Here are the scores. Here are the highlights:
Mets 6, Braves 0: This was riveting for the first six innings when Noah Syndergaard and Julio Teheran exchanged zeroes. Once the Braves bullpen came in it was all over. Speaking as a Braves fan, watching Dansby Swanson and Freddie Freeman get on base all year only to see Matt Kemp and Nick Markakis fail to drive them in due to the massive forks sticking out of their backs is going to be supremely frustrating.
Nationals 4, Marlins 2: You’ve heard hack comedians make the joke about making the whole plane out of the black box? Bryce Harper would like them to make the whole schedule out of Opening Day. The Nats’ young star has five homers on Opening Day now. Adam Lind added a homer too. Meanwhile, some fans unfurled an “Impeach Trump” sign in the stands:
They did it after the game, though, apparently not wanting to risk getting kicked out before they got their money’s worth. True revolutionaries, them.
Red Sox 5, Pirates 3: Andrew Benintendi hit a three-run homer in the five-run fifth. I picked him to be the the 2017 Rookie of the Year in our annual predictions post. I like my choice so far.
Rockies 7, Brewers 5: Like the Red Sox, the Brewers scored five runs in the fifth. Unlike the Red Sox they gave up two runs in second, fourth and seventh and an insurance run in the ninth to the Colorado Rockies. It would’ve been weird if the Red Sox had done that, though, as they were not playing the Rockies. Greg Holland picked up his first save since September 17, 2015. The next day he blew a save and blew out his elbow. Nice to see him back.
Dodgers 14, Padres 3: Entering this game Clayton Kershaw was 84-0 when given four runs of support or more. Here the Dodgers gave him 12 before he left the game so, no, the outcome was not exactly in doubt. The best pitcher in the galaxy game up one earned run while striking out eight in seven innings, needing only 84 pitches to do so.
I watched this one on the Dodgers network, SNLA, and not ESPN so I could take in the first Dodger home broadcast without Vin Scully. Joe Davis, the play-by-play guy was pretty good, but he’s not my real dad. I’ll have a lot more to say about the Dodgers booth and broadcasting in general in a post later this morning, so stay tuned.
Orioles 3, Blue Jays 2: A walkoff homer for Mark Trumbo in the 11th inning. I hope it was a gritty, blue collar homer and not some showboaty, Jose Bautista homer. After the game he said “I was just looking for a pitch to hit.” I guess that’s gritty. It’s boring, but it’s gritty. By the way: that walkoff homer wasn’t even the coolest thing that happened in the 11th inning of this game. This ridiculous play by Manny Machado was.
Twins 7, Royals 1: Minnesota started 0-9 last year, so it must be nice to get off to a 1-0 start. Miguel Sano homered and drew a bases-loaded walk. After Royals starter Danny Duffy gave up only one run over six innings, the Royals bullpen barfed up six runs in the seventh inning. It’s not 2015 for those guys anymore, that’s for sure. I wonder if they miss Greg Holland ’round about now.
Phillies 4, Reds 3: Starter Jeremy Hellickson drove in the fourth and ultimately deciding run with a sixth inning triple. Pitchers don’t hit many triples, that’s for dang sure.
Indians 8, Rangers 5: Cleveland was down 5-3 heading into the seventh but rallied for five runs in the final three frames. Not quite as impressive as, say, a team coming back from a 3-1 deficit in the World Series, but still pretty good. Newcomer Edwin Encarnacion hit the game-tying homer in the eighth, so Cleveland’s big free agent investment is already paying dividends. Rougned Odor hit two bombs.
Astros 3, Mariners 0: The platonic ideal of an Astros game, at least from Houston’s point of view. Dallas Keuchel allowed two hits over seven innings and combined with two relievers for a three-hit shutout. Carlos Correa homered and drove in two runs while George Springer led off the game with a dinger of his own. Meanwhile, it was the anti-ideal of a Mariners game as starter Felix Hernandez left after five innings with tightness in his groin. One game into the season and the Mariners are down two starters, what with Drew Smyly being placed on the disabled list the other day. Sheesh.
Athletics 4, Angels 2: In my season preview of the Athletics I noted that, basically, all they have is Khris Davis and a ton of holes. On this night Khris Davis was almost enough on his own, hitting two homers, one of which represented the go-ahead run, while going 3-for-4. Stephen Vogt hit a solo shot of his own and Yonder Alonso singled in one. In my season preview of the Angels, I said that Mike Trout will be amazing but he won’t have enough help. Here the MVP hit a homer in a winning effort in a losing cause while no one else in the lineup did any damage. See? Not all previews and predictions are wrong.
Tigers vs. White Sox — POSTPONED:
Buckets of rain
Buckets of tears
Got all them buckets comin’ out of my ears
Buckets of moonbeams in my hand
You got all the love
Honey baby, I can stand
