Welcome to The Opener, where every weekday morning you’ll get a fresh, topical column to start your day from one of SI.com’s MLB writers.
A Red Sox team in desperate need of a good break finally got one Wednesday by way of a blowout 20-8 win over the first-place Rays. In two more days, they’ll get an even bigger one in the form of a 6’6” perennial Cy Young Award contender.
Your mileage may vary on how you view Boston’s previous two weeks, in which the team has gone 2–10 prior to Wednesday’s game and went from 2.