BALTIMORE -- The Boston Red Sox opened the new baseball season the same way they finished the last one -- by combining solid pitching and a relentless offence to win a series. Jake Muzzin Kings Jersey . Although taking two of three from the Baltimore Orioles wasnt nearly as uplifting as winning the World Series, it still felt pretty darn good. Felix Doubront and four relievers combined kept Baltimores potent lineup in check, and David Ortiz had three of Bostons 12 hits off Wei-Yin Chen in a 4-3 victory Thursday night. Xander Bogaerts also had three hits for the defending champions. The 21-year-old shortstop has reached in eight of 12 plate appearances, collecting five hits and three walks. Boston finished with 14 hits, 12 of them singles. The Red Sox amassed 33 hits in the three games, including five by Ortiz, but even more impressive was that Boston limited the Orioles to seven runs over 27 innings. "Thats why they were the last team standing last year," Baltimore manager Buck Showalter said. "They pitched better than everybody else for the most part, and I dont think Im telling anybody anything they dont know. You pitch real well, youve got a chance to play extra games at the end of the year." Doubront (1-0) allowed two runs and six hits in 5 2-3 innings, and Bostons bullpen maintained its 0.00 ERA with 3 1-3 innings of three-hit relief. Chris Capuano got three straight outs in the seventh, Junichi Tazawa worked the eighth and Koji Uehara needed only seven pitches to retire the side in the ninth for his first save. Bostons bullpen allowed six hits over 7 1-3 innings in the series. "Thats going to be critical until we get to the point where we can push the starters a little bit more, or until their efficiency continues to climb," Red Sox manager John Farrell said. All told, there wasnt much to complain about. Bostons only loss in the series was in the opener, a 2-1 decision. "If you can start the season winning a series, thats what you want to do," third baseman Will Middlebrooks said. "Especially with a team like Baltimore, as good as they are and the staff they have. Were pretty happy with it." Bogaerts added, "Im really happy the way things are going so far. We lost the first one, but we came right back and won the next two." Matt Wieters had three hits for the Orioles and Chris Davis had two hits and scored twice, but it wasnt enough to win the deciding game of the series. "They threw well against us in three games, but you know, luckily its a long season," shortstop J.J. Hardy said. "Well see them again." Chen (0-1) gave up four runs in 5 2-3 innings. The left-hander yielded 11 singles, one double and did not issue a walk. He left in the sixth after Middlebrooks doubled and scored on a two-out single by Jackie Bradley Jr. to put Boston ahead 4-2. "I allowed a lot of hits. Thats what I have to work on," Chen said through an interpreter. "I didnt allow a big inning. Thats what Im happy about." Baltimore chased Doubront in the bottom of the sixth. Davis singled, took third on a single by Wieters and scored on a wild pitch by Brandon Workman. Chen gave up singles to four of the first six batters he faced but got a pair of double plays to avoid extensive damage. After Boston put runners on the corners and no outs in the second inning, Bogaerts scored on a double-play grounder. The Red Sox made it 2-0 in the third. With two outs, Bradley scored from first base when a bloop single by Ortiz eluded the grasp of a diving Nelson Cruz. Three singles, the last by David Ross, put Boston up 3-0 in the fourth. The Orioles scored two in the bottom half on doubles by Davis and Wieters, along with an RBI single by Delmon Young. NOTES: Ericka Brannock, who lost most of her left leg in last years Boston Marathon bombing, threw out the ceremonial first pitch. Brannock is a preschool teacher in Towson, Md. ... The Red Sox will receive their World Series rings in a pregame ceremony Friday before opening the home portion of their schedule against Milwaukee. Boston has won a franchise-record nine straight home openers. ... Baltimore hits the road to face the Detroit Tigers on Friday afternoon. Miguel Gonzalez starts for the Orioles against Anibal Sanchez. ... Baltimores Ryan Flaherty went 0 for 4 and is hitless in 11 at-bats this season. ... After hitting a home run in each of his first two games with Baltimore, Cruz went 0 for 4 with a strikeout. Robyn Regehr Kings Jersey .Y. - A person familiar with the deal tells The Associated Press reliever Carlos Marmol and the Miami Marlins have agreed to a $1. Dustin Brown Jersey . He didnt know it was going to turn out to be a career night. "When I first walked in here today I was yelling at everybody, I dont know what it is, but I have a lot of energy," Hill said. TAMPA, Fla. -- The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are changing directions on their rebuilding project -- again. Coach Greg Schiano was fired Monday after two losing years extended the franchises playoff drought to six seasons. General manager Mark Dominik was also ousted, ending an unsuccessful five-year stint that produced flashes of hope but far more disappointment than ownership felt was acceptable. "The results over the past two years have not lived up to our standards and we believe the time has come to find a new direction," Bucs co-chairman Bryan Glazer said in a brief statement released a day after a season-ending 42-17 loss to the New Orleans dropped Schianos record to 11-21. "Mark has been a valued member of our organization for two decades and we respect the passion he showed for the Buccaneers during his time here," Glazer added. "We thank Greg for his hard work and effort the past two seasons, but we feel these moves are necessary in order to achieve our goals." In typical Bucs fashion, the reclusive owners of the team announced the third coaching change in five years with a one paragraph statement and did not schedule a news conference to discuss the situation. Word broke less than 30 minutes after the team closed the locker room, where players were sorting through equipment and belongings before scattering for the off-season. They met with the coaching and medical staff for exit interviews and physicals and had not been informed of the dismissals before media was allowed into the room. Many, including Pro Bowl defensive tackle Gerald McCoy, had hoped Schiano would keep his job. "Its tough for the players to see your coaches go. You never want to see anybody get fired," McCoy said after the announcement. "Me personally, I havent had any consistently in my career. Third head coach, going on my fifth year and three head coaches. Add up everybody, itll be six d-line coaches." The Bucs went 7-9 in their first season under Schiano, collapsing after a 6-4 start that had the team in playoff contention. After trading for three-time All-Pro cornerback Darrelle Revis and signing safety Dashon Goldson in free agency to bolster a porous defence, the team entered training camp this season with heightened expectations. But a messy split with former quarterback Josh Freeman, an outbreak of MRSA infections in the locker room and reportts that Schiano was losing the support of players tiring of his rules and coaching style dogged the team during an 0-8 start that put the coachs job in jeopardy. Marian Gaborik Kings Jersey. Despite having a rookie quarterback and finishing with 16 players on injured reserve, including running back Doug Martin and receiver Mike Williams, the Bucs went 4-4 over the second half of the season. That hardly seemed like progress, though, because the offence got progressively worse and finished last in the NFL in passing and total yardage. Still, players seemed impressed with the way Schiano held the team together, insisting right up until the end that the coach never lost the locker room. "In times like that you see a lot of guys crumble, a lot of guys break. You never saw a different attitude with him," McCoy said. "You could never see if the media was getting to him or see if anything we were doing was getting to him. He came in every day and was the same person, regardless," McCoy added. "... Hes the most consistent thing in the building, I will give him that." Schiano was hired in January 2012, leaving Rutgers to take over a team that ended its final 10 games under Raheem Morris on a 10-game losing streak. He inherited one the NFLs worst defences, but also a young quarterback in Freeman, who won 10 games in his first full season as a starter and became the franchises first 4,000-yard passer in Schianos first year in Tampa Bay. But Freemans relationship with Schiano soured when the Bucs dropped five of the final six games of 2012, with Freemans inconsistency contributing to the slide. The fifth-year quarterback was benched and subsequently released after an 0-3 start this season, replaced by rookie Mike Glennon, a third-round draft pick who went 4-9 in 13 starts. The Bucs have not made the playoffs since 2007. They havent won a post-season game since their 2002 Super Bowl run that produced the franchises only Super Bowl title. Part of the blame for the poor performance rests with Dominik, who was named general manager in 2009 -- the year Morris was promoted from defensive co-ordinator to replace former coach Jon Gruden. Dominik survived Morris firing after a 4-12 finish two years ago. But in the end, a spotty draft record, the mishandling of Freemans situation, and the teams 28-52 mark during a five-season tenure as GM became impossible to overlook. 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