Abreu dedicates 2-homer game for Red Sox to newborn twins after one for late grandmother last year

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Boston Red Sox's Wilyer Abreu connects for a three-run homerun as Texas Rangers' Kyle Higashioka, right, looks on in the ninth inning of an opening-day baseball game, Thursday, March 27, 2025, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

ARLINGTON, Texas ā€“ Wilyer Abreu dedicated this two-homer game to his newborn twin boys.

Abreu went deep twice in Boston's season-opening 5-2 win at Texas, including a tiebreaking three-run shot in the ninth inning Thursday. It came nearly eight months after the 25-year-old outfielder's only other multihomer game ā€” in the same stadium, the day after his grandmother died.

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ā€œThe the two that I hit last year, they were for my grandmother, but these two, they were for my twins,ā€ Abreu said through a translator.

This two-homer game came 10 days after his sons were born, and after a spring training during which he lost 8-to-10 pounds while dealing with a gastrointestinal virus and doing much of his work on the back fields and in minor league games.

ā€œI knew that I was going to be ready for opening day, and I worked very hard to be able to do that,ā€ he said.

Abreu, who last year as a rookie was a Gold Glove-winning right fielder, had a part in every run for Boston. He singled and scored on a fielderā€™s choice grounder in the third. He homered in the fifth off Texas starter Nathan Eovaldi and his winner was a 394-foot liner to right-center off Rangers reliever Luke Jackson.

ā€œTo be honest, I didnā€™t expect that,ā€ Abreu said. ā€œBut when I hit the second one, I figured it was one for each (son).ā€

In that game last Aug. 4 in Texas, after his ailing grandmother had died in his native Venezuela, Abreu wiped his face with a towel while looking at the dugout wall after a tying solo homer in the fourth. He still had tears in his eyes when returning to right field in the bottom of that inning.

Abreu said after that game ā€œit obviously was a difficult situation.ā€

Two innings later, his three-run shot broke open a 7-2 win for the Red Sox.

Manager Alex Cora that night stuck with the left-handed hitter in a tight game after Walter Pennington came out of the Texas bullpen. Abreu won that lefty-lefty matchup by going deep for the second time.

Cora kept Abreu in again Thursday when left-hander Robert Garcia came out of the bullpen in the seventh. Abreu walked then, and was still in the game to face the right-hander Jackson in the ninth.

ā€œVery special moment for me," Abreu said. ā€œEven better when you can start a season with a big win like this.ā€

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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB


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