Matthew Boyd lost his mechanics.
It took him six hitters to find it but by then two runs had scored and the Reds were on their way to a 7-1 Opening Day romp over Detroit on Friday.
“It was pretty much the whole package,” Boyd said. “Usually, I go out with the ability to make the adjustment when something is going wrong. I can feel that. Tonight there was just something wrong right in the foundation.
“I had a little mechanical twitch, just how I lined up on the rubber and I didn’t make that adjustment really until the third inning, slowing making it in the second and finally started flowing in the third.”
Boyd needed 30 pitches to get out of the first. He gave up a walk, hit two batters (including former teammate Nick Castellanos with the bases loaded) and allowed singles to left-handed hitters Joey Votto and Mike Moustakas.
