SEATTLE — The Red Sox haven’t had the benefit of much speed on the bases in recent years. Even with the emergence of Jarren Duran last season and his impact on the bases, Duran, for the most part, stood alone in that category.
Yet with a healthy Trevor Story, coupled with Ceddanne Rafaela and Tyler O’Neill as part of the mix, manager Alex Cora said for most of the spring he believed the team would provide the speed and athleticism that wasn’t a part of their repertoire for much of his tenure as manager.
During their Opening Day victory against the Mariners, that element was certainly on full display.
In the bottom of the sixth inning of Thursday night’s 6-4 victory, Rafaela turned what should have been a double down the left field line into a triple, sliding safely into third. In the ninth, Story registered a hit on a routine ground ball to third base. Duran, O’Neill and Story all had one stolen base each.
“I think our speed mix is very dynamic,” Duran said prior to Friday night’s matchup against Seattle. “I think being able to put pressure on the defense is huge. They’re not just going to be able to field ground balls and take their two hops and make an easy throw.
“Like you saw, Trevor beating out that ball and then Rafaela hustling for the triple. I think we’re going to be able to get extra bases which is going to put guys in scoring position for guys like Rafael Devers and Triston Casas to be able to drive guys in.
“It’s just creating havoc on the bases.”
When Story beat out the ball to third, Luis Urias tapped his glove one time too many before releasing the ball, which allowed Story to get down the line. He was initially called out, but after a review, the call was overturned.
“It’s awesome,” said Duran. “I mean, I think it makes baseball fun for us. All we have to do is run hard and we can put pressure on guys. I feel like other teams are going to start to notice that as the season goes on, and they’re going to have to learn how to speed things up. That then could cause a bad throw here and there, which just keeps ending alive. So, it’s going to be fun to watch us around the bases like that.”
Duran led the Red Sox with 24 steals last season. Even though Story was injured, he took notice of the new rule — which included limiting pitchers to three throws to the bag and bigger bases — and how that could benefit his game.
“You feel the energy is contagious,” Cora said of Duran. “When he’s in that box, sure, we would love for him to hit a homer,but we love when he hits that ground ball through the left side and gets to second.
“That’s fun to watch. He gets it, he understands that and he’s the one that gets us going.”
First for Breslow
Craig Breslow registered his first win as the Sox’ chief baseball officer Thursday night. The Sox celebrated Breslow’s feat with a champagne bath following the contest.
“It’s what it’s all about,” said Cora. “The one thing that I told him yesterday, it really doesn’t matter what people think about us. It’s what we think about the group, and where we’re at as an organization, his vision and structure and the way we do things.
“I think it’s the right thing. We’re including every department in every decision.”
Devers sits out
Devers was a late scratch for Friday’s game with left shoulder soreness. Devers was seen in the clubhouse prior to the contest with his left shoulder wrapped in tape. Devers said after the game that he’s day-to-day but the club will strongly consider staying away from him in Saturday’s matchup. Devers injured his shoulder during spring training, taking large hacks on the team’s pitching machine. Initially, it was something he could play through, but the pain worsened over time.
“It’s early in the season,” said Devers. “So we got to be smart about it and take one or two days instead of playing through it.”
Devers took a round of batting practice on Friday, during which he relayed to Cora that he felt stiffness.
Julian McWilliams can be reached at julian.mcwilliams@globe.com. Follow him @byJulianMack.