BOSTON _ Francisco Cervelli draped his right arm over Gerrit Cole's shoulders and walked with him toward the dugout steps. The Pirates' Opening-Day battery looked defeated following a frustrating fifth inning Monday in which the Boston Red Sox constructed a two-out rally and burst open a scoreless game at Fenway Park, scoring five runs in a span of five batters.
The coda was provided by Andrew Benintendi. His three-run home run on a 2-2 fastball from Cole gave the Red Sox the distance they would need to close out a 5-3 win in the 2017 opener.
Facing Boston right-hander Rick Porcello, the reigning American League Cy Young award winner, the Pirates struggled to string together hits. Their 2-3-4 hitters _ Starling Marte, Andrew McCutchen and Gregory Polanco _ contributed one of the team's eight total hits. McCutchen, coming off the worst season of his career, began this one going 0 for 4 with three strikeouts.
Cole was in control through four innings, allowing only one hit _ the runner was then erased on a double play _ and a walk. His fastball velocity reached 99.4 mph. For Cole, who was fourth in National League Cy Young voting in 2015 but was injured four times last year, the early signs were encouraging.
In the fifth, Mitch Moreland grounded out. Xander Bogaerts flied out to right field for the second out _ it was McCutchen's first play at his new position. The rally was born when Jackie Bradley Jr. tripled, banging a baseball off the wall behind McCutchen. Pablo Sandoval's infield single broke the tie. A bunt base hit and a run-scoring single brought the 22-year-old rookie Benintendi to bat.
Two years ago, Benintendi was at Arkansas. A year ago, he was at Class High-A Salem _ he jumped directly from Class AA to the majors later in the season. On Opening Day, with two on and two outs in the fifth, he was waiting on Cole's 2-2 offering. Cole had gotten ahead with back-to-back changeups and a fastball, then evened the count by burying a curveball in the dirt.
Benintendi, betting on a fastball, whipped the barrel of his bat around to meet Cole's 97.8 mph elevated four-seamer. It soared over McCutchen's head and splashed in the Pirates bullpen, just beyond the 380-feet sign. The Red Sox added another infield single before Cole escaped with a Hanley Ramirez pop fly. By then, Boston had sent nine batters to the plate in the inning.
Cole did not emerge from the dugout for the sixth inning. Officially, he allowed five runs on seven hits. He walked one and struck out two. The first 14 outs came easily. The 15th did not.
The Pirates sliced into the Red Sox's lead with three runs the seventh. After David Freese singled, Cervelli responded to back-to-back inside fastballs that sent him to dirt by knocking a double off the Green Monster. Josh Harrison drove in Freese, chasing Porcello, and Jordy Mercer scored Cervelli. Marte made a bid for extra bases but settled for a sacrifice fly on a hard liner the left fielder Benintendi caught running toward the warning track in left-center field.
Down two, Josh Bell doubled leading off the ninth inning against closer Craig Kimbrel. Harrison and Mercer whiffed. Adam Frazier was hit by pitch, bringing Marte, the Pirates' best player last season, to the plate representing the go-ahead run. Marte flied out to the first baseman.
