Sale-Archer the main event in Sox-Rays opener

ST. PETERSBURG -- A classic pitching matchup will highlight the Red Sox-Rays opener at Tropicana Field on Thursday at 4 p.m. ET.

Highly regarded aces Chris Sale and Chris Archer will start for the Red Sox and Rays, respectively, in a matchup that almost got derailed late last week.

Archer made his final Spring Training start Friday in a Minor League game and had to leave after getting hit on his right forearm with a comebacker. Saturday, Sale experienced a similar fate when he got hit in the hip by a line drive.

While both teams received scares about their aces, the Sale-Archer show will go on, as both sustained only minor bruises.

"I don't see anything lingering from this. It looked a lot worse than it actually is," said Sale.

Following suit, Archer noted: "I'm going to be good."

Sale will be making his first Opening Day start for the Red Sox. The left-hander is particularly tough on left-handed hitters, but he's equally tough on righties. Rays first baseman C.J. Cron explained why.

"For starters, he has great stuff," Cron said. "He doesn't fall into any pattern. He can throw any pitch he has any time he wants, and he can usually throw it where he wants to. So there's not really much you can sit on as a hitter in different counts. You just have to be ready for everything and hope he gives you something to hit."

Archer will be making his fourth consecutive Opening Day start for the Rays.

"We don't need him to do anything more than what he's capable of, which is a lot," Rays manager Kevin Cash said. "If he goes out and performs, we have a very good pitcher going every fifth day for us."

Thursday's game will mark Alex Cora's first game as manager of the Red Sox, and it will be a big event. Cora's mother will be flying in from Puerto Rico, as well as many other members of his family.

"This is a great opportunity," Cora said of managing the Red Sox. "I know the expectations, I know how people feel, but we have to enjoy it."

Cora's first game will be against a former teammate in Cash, whom he won a World Series championship with in 2007 with Boston.

The last time the Red Sox opened their season at Tropicana Field was March 31, 2003, and they suffered a gutwrenching loss as Carl Crawford smashed a walk-off homer in the bottom of the ninth against Chad Fox.

Three things to know about this game

• For the first time since 2006, Dustin Pedroia won't be in the starting lineup for the Red Sox on Opening Day. The second baseman is expected to miss the first several weeks of the season as he recovers from left knee surgery. In the Rays' camp, this will be their first Opening Day without Evan Longoria. Tampa Bay traded its veteran third baseman to the Giants in December.

• Among the Red Sox's additions, they will have J.D. Martinez in their lineup. The veteran slugger signed a five-year, $110 million contract in February. New to the Rays is Carlos Gomez, who signed a one-year, $4 million deal with another $500,000 in incentives.

• Thursday will begin the Rays' season-long 20th Anniversary celebration.