"Nobody saw this coming.

You could have asked a computer to run a million simulations of yesterday's game or just poked your head into your next door neighbor's living room to get their take but nobody would have had the sheer gall to tell you that the two surest bets on the Red Sox pitching staff — Jon Lester and Daniel Bard — would be held responsible for a 9-5 Opening Day loss to the Rangers.

Losses come in all shapes and sizes throughout the course of a baseball season but this one was not even recognizable.

Who were those guys?

Lester was making his first Opening Day start, and was certainly the safest pick, even against this dangerous Texas lineup, to deliver a quality start at the very least.

So how did he wind up looking like John Wasdin?

Lester did not record a single strikeout for just the second time in 124 starts, he allowed a home run on his second pitch of the season, and allowed three home runs, his most ever.

And Bard, coming into the eighth inning just after David Ortiz' home run had tied the game at 5, was the surest "sure thing'' the bullpen had this year. Manager Terry Francona said he was "thrilled to get to Bard'' in that situation."