Two Opening Day Concerns the Reds Can’t Ignore

The Cincinnati Reds gather at the pitchers mound during their game against the Red Sox for Opening Day at Great American Ball Park on Thursday March 26, 2026. Red Sox won the game with a final score of 3-0. | Phil Didion/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

CINCINNATI -- It's easy to overreact to the result of Opening Day, especially when the Reds are on the losing end. That's why they say winning cures all.

For the Reds, there were still plenty of positives from Opening Day in spite of a 3-0 loss against the Boston Red Sox. Andrew Abbott pitched six shutout innings and rookie Sal Stewart started in the cleanup spot in the lineup and banged out three hits.

Still, though, it's reasonable to acknowledge there are some concerns coming out of Opening Day. Here are two that stand out.

Two Concerns From Opening Day

Bullpen

Cincinnati Reds pitcher Pierce Johnson (52) poses for a portrait during the Cincinnati Reds picture day, Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2026, at the Cincinnati Reds player development complex in Goodyear, Ariz. | Frank Bowen IV/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Reds invested a lot in their bullpen this offseason. From additions that included Pierce Johnson, Caleb Ferguson, and Brock Burke, the Reds gave their bullpen a touch-up by adding depth. Unfortunately, the bullpen let them down on Opening Day.

Johnson came on to start the seventh inning and immediately gave up a double to Red Sox pinch-hitter Marcelo Mayer, Boston's first extra-base hit of the afternoon. Mayer would score on a Ceddanne Rafaela RBI single, the No. 9 hitter in the Red Sox lineup.

In the ninth, Connor Phillips appeared to have escaped with no runs allowed. But his apparent called third strike on Red Sox star and leadoff hitter Roman Anthony was overruled on an ABS challenge. Anthony walked, putting runners on first and second. Trevor Story took advantage and delivered an RBI single to make it 2-0. Brock Burke then entered and gave up another RBI single to Jarren Duran. From 1-0 to 3-0.

The Reds' bullpen is going to be relied upon a lot this season. Opening Day wasn't horrible, but it wasn't the most promising either.

Eugenio Suárez

It was a feel-good moment when the Reds signed Suárez late in the offseason. He's clearly a fan favorite, as evidenced by the ovations he got each time he came to the plate on Opening Day.

Unfortunately, Suárez went 0-4 with three strikeouts on Opening Day, a perofrmance reminiscent of his early-season struggles in 2021, his previous season with the Reds.

The pros of Suárez getting hot for a period of time outweigh the cons of him excessively striking out. You just hope that Suárez doesn't strike out too many times in the stretches where he's cold at the plate. Opening Day felt too familiar to what we saw in April of 2021.

Again, it's easy to overreact after a loss on Opening Day. There were concerns that came out of the first of 162 games. The good news is there's still 161 games.