As I write this, it’s snowing outside my window and it’s gale force winds in the Canadian capital. Thank gawd for MLB.TV cause I’ve had a chance to catch a bit of almost every game played this afternoon.
Nationals (2) – Marlins (0)
Stephen Strasburg took to the mound for the Washington Nationals in their home and season opener and cruised through seven frames for his first win of the season. Strasburg only struck out three batters, but kept his pitch count low and inducing a lot of ground outs. Bryce Harper launched two home runs over the right field fences to score the only runs of the game. Harper made a great throw from the outfield to prevent Gincarlo Stanton from scoring, leaving Placido Polanco caught in a run down. Stanton tried to score while the Nationals tried to trap Polanco and was thrown out at home. Ricky Nolasco threw six solid innings, but two mistakes pitches to Harper was all that was necessary to lose to Strasburg. Tyle Clippard and Rafael Soriano came in for the eighth and ninth to finish the game. Soriano notched his first save for his new club.
Red Sox (8) – Yankees(2)
C.C. Sabathia looked…well…really average in this game. Sabathia lasted just five innings, giving up four runs (all earned) on eight hits and four walks. He did have five strikeouts, but nothing seemed to be going well for the big lefty on a very windy day in New York. Jon Lester looked solid through the first three frames and then hit a bump in the 4th inning. Lester did work his way out of trouble, on the way to five innings with seven strikeouts allowing two earned runs on five hits and two walks. Rookie Jackie Bradley looked comfortable in the majors and showed a lot of patience. His first major league hit will have to come another day, but the kid scored twice, had an RBI and walked three times in his MLB debut. Not sure what has happened to Joba Chamberlain, but he looked about as awful as his 0.2 innings of work did to the New York crowd. Chamberlain gave up three earned runs on three hits and two walks. Five Boston players had multiple hits as the Red Sox routed the Yankees.
Mets (11) – Padres (2)
It was an ugly three inning outting for Edinson Volquez. The New York Mets knocked Volquez around for six earned runs, on six hits and three walks. The Mets would add another seven hits on route to the 11-2 victory. Yadiar Alonso was the only bright spot in the San Diago lineup, hitting his first homer of the season. The Mets crashed out of the gates with six players getting multiple hits. David Wright was 1-4, but had two stolen bases. Collin Cowgill was 2-5, with a home run, four RBIs and two runs scored to lead the New York offense. Jonathan Neise threw 6.2 innings with giving up two earned runs and striking out four. This is certainly a good start for a team that saw its Cy Young winning pitcher depart over the off-season.
Cubs (3) – Pirates (1)
Anthony Rizzo hit his first homer of the season and Jeff Samardzija threw eight fantastic innings, striking out nine Pittsburgh batters. Then the Cubs handed the ball to Carlos Marmol and the adventure began for the Cubs. Up to that point, the Pirates had just two hits against Samardzija. Marmol came into the game and struck out Garrett Jones, then hit Andrew McCutchen with a pitch. McCutchen would swipe second and would score on a single by Pedro Alvarez. After walking Gaby Sanchez, Marmol was lifted for James Russell before Kyuji Fujikawa came into the game to close it out for the Cubs by inducing a fly ball. A.J. Burnett takes the loss but was solid through 5.2 innings of work, striking out ten Chicago hitters. Expect Fujikawa to close games out from now on in Chicago.
Brewers (5) – Rockies (4) – 10 Innings
The Milwaukee Brewers came back from a two run deficit in the bottom of the 8th against the Colorado Rockies after enduring a struggle of a start for staff ace Yovani Gallardo. Gallardo gave up ten hits and two walks, leaving the game after five frame with his team down 3-1. Dexter Fowler was 3-5 on the day and hit the game tying home run in the top half of the 9th off Brewers closer John Axford to send the game into extra innings. Rockies shortstop Troy Tulowitski was 2-5, with two RBIs to start the season. He and Carlos Gonzalez both hit homers off Gallardo. Rickie Weeks was 2-4 for the Brewers, including a stolen base. Norichika Aoki hit his first homer of the season and the ever consistent Aramis Ramirez contributed with two RBIs as the Brewers won the first extra inning game of the season.
Tigers (4) – Twins (2)
Justin Verlander pitched five innings of shut out baseball, leaving the game with seven strikeouts and a 3-0 lead for the Detroit Tigers. It was a cold day in Minnesota and most of the scoring happened in the early innings. The Tigers jumped on Twins starter Vance Worley scoring two runs in the first and a third run in the second. Verlander cruised through his five innings allowing 3 hits. The Twins scored a pair of runs off reliever Drew Smyly before the Tigers bullpen by committee took over. Phil Coke earned the save. Joe Mauer had a nice day at the plate for the Twins, but rookie Aaron Hicks struggled with three strikeouts on the day.
Dodgers (4) – Giants (0)
Clayton Kershaw is probably the best starting pitcher in the National League right now. Stephen Strasburg is looking to take the title and threw a pretty good game today for the Nationals…Kershaw said I can do better by throwing the first complete game shut out of the 2013 season. Kershaw allowed four hits, two by Pablo Sandoval and Angel Pagan, while striking out seven. Matt Cain was solid through his six innings of work for the San Francisco Giants, but reliever George Kontos pitched a solid inning, before coming back for the eighth and giving up a home run to Kershaw. The Los Angeles Dodgers would score three more in that inning to take a 4-0 lead into the ninth. Carl Crawford was 2-4 in his first appearance as a Dodger.
White Sox (1) – Royals (0)
The Kansas City Royals traded part of their future in Wil Myers to the Tampa Bay Rays for a ace pitcher when they acquired James Shields in the off-season. Shields may have disappointed some in his first start in a solid start where he scattered eight hits over six innings. Shields struck out six and walked none. The Chicago White Sox’s lone run came off the bat of catcher Tyler Flowers who hit a solo home run off Shields in the fifth inning. Chris Sale was solid in his first start of the season for the White Sox, going 7.2 innings and striking out seven. Addison Reed came in to earn the save. Alex Rios has gotten off to a good start. He was 2-3 with a stolen base.
Angels (3) – Cincinnati (1): 13 Innings
This may have been the longest and most boring game of the afternoon for me. Johnny Cueto and Jered Weaver both pitched solid games. Weaver lasted six innings giving up a single run on two hits. Cueto lasted seven innings, had nine strikeouts and allowed a lone run. The Los Angeles Angels big four of Josh Hamilton, Mike Trout, Albert Pujols and Mark Trumbo were a combined 2-19, with six strikeouts on the day. Catcher Chris Ianneta was the start of the day. Ianneta had the lone run of the day for the Angels when he hit a home run off Cueto. In the 13th he broke the tie with a single off reliever J.J. Hoover. Ernesto Frieri came in to close out the game in the bottom of the 13th to earn his first save of the season. Mark Lowe picks up the win after two innings of relief pitching.
Braves (7) – Phillies (5)
The semi-revamped Atlanta Braves started their season and the post-Chipper Jones era at home against Cole Hamels and the Philadelphia Phillies. The Braves jumped on Hamels early when Freddy Freeman hit a 2 run home run. Freeman would finish the day 3-4, with a hoem run and three RBIs. Dan Uggla continued the home run parade in the second with a solo shot, and Justin Upton got his first as a Brave in the fifth. Chase Utley tried to bring the Phillies back going 3-5, including a home run with three RBIs. The Braves bullpen had a couple of small issues, but managed to hold onto the lead for Greg Kimbrel to enter into the game and close it out.
Mariners (2) – Athletics (1)
Felix Hernandez was ready to go. The Seattle Mariners ace tossed 7.2 innings of shutout ball against the Oakland Athletics, striking out eight while allowing just three hits and a walk. Franklin Gutierrez drove in Dustin Ackley and Brendan Ryan in the fifth inning against Oakland starter Brett Anderson for the only two runs of the game. The A’s bats were pretty silent not only against King Felix, but also against the rest of the Seattle bullpen, as the Mariners won 2-0.
Diamondbacks (6) – Cardinals (2)
Ian Kennedy gave up an early run to the St. Louis Cardinals, but settled down after that to toss a seven innings of two run ball for the Arizona Diamondbacks. A.J. Pollock was the catalyst for the Diamondbacks offense which drove in six runs against the Cardinals, including four off starter Adam Wainwright.
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photo credit: Scott Ableman via photopin cc
