CHICAGO (AP) - Anthony Rizzo hit a game-winning single off closer Kenley Jansen in the ninth inning, and the Chicago Cubs beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 3-2 on Monday night after raising a World Series championship banner for the first time at Wrigley Field.
Pinch-hitter Jon Jay started the decisive rally with a leadoff single against Sergio Romo (0-1). With two outs and Jay on third, Rizzo sliced a 1-1 pitch from Jansen into left field for his first RBI this season.
Wade Davis (1-0) pitched a scoreless inning for his first win with the Cubs, who blew a 2-0 lead before a dramatic victory in their rain-delayed home opener.
Rizzo also heard wild cheers earlier in the night when he started the 2016 flag toward the top of a pole in right-center before handing the reins over to his smiling teammates. Rizzo then emerged from under the bleachers with the championship trophy, drawing another big ovation from the sellout crowd of 41,166.
Before November’s epic Game 7 win in Cleveland, the Cubs had not won the World Series since 1908. They moved into Wrigley eight years later, making Monday’s celebration the first of its kind at the cozy neighborhood ballpark.
GIANTS 4, DIAMONDBACKS 1
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Buster Posey was doing well after being struck in the helmet by a 94 mph fastball in the first inning, a frightening moment during San Francisco’s victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks in its home opener.
Posey will be re-evaluated Tuesday but was doing fine, according to manager Bruce Bochy. The star catcher is likely to sit out Tuesday’s game.
Taijuan Walker’s 0-1 fastball with two outs in the first inning sent Posey immediately to ground. Athletic trainer Dave Groeschner sprinted toward the plate and Bochy was right behind. Posey got up on his own but exited the game.
Bochy said if Posey weren’t a catcher, he might have been OK to stay in the game, but the Giants weren’t taking any chances with the 2012 NL MVP and 2010 NL Rookie of the Year.
Walker (1-1) was booed at the conclusion of the inning, when he came up to bat and at every other opportunity by the AT&T Park sellout crowd of 42,129. Home run king Barry Bonds was among those in attendance.
Matt Moore (1-1) struck out five in eight impressive innings. Mark Melancon got his second save.
TIGERS 2, RED SOX 1
DETROIT (AP) - Justin Verlander and Chris Sale dominated in a matchup of ace pitchers before Nicholas Castellanos singled in the go-ahead run off Sale in the eighth inning, lifting Detroit over Boston.
Verlander gave up an unearned run, three hits and two walks while striking out four over seven innings. Justin Wilson (1-0) struck out one and walked one in the eighth and Francisco Rodriguez struck out two and allowed a hit in the ninth, earning his second save in three chances.
Sale (0-1) struck out 10 and gave up two runs and five hits over 7 2/3 innings.
Ian Kinsler homered off Sale in the sixth.
The Red Sox scored their only run in the second inning after Castellanos’ fielding error loaded the bases with no outs.
YANKEES 8, RAYS 1
NEW YORK (AP) - Michael Pineda retired his first 20 batters before Evan Longoria lined a double down the left-field line, and he wound up pitching two-hit ball over 7 2/3 innings in New York’s home opener.
Pineda (1-1) dominated like the pitcher the Yankees have always hoped he would become. He struck out 11, walked none and threw 67 of 93 pitches for strikes. Tampa Bay’s Logan Morrison homered with one out in the eighth, a ball that hit off the top of the wall in right-center and deflected off a fan before bouncing back onto the field. A video review was needed to determine it was a home run.
Alex Cobb (1-1) allowed five runs in 7 1/3 innings.
PADRES 5, ROCKIES 3
DENVER (AP) - Wil Myers hit a leadoff triple in the eighth inning to complete the first cycle of his career and send San Diego past Colorado.
Myers singled in the first, doubled in the third and homered in the sixth to help the Padres win for the third time in four games. Matt Kemp had the only other cycle in San Diego history on Aug. 14, 2015, also at Coors Field.
Hunter Renfroe homered for the Padres, a two-run shot off Tyler Chatwood (0-2).
Miguel Diaz (1-0) and five other pitchers combined to keep Colorado in check.
DJ LeMahieu and Mark Reynolds homered for the Rockies.
MARINERS 6, ASTROS 0
SEATTLE (AP) - James Paxton shut down Houston for the second time in a week, pitching seven innings of four-hit ball and leading Seattle to a win in its home opener.
The Mariners rebounded nicely from Sunday’s ugly ninth-inning meltdown against the Angels when they gave up seven runs and lost 10-9. Paxton (1-0) was a big reason why, keeping Houston’s offense silent long enough for Seattle’s bats to wake up and finally convert with runners in scoring position. Paxton struck out eight and walked two while pitching in Seattle’s home opener for the second time in his career.
Charlie Morton (0-1) allowed three runs and seven hits and struck out six.
ATHLETICS 2, ROYALS 0
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) - Khris Davis hit a two-run homer, Jharel Cotton shut down Kansas City’s anemic offense and Oakland held on to spoil the Royals’ home opener.
Cotton (1-1) gave up a single in the first and another in the sixth, but otherwise befuddled a Royals lineup that hasn’t shown much punch. He walked three and struck out six over seven innings.
Sean Doolittle ran into trouble in the ninth, putting runners on the corners with two outs. He bounced back to strike out Brandon Moss for his first save, helping the A’s beat the Royals for the seventh consecutive time.
Davis provided all the offense Oakland needed when he followed a leadoff single by Ryon Healy with his fourth homer of the year. The shot to right on a 3-0 pitch from Ian Kennedy (0-2) barely scraped the wall.
NATIONALS 14, CARDINALS 6
WASHINGTON (AP) - Bryce Harper tied a career high with four hits and reached base in all six plate appearances as Washington routed St. Louis.
Harper drove in three runs during his first four-hit game since April 17, 2013.
Stephen Drew, Adam Eaton and Ryan Zimmerman each had three of Washington’s 19 hits, and the Nationals overcame four errors. They broke open the game in a seven-run eighth inning.
Tanner Roark (2-0) allowed five runs - three earned - over five innings.
Cardinals starter Adam Wainwright (0-2) gave up six runs and 11 hits in four-plus innings.
METS 4, PHILLIES 3
PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Jay Bruce homered twice, including the tiebreaking shot in a testy eighth inning to lead New York over Philadelphia.
Recently bumped up to the cleanup spot, Bruce put the Mets in front 4-2 with a towering, two-run drive off his own digital image on the videoboard in right field. He connected on a 1-2 pitch from left-hander Joely Rodriguez, giving Bruce four homers this season and three in the past two days after many expected New York to trade him last winter.
Tempers flared two batters earlier when Phillies reliever Edubray Ramos (0-1) threw a first-pitch fastball over Asdrubal Cabrera’s head - perhaps seeking revenge for Cabrera’s two-handed bat flip after hitting a game-winning homer against Ramos last Sept. 22 as the Mets were chasing a playoff berth.
Players on both teams stayed in the dugout but Phillies manager Pete Mackanin was ejected by plate umpire Allan Porter, apparently for questioning Porter’s warning to both sides following the pitch.
Addison Reed allowed Brock Stassi’s solo homer in the ninth but recovered to earn his second save. Stassi’s drive was his first major league hit.
Jerry Blevins (1-0) got two outs for the Mets, aided by a fine defensive play from catcher Travis d’Arnaud and Cabrera at shortstop.
REDS 7, PIRATES 1
PITTSBURGH (AP) - Eugenio Suarez and Scooter Gennett homered, and Cincinnati took advantage of wild Pittsburgh starter Tyler Glasnow.
Making his season debut, Glasnow (0-1) failed to make it out of the second inning. The right-hander walked five - including four straight in the first - and left after throwing just 35 of his 64 pitches for strikes.
Billy Hamilton had two of the Reds’ eight hits and added a pair of stolen bases. Michael Lorenzen (1-0) worked three shutout innings in relief of erratic starter Brandon Finnegan. Cincinnati’s bullpen retired 21 straight to end the game.
The Pirates managed only four hits and stranded eight, going 0 for 9 with runners in scoring position.
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