A homer to Ted Williams in his final Opening Day. The Braves will counter with 22-year-old Mike Soroka, who will be the franchises youngest Opening Day starter since 1878. Pittsburgh is led by breakout slugger Josh Bell, whose 37 home runs last season were a record for a Bucs first baseman and the most by any Pirate since Brian Giles in 2002. Alyson Footer, moderator: Hello friends, and happy baseball season! ET with Jacob deGrom taking on Mike Soroka and the WorldSeries-hopeful Braves in New York. Bell was the first player to homer three times in a season opener, doing so for the Blue Jays against the Royals on April 4, 1988. The Braves sent up veteran pinch hitter Pablo Sandoval, and the Panda turned on an inside fastball and blistered it at 111.7 mph, per Statcast, sending it into the right-field seats for a tying homer. ET: 1-0 Mets (Final) . The game was in the bank. By the seventh inning of the Phils' opener Thursday against Atlanta, ace Aaron Nola was rolling through the vaunted Braves' lineup and nursing a 2-0 advantage. Here's a look at all of the day's scores and each team's top performer from Friday, as well as highlights from some of the day's more notable results. Pirates rookie phenom Ke'Bryan Hayes picked up where he left off in spring training, where he hit .431. Twelve of those starts were complete games, and seven of them were shutouts. Suarez converted his last three fielding chances to end up with a fielding percentage of .600 for the game. Playing in asnowstorm in Detroit, Miguel Cabrera hit the first home run of the 2021 MLBseason, a two-run shot in the second inning off reigning AL Cy Young winner Shane Bieber. Alcantara yielded two hits and two walks, striking out seven. Houston blew it open in the late innings in Oakland, getting back-to-back home runs from Michael Brantley and Alex Bregman in the eighth, eventually winning 8-1. The righty will be the first pitcher other than Kluber to start an opener for the team since Justin Masterson in 14. Just one game. BaseRuns is a formula designed to estimate how many runs a team would be expected to score (or allow) given their underlying offensive (or defensive) performance. In their season-opening win over the Marlins, Diego Castillo securedtheir first one of 2021. There have been more than 100 multi-steal games on Opening Day, but just nine players have gone for the trifecta. He got off to a good start but found himself in a jam with the bases loaded and no outs in the top of the third. He got out of a bases-loaded situation in the eighth against the TexasRangers to protect a four-run lead, but ran into trouble in the ninth. Meadows' homer came off Marlins reliever Yimi Garcia. He scored from third on a chopper to the second baseman in a close play to give the Dodgers the lead. Hyun Jin's first #BlueJays strikeout! In addition to MLB win totals, divisional odds, World Series odds and player awards futures, I also bet on statistical category leaders before any MLB season. Beginning with a snow-filled AL Central matchup in Detroit and a Hyun-Jin Ryu vs. Gerrit Cole pitching showdown in New York, there was plenty to talk about right from the start of the new season. -- Lee, Miguel Cabrera swings (and slides) through the snow. In his first at-bat of 2021, Posey hit a solo home run off Mariners lefty Marco Gonzales, his first homer since Sept. 24, 2019. There is no chalk. But that's where Girardi's story brightened, and perhaps might make him cringe just a little less in games to come when he turns to his relief staff. He allowed six runs and seven hits, including home runs to Eric Hosmer and Wil Myers, in four innings. We also had eight one-run games -- two more than any other first day in MLB history. He walked three times, worked at-bats of epic lengths, singled and scored two runs. entertainment, news presenter | 4.8K views, 28 likes, 13 loves, 80 comments, 2 shares, Facebook Watch Videos from GBN Grenada Broadcasting Network: GBN News 28th April 2023 Anchor: Kenroy Baptiste. The San Francisco Giants catcher opted out of the 2020 season to care for his adopted newborn twins and at 34 is out to show he can still contribute and make his Hall of Fame case. Copyright 2023 Sporting News Holdings Limited. The Royals won a long, messy game over the Rangers at home that required them to overcome a five-run Texas first, which they erased in the bottom of the first, then another three-run deficit a couple of innings later. MORE>, Brewers at Cubs (7:10 p.m., ESPN): These two teams are separated by less than 90 miles, and there has been little daylight between them over the past few years. After Ketel Marte and Asdrubal Cabrera homered, pinch hitter Tim Locastro's two-run shot tied it at six and Stephen Vogt followed with a solo home run to take the lead. Tuffy Rhodes matched Bell with three homers against the Mets -- all off Dwight Gooden -- on Opening Day with the 1994 Cubs. 8:56 p.m.: Kepler just hit another home run. The White Sox led 3-2 heading into the bottom of the eighth, but with help from a throwing error, the Angels pushed two runs across a Mike Trout RBI single and an Albert Pujols RBI groundout to take the lead. With the slow-footed Molina running, a rally-killing double play might have been on Suarez's mind. Terms and conditions affecting the bonus offers available to you vary by location. The three-time World Series champion makes his D-backs debut as Arizonas Opening Day starter, his sixth time getting the ball on Opening Day. 6:52 p.m.:Cincinnati up 2-0 on the Tigers in Cincy, and Sonny Gray looks sharp through two innings. The Twins got a first-pitch home run from Max Kepler to start their season and are . Zack Greinke tossed six shutout innings to get the win for the Astros, playing in front of hostile fans for the first time since their cheating scandal came out before the 2020 season. In this era when velocity is everything, Greinke continues to be one of the most enjoyable pitchers in the game, as he hit just about every radar gun reading from 69 to 91. Sacrifice Hits per Game. After a successful 2019 campaign with the Rayswhere he notched a 3.05 ERAMorton struggled to find a rhythm to start his second year with the team. Michael A. Taylor homered, singled twice and drove in three runs. Making his highly anticipated debut for the team, Mookie Betts got things going with his first hit after reaching earlier on an error. All records go back to 1904, unless otherwise noted. Royals at Indians (7:10 p.m.): Starting the season at home for only the second time in the past eight seasons, the Indians will begin the post-Corey Kluber era by handing the ball to Shane Bieber following his breakout 2019 campaign. https://t.co/doPR3Lp9Kw. His three-hit performance in a 10-inning win was a promising start. Yu Darvish was given the Opening Day start for his Padres debut and couldn't get through five innings even though he entered the inning with a 6-1 lead. Lucky for you, the second day of Major League Baseball's truncated season featured a 14-game slate that did not disappoint. MLB Opening Day 2020 live scores, updates, highlights from Friday's baseball games, main figures in Thursday's mixed response. There is no guarantee. Landing at a Triple-A field, I think our team is playing with a little bit of a chip on a shoulder.". You can convert WAA to a team record by taking wins = WAA + .5*G and losses = G-wins. Now the Cardinals 24-year-old ace gets his first career Opening Day start, trying to pick up where he left off as St. Louis seeks a second straight NL Central crown in 2020. It will continue to be an Opening Day like no other due to the coronavirus pandemic, obviously falling much later on the calendar and staged without standing-room-only crowds in the seats. Pascual's gem came on the heels of Don Drysdales 14-strikeout performance in the Dodgers opener six days earlier. Hell take on a Giants club that will try again to land new manager Gabe Kapler his first win. Most Opening Day home runs: 8 (tie)Adam Dunn, Ken Griffey Jr. and Frank RobinsonRobinson spread his homers out across four teams, homering in season openers for the Reds, Orioles, Angels and Indians. The 24-year-old, son of MLB veteran Charlie Hayes, hit .376 with five home runs and 11 RBI in 24 games last season. Glasnow struck out six and allowed only a first-inning single to Jesus Aguilar before retiring the final 16 batters he faced. Every game is available live on MLB.TV (local and national blackout restrictions apply), and those that will be broadcast nationally on ESPN or MLB Network have been noted below. He also threw out two baserunners from center field, both on throws that Statcast registered at over 95 mph. The battle on the mound was a rematch of Game 1 of the 2019 World Series. 1:36 a.m.: We're witnessing history! Most Opening Day strikeouts: Randy Johnson, 107It's entirely unsurprising that one of the most fearsome strikeout artists of all time would top the list of Opening Day strikeouts. "I thought he got a little bit tired there in the last inning, the sixth inning. The Yankees wasted little time in putting runs on the board. You can convert WAR to a team record by taking wins = WAR + .294*G and losses = G-wins. Alex Dickerson tied it for the Giants with a home run in the top of the ninth. Springer, for his part, went 5-for-6 -- all singles -- with an RBI and four runs scored in the Blue Jays' 10-9 win over the Cardinals at Busch Stadium. Justin Verlander carried the team through six innings, allowing two runs on three hits while pulling the string on seven hitters. The second baseman wasn't done, though. The Giants struck first with a sacrifice fly from Pablo Sandoval that drove in Tyler Heineman. The Rockies, who are not good. In a fitting turn of events, the season's first game of the shortened season was called early as the Yankees scored the win after the game was called in the top of the sixth due to a rain delay. 1-800-522-4700 (NV), 1-800-522-4700 (CO, TN), 1-855-2CALLGA (IL), 1-800-270-7117 (MI). Martinez, Kevin Pillar and Jackie Bradley Jr. all had three hits, while Jose Peraza led the team with a four-hit game. Buxton walked twice. Didn't get enough baseball on Thursday? Rutschman went 5-for-5 with a homer, four RBIs and a walk in a 10-9 win over the Red Sox at Fenway Park, becoming the first backstop with a five-hit game on Opening Day since at least 1901. 4th Inning Runs per Game. Yadier Molina chopped one to Suarez, who had to move a couple of steps to backhand the ball. 6th Inning Runs per Game. Washington Nationals RF Adam Eaton leads the National League in HRs. Extra innings. Glasnow cemented himself at the top of the Tampa Bay rotation. Sign up to receive our daily Morning Lineup to stay in the know about the latest trending topics around Major League Baseball. On the play in question, the Cardinals had a run in, the bases loaded, and one out. We do not endorse illegal online gambling. Boston will play its first Opening Day without Mookie Betts since 2015, but the Red Sox have no shortage of firepower in a lineup that features Xander Bogaerts, Rafael Devers and J.D. @ SlangsOnSports. 9/1. 21+. Hit By Pitch per Game. first, rain-shortened game of the Nationals World Series title defense, lead the seven-time defending National League West champs past the rival Giants, expansion to a 16-team playoff field for 2020. Greg Holland posted a stellar 1.91 ERA with six saves last season for the Kansas City Royals. Mookie Betts knocked Sam Coonrod out of tonight's game with an RBI single. The younger Guerrero will step in against a pitcher 15 years his senior in the Rays Charlie Morton (36), who will become the oldest pitcher to start on Opening Day for any team since 41-year-old Bartolo Coln for the 2015 Mets. . The Astros were not only fined $5 million, but they lost first- and second-round picks in the upcoming drafts as well as personnel, including Jeff Luhnow and AJ Hinch. Since 2017, the NL Central rivals have identical records (271-216), with the Cubs holding a tiny edge (30-28) in head-to-head matchups, and both clubs winning one division title and making the postseason twice. MLB Power Rankings: Who's No. Harper has even swung a bat featuring the Phanatic's face. Most consecutive Opening Day starts: Jack Morris, 14 (1980-93)Morris' Hall of Fame legacy is being an indomitable workhorse, and his record 14 consecutive Opening Day starts (for three teams) is representative of that. All of The Kid's Opening Day homers came for the Mariners, including two on Opening Day 1997 against the Yankees. Easy call. The list includes MLBs all-time stolen base king, Rickey Henderson, as well as noted speedsters Davey Lopes, Paul Molitor and Tony Womack. MORE>, Twins at White Sox (8:10 p.m.): The Bomba Squad is back after setting the MLB single-season home run record with 307 last year (beating the Yankees by one). There are the Dodgers, who expect to win 100, and there are the Rockies, trying not to lose 100, and the latter beat the former in the first game of the season. @AdamSpankyEaton // #NATITUDE https://t.co/HxWfrgZd4j. Nola would stay in. In years past, Tyler Glasnow faced competition from Blake Snell and Charlie Morton for the best pitcher in the Rays' rotation. Thursday's game at Fenway Park between the Red Sox and Orioles was called off due to rain and will be played on Friday, which is the exact reason for the built-in off-day following opening day. responsible online gambling page. Baseball is a glorious, comical game that tests the deepest reaches of rationality. The eight doubles for the @RedSox are the most in an #OpeningDay game since the 1936 Pirates. The odds that anyone breaks the record of three home runs in a game isextremelyunlikely. However, the runs were unearned because of Colome's throwing error. His OPS dropped from 1.015 to .801 (although he particularly struggled after a return from an IL stint). A five-hit game has been accomplished 14 times on Opening Day -- five by players in the Hall of Fame -- but only five have happened in the Expansion Era (since 1961). Grounded Into Double Plays per Game. Two runs . Hit By Pitch per Game. New closer Raisel Iglesias finished off the 4-3 win for the Angels, handingmanager Tony La Russa a loss in thefirst game of his second tour of duty in Chicago. Yes, it's one game. Most Opening Day saves: 6 (tie)Francisco Rodriguez and Rollie FingersFingers and K-Rod are two of the most successful closers to ever play the game, and they're tied for the most Opening Day saves. The Big Unit had four double-digit strikeout performances in season openers, including 14-K starts for the Mariners in 1993 and '96. Please visit sportsbook operators Basically, there is a four-homer game about once in every 6,075 games, if you limit the sample size to the last decade and a half. Cabrera gets campaign started (1:40 p.m.) Playing in a snowstorm in Detroit, Miguel Cabrera hit the first home run of the 2021 MLB season, a two-run shot in the second inning off reigning AL Cy . Then, fans were thrilled when Astros shortstop Carlos Correa got hit by a pitch in the fourth inning. articles are also for amusement, and are not available to be wagered on. Score; Braves vs. Mets: 4:10 p.m. With the runner-on-second rule, that meant the Mariners, well, walked it off. "For me it's more about the fact the team gave you the ball. There have been some concerns about the San Diego bullpen, especially with a few projected key relievers on the injured list, but the Padres stockpiled plenty of good arms. The highest WPA total for a pitcher in an Opening Day performance of no more than nine innings was recorded by the Phillies Les Sweetland (0.903) in a 1-0 win over the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1930. -- Jeff Passan. It was a recipe for the way Maddon believes they can win the American League West. 11:15 p.m.: Not a great pitch fromMadBum. Enos Slaughter and Lenny Dykstra are the only two National League players to ever score four runs during a World Series game.. He allowed three home runs and seven runs in 2017 and four home runs and seven runs in 2019, and was 0-2 in four career openers. Take, for example, the season opener between the defending World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers and the Colorado Rockies, who are, in just about every way, the anti-Dodgers. Cabrera lashed at it, sending a drive to right field. -- Bradford Doolittle. The Minnesota Twins indicatedthey're planning on using Taylor Rogers and Alex Colome as co-closers. Glasnow, 27, went six innings against the Marlins, allowing no runs and one hit while striking out six with no walks. Los Angeles Dodgers. 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Morris had a career 3.39 ERA in season openers, and he's one of only two pitchers since 1980, along with Rick Mahler, with at least three complete-game victories on Opening Day. Matt Davidsons White Sox tied the record of six last year in a 14-7 rout of the Royals. The 28-year-old outfielder's bat will be crucial for this Toronto team if it hopes to make the playoffs. At least for one game, Gary Sanchez managed to keep his critics at bay. #Scherzday // #NATITUDE https://t.co/0p4mBu22lo. They got some encouraging production from Upton and Max Stassi -- not to mention a 107 mph line drive from Shohei Ohtani -- but they also worked counts, moved runners over, didn't let the game slip away early and locked it down late. Yes, there were boos from the crowd of 10,000 or so in Oakland, with the loudest ones directed at Astros third baseman Alex Bregman. Theyre led by third baseman extraordinaire Matt Chapman, the ALs back-to-back reigning Platinum Glove winner. Here is a breakdown of all 14 Friday matchups, listed in order of start time (all times ET). Bellinger was called out. After playing his final MLB season in 1995, Rhodes went on to become a star in Japan, setting the Nippon Professional Baseball all-time home run record for a foreign-born player with 464. In other words, the most common numbers of runs scored were all less than the overall average. The first inning was historic, if not aesthetic, as Elias reported that it was the first time in an Opening Day contest in which both teams scored at least five first-inning runs. He retired the first two batters in the frame, but then rookie Cristian Pache doubled. and all the pain (nine walks!) Trailing 6-1, Arizona scored six runs on four home runs in the top of the fifth to take the lead. Total Bases per Game. Four hits, five RBI. Yankees ace Gerrit Cole set Toronto down in order in the top of the first. Grounded Into Double Plays per Game. Rookie Kyle Isbel singled three times and drove in two. https://t.co/8sYDkds9a0. Generally, these markets encompass wins, strikeouts and saves for pitchers, and home runs, runs scored, runs batted in, steals and hits for batters. Two innings later, Mondesi slugged a two-out, walk-off homer off John Frascatore, adding another 0.43 points to his WPA total. Hayes looks like the real deal. Watch and learn, kids. MORE>, Mariners at Astros (9:10 p.m.): Reigning AL Cy Young Award winner Justin Verlander takes the mound for Houston, fresh off joining the 3,000-strikeout club and notching his first career 300-strikeout season. Playing up the power factor that often dominates these days, the NL champion Dodgers set an opening day record for home runs in a 12-5 win over Arizona. It took him more than a year before he settled in with the Cubs, but the Padres are counting on him to be their ace -- from the get-go. Oakland was the first stop on the tour and fans poured boos on the Astros during pregame introductions not to mention some banging on trash cans. However, with no timeline for when fans may return to the stands, Houston may be able to get through this season relatively unscathed. Hyun-Jin Ryu took the mound in a Blue Jays uniform for the first time on Friday after playing the entirety of his six-year career with the Dodgers. Sascha was a hockey player in his youth, a lawyer in his capricious mid-20s, and has been with SBD since 2014. Andrew Benintendi overcame a first-inning gaffe in which he allowed three runs to score by diving and . Slugger Jorge Soler will set out to defend his AL home run title after crushing a surprising 48 last year. Both tossed six shutout innings before turning things over to their bullpens. It also kicks off a wholly unique 60-game schedule that is completely regional: Teams will play two-thirds of their games against division foes, and then the remaining one-third against clubs in geographically corresponding divisions in the opposite league (East vs. East, Central vs. Central, West vs. West). @doinitBIGgio23 has our first of 2020! Hope springs anew for players, coaches and fans alike on Opening Day, with stats getting reset and each team starting from square one. Then he gave up seven in three innings Thursday. Most Opening Day home runs: 3 (tie)Matt Davidson (2018), Dmitri Young (2005), Tuffy Rhodes (1994) and George Bell (1988)Opening Day 2018 was memorable for a lot of reasons, and one of them was Davidson's three-homer game for the White Sox, which tied the Opening Day record (and started a season-long crushing of the Royals by Davidson). #OpeningDay https://t.co/t6nC2dOUjF. Well, it's a new season, and that bullpen was the talk of their camp in Florida, and for happy reasons. For all of the marquee names that have taken the ball on Opening Day over the years, nobody has bested Camilo Pascuals total of 15 strikeouts against the Red Sox in the Washington Senators 1960 season opener. Nola, one of baseball's true and rare innings-eaters, had thrown just 81 pitches. Your California Privacy Rights / Privacy Policy. -- Lee. "Teddy Ballgame" also boasted at least one hit in every Opening Day game he appeared in. Down 13-9 in the eighth inning, Cleveland scored 12 runs in the frame, with Hall of Famer Tris Speaker hitting the . Read on to catch last night's scores and highlights, plus a preview of Friday's . There's a simple explanation for this . Only 18 players have ever hit four homers in a game on any date in the calendar (though six of those have come in the last 16 years). Charlie Morton took the loss for Tampa Bay, giving up six earned runs on seven hits through four innings, adding four strikeouts and one walk along the way. ET on March 31, 2023, the Max Score is one hundred fifty (150) points. St. Louis Cardinals manager Mike Shildt said before his team's opener that hard-throwing Jordan Hicks would be eased into the closer's role after missing all of last season. https://t.co/YwWm7ttp84. Those two games made up 23% of his RBI total (61) for the entire season. on SportsBettingDime.com, as they do vary. -- Jeff Passan. This also will be the first Opening Day for some 2019 midseason callups such as Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Bo Bichette and Cavan Biggio. It's Opening Day for 26teams,starting with an NL East matchup at 4:10 p.m. Bryce Harper, seen here at the 2016 All-Star Game, is the active leader in Opening Day home runs with five. 2023 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Satellite Information Network, LLC. Thats one of many Opening Day victories for Baltimore, which owns the third-best record all-time in openers (.593), although its eight-game win streak ended last year against the Yankees. Every player in the MLB wants to start the season off on the right foot on Opening Day, and theres no better way to begin the year than with a longball (or three). Team Left On Base per Game. Toronto got out to an early lead, with two sacrifice flies moving runners along to give the Blue Jays a 3-0 lead in the fourth. 1. Put another way, there is about a 4.6% chance he homers in any given plate appearance. The Reds battled over the rest of the game, but a six-run gap is hard to close. Rutschman went 5-for-5 with a homer, four RBIs and a walk in a 10-9 win over the Red Sox at Fenway Park, becoming the first backstop with a five-hit game on Opening Day since at least 1901. Another good sign for Houston: Yordan Alvarez, back after missing all but two games in 2020 due to surgery on both knees, hit a two-run, opposite-field double off the wall. Sporting News will be tracking the latest scores here, and highlights below: Having Matt Olson destroy a walk-off grand slam seems like a nice strategy for the A's.pic.twitter.com/MJUFhMSKAu. "First of all, this whole year has been crazy, but it's been especially crazy for our team," Cavan Biggio said, according to the Associated Press' Fred Goodall (h/tThe Washington Post). Patterson, the No. Almost every franchise in the league has hit seven home runs in a game on multiple occasions. 3rd Inning Runs per Game. MORE>, Orioles at Red Sox (7:30 p.m.): Surprisingly, this is the first time the Orioles will begin their season at Fenway Park since 1966, when Brooks Robinson and Frank Robinson both homered in a win over Carl Yastrzemski and the Sox. August 8, 2016. W. Clayton Kershaw (3-1) L. Tylor Megill (3-1) We've added a page to show the statistical impact of MLB's rule changes for the 2023 season. Scherzer was feast-or-famine on the mound for the Nationals. Flyler Wade coming through. https://t.co/jiKcLWuKAl. Check out all the home runs that got hit to start off the 2021 MLB season, including Miguel Cabrera's snow home run and tons of other awesome shots!Don't for. #ForTheH https://t.co/XoNvXOPnmF. We are not a sportsbook and Outfielder Austin Meadows broke up a scoreless tie with a solo homer in the top of the eighth inning as the Tampa Bay Rays defeated the Miami Marlins 1-0 in the Battle of Florida. Dunn's eight included two multi-homer Opening Days, in 2005 and '07, for the Reds. Jeff Passan on Lindor's megadeal and the 20 biggest questions on Opening Day, Superstar debuts, ace showdowns and sneaky contenders: What to watch in every MLB Opening Day game, Philadelphia Phillies 3, Atlanta Braves 2 (10 innings), Milwaukee Brewers 6, Minnesota Twins 5 (10 innings), St. Louis Cardinals 11, Cincinnati Reds 6, San Diego Padres 8, Arizona Diamondbacks 7. The all-time record for most home runs by one team in a single game isten (Blue Jays, 1987). Really rough. "All P" includes both pitching and batting while "SP" & "RP" include only pitching. Young ended up leading Detroit with 21 home runs that year. It wouldnt be unprecedented to hit three home runs in one Opening-Day game, but it is pretty rare. And there is plenty more intrigue across this slate -- including the debuts of Nick Castellanos and Mike Moustakas with the Reds (vs. Tigers), Hyun Jin Ryu with the Blue Jays (at Rays), Josh Donaldson with the Twins (at White Sox) and Madison Bumgarner with the D-backs (at Padres). It's entirely irrational that one group of men can be that much better than another at something and when that superior group loses to the inferior one it's just another shrug emoji. The pitching held up, first with Dylan Bundy hanging tough through six innings and then with three relievers retiring nine of 10 batters.