It might have been Tyler O’Neill’s final at-bat of the evening when he took the field. On Opening Day, the Boston Red Sox were ahead of the Seattle Mariners by one run in the eighth inning.
O’Neill was given one more chance to create history in MLB. So he tried his best.
At the first pitch he saw, O’Neill swung. The outfielder cried out as he came around first base as the ball sailed over the left-center field fence. He became the single owner of a special piece of baseball history when he scored a home run in five straight Opening Day contests.O’Neill broke a tie with a couple Hall of Famers to start his Red Sox career with a bang. Gary Carter, wit
h Yogi Berramade a few outstanding outfield plays to earn a spot in MLB history. It’s not just him that had a bad night.
Early on, Boston was able to put some pressure on Cy Young contender Luis Castillo. Rafael Devers launched a 400-foot home shot to left center field with Enmanuel Valdez on base. The Mariners soon closed the gap after the Sox took an early lead.
Mitch Haniger blasted a two-run home ball in the fourth inning to tie the game after O’Neill scored on a fielder’s choice in the third. After Connor Wong’s RBI single in the sixth inning and another fielder’s choice run for the Red Sox in the fifth, Dylan Moore launched another two-run bomb in the bottom of the seventh inning. The Red Sox were ahead 5–4, and the score was back within one.
With a deep ball to start the eighth inning, O’Neill gave Boston a run of security. After Kenley Jansen walked the first batter in the ninth inning, there was a brief feeling of unease throughout the game. However, he struck out the next three, giving the Red Sox the victory and putting an
