Opening Day is in the books, and it was one hell of a day for most of the league – lots of dramatic games and exciting moments to kick off the 2014 season.
Game of the Night: Giants 9, Diamondbacks 8. I think this game could best be described as “frantic”. Madison Bumgarner was out after four innings. Yusmeiro Petit got shelled in relief of him. And yet, the Diamondbacks couldn’t capitalize. Leading 7-3 after a Mark Trumbo RBI single, Arizona proceeded to implode. The Giants scored four runs to tie the game up in the seventh, a rally that was capped by Brad Ziegler walking Hunter Pence with the bases loaded to tie the game. In the ninth, new Diamondbacks closer Addison Reed proceeded to allow a single to Brandon Belt and a long homer to Buster Posey, giving the Giants a 9-7 lead. But that wasn’t all for the drama – to lead off the bottom of the ninth, Miguel Montero launched a solo homer off of Sergio Romo to make it 9-8. Chris Owings got into scoring position with one out, but was stranded there to end the game following a strikeout and a pop-up.
Pitching Lines of the Day: If you like pitching, Opening Day was your kind of day. The Cardinals beat the Reds 1-0 thanks to Adam Wainwright’s seven scoreless, three hit innings, along with four walks and nine strikeouts. In the loss, Johnny Cueto allowed one run on three hits in seven innings, walking one and striking out eight. Justin Masterson helped the Indians get past the A’s 2-0, giving up three hits in seven innings, walking one and punching out four. Francisco Liriano made mincemeat out of the Cubs in Pittsburgh’s 1-0 walkoff win in ten innings, giving up four hits over six shutout innings, walking three and striking out ten. Jeff Samardzija countered Liriano by allowing five hits over seven shutout frames, walking two and striking out three. And then, there’s that Jose Fernandez cat, who dominated the Rockies in a 10-1 Marlins win, giving up one run on five hits in six innings, striking out nine without a walk.
Hitting Lines of the Day: Cody Asche helped the Phillies thump the Rangers 14-10, going 3/4 with four runs, two RBI, a double, and a homer. Alex Rios ended up going 3/5 with three runs, three RBI, and a homer in the loss. In the White Sox 5-3 win over the Twins, Alejandro de Aza went 2/4 with two homers and three RBI. Justin Smoak helped the Mariners smash the Angels 10-3, going 2/4 with three runs, three RBI, a double, a homer, and a walk. In Miami’s win over Colorado, Marcell Ozuna went 3/4 with three runs, a double, and a homer. The Mets fell to the Nationals 9-7 in ten innings, but David Wright went 3/5 with two runs, two RBI, a double, and a homer.
Other Games: The Tigers picked up a 4-3 walkoff run over the Royals, thanks in large part to Alex Gonzalez. A late Nelson Cruz homer pushed the Orioles to a 2-1 win over the Red Sox. The Brewers shut out the Braves 2-0. The Rays stomped the Blue Jays 9-2.
What You Missed: Angels hitting coach Don Baylor broke his femur receiving the first pitch of the game from Vladimir Guerrero. Bryce Harper took a knee to the head, but stayed in the game. Shane Victorino will start the year on the DL. Yasiel Puig was proactive.
Today’s Games: Zack Greinke starts for the Dodgers in San Diego. C.C. Sabathia will toe the rubber for the Yankees in Houston. Alex Cobb and the Rays host the Blue Jays. Brett Anderson makes his Rockies debut in Miami. A.J. Burnett wears the red and white of the Phillies for the first time, starting in Texas against Martin Perez. Kyle Lohse and the Brewers host the Braves. Matt Cain starts for the giants in Arizona. C.J. Wilson and the Angels host the Mariners. Scott Kazmir makes his A’s debut, and it’s against the team that gave him a chance last year – the Indians.
National TV: Yankees-Astros (7 PM, MLB Network), Blue Jays-Rays (7 PM, MLB Network), Indians-Athletics (10 PM, MLB Network), Mariners-Angels (10 PM, MLB Network)
Enjoy your day of baseball, everyone.
