The Latest on opening day (all times EDT):
5:45 p.m.
The Dodgers have chased Arizona’s Zack Greinke with three homers in the fourth inning on opening day.
After Enrique Hernandez and Austin Barnes hit back-to-back homers, Corey Seager celebrated his return from Tommy John surgery with a solo shot that sent Greinke to the showers. The $206.5 million right-hander gave up seven hits and seven runs, including Joc Pederson’s two-run homer in the second for the two-time defending NL champions.
Meanwhile, Hyun-Jin Ryu was stellar in the first four innings of his first opening day start, striking out six Diamondbacks and allowing one infield single. Arizona got only one ball out of the infield in the first four innings while falling behind 7-0.
-Greg Beacham reporting from Los Angeles.
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5:40 p.m.
Chris Sale will join rare company when he throws the first pitch of the season for the Boston Red Sox.
Sale recorded the final out of last season when he helped Boston clinch its World Series championship. By throwing the first pitch to begin this season, Sale will become the first American League pitcher since Baltimore’s Scott McGregor to record the final out of one season and throw the first pitch of the following season.
Madison Bumgarner managed the same thing when he recorded the final out of the 2014 World Series and opened the 2015 season for San Francisco. Carl Mays is the only other Red Sox pitcher to have pitched the final out of one season and started the following season. He did it in 1918-19.
-Tim Booth reporting from Seattle
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5:35 p.m.
Javier Baez is already slugging and driving in runs again for the Chicago Cubs, with two homers in the season opener.
Baez greeted Texas Rangers reliever Jesse Chavez with a three-run homer in the fifth inning to give the Cubs a 7-2 lead.
The Cubs shortstop, who last season hit 34 homers and led the NL with 111 RBIs, hit a solo homer in the fourth off starter Mike Minor.
-Stephen Hawkins reporting from Arlington, Texas
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5:05 p.m.
The pitching matchup in Minnesota between Cleveland’s Corey Kluber and the home team’s Jose Berrios has been all aces to start, with the Twins and Indians scoreless through four innings.
Kluber, the two-time Cy Young Award winner, is perfect, actually, with 12 batters up and 12 batters down.
Berrios, the youngest opening day starter for the Twins since Brad Radke in 1996, didn’t give up a hit until a leadoff double to Leonys Martin in the fourth inning. But the 24-year-old right-hander finished the frame without any damage, striking out Hanley Ramirez to strand runners at first and second.
- Dave Campbell reporting from Minneapolis
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4:52 p.m.
Corey Seager is back and Dodger Stadium is happy about it.
The two-time All-Star shortstop got a loud pregame ovation when he was introduced in the Dodgers’ starting lineup. He was sidelined for nearly all of last season after undergoing Tommy John surgery, missing the Dodgers’ run to their second straight World Series.
Seager drew a walk in his first plate appearance while the Dodgers took a 1-0 lead on the Diamondbacks. Seager then showed his arm is fine when he made all three putouts in the Diamondbacks’ second inning.
A.J. Pollock also drew a walk in his first plate appearance for the Dodgers, who signed him as a free agent after seven seasons in Arizona.
Adam Jones struck out while batting leadoff in his debut for the Diamondbacks after 11 years in Baltimore.
- Greg Beacham reporting from Los Angeles.
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4:50 p.m.
Fernando Tatis Jr. of the San Diego Padres singled to left in his first big league at-bat, against San Francisco Giants ace Madison Bumgarner.
Tatis, the son of a former big leaguer, hit a grounder just past diving third baseman Evan Longoria in the second inning. His family was in attendance, having traveled from the Dominican Republic.
- Bernie Wilson reporting from San Diego.
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4:45 p.m.
Elvis Andrus has started his 11th season for the Texas Rangers with a catchy new walk-up song - and by lining a single to left field.
“Baby shark, doo doo doo doo doo doo,” reverberated through the ballpark when Andrus, the 30-year-old shortstop who is the team’s longest-tenured player, was introduced for his first at-bat of the season.
Andrus said “Baby Shark” is the favorite song of his 20-month-old son Elvis Jr.
“If you don’t like it, you better get used to it, it’s not going away,” Andrus said earlier this week. “Hopefully ’Baby Shark’ can hit well. … At least get me one hit a day, it’s going to stay.”
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4:25 p.m.
Manny Machado got a standing ovation as he walked to the batter’s box for the first time as a member of the San Diego Padres, and the fans booed when he took a called first strike from San Francisco Giants ace left-hander Madison Bumgarner.
Machado struck out.
The All-Star slugger signed a $300 million, 10-year contract early in spring training, helping to make the Padres relevant for the first time in several seasons.
- Bernie Wilson reporting from San Diego.
4:15 p.m.
Dee Gordon wanted to express his appreciation for Ichiro Suzuki, who announced his retirement following the Seattle Mariners’ two games in Japan. But he wanted to do more than a social media post.
So Gordon took out a full-page ad in The Seattle Times on Thursday ahead of the Mariners’ home opener against the Boston Red Sox.
“Honestly, I didn’t think that writing up an Instagram post or something would be meaningful enough,” Gordon said. “And he probably wouldn’t be able to see it. I thought this was over the top, too.”
In the ad, Gordon wrote, “Thank you for being a great friend to me and being my favorite player to this day.”
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3:25 p.m.
Score it 3U on No. 3.
Bryce Harper grounded out to first base in his first at-bat in a Phillies uniform.
Harper was already a smash hit before he walked to the plate to a standing ovation. Phillies fans were wild all day in anticipation of Harper’s debut.
Harper, who wore green Phanatic cleats, bowed to the fans when he took his spot in right field in the first inning and chucked a ball into the third deck.
Harper had owned Braves starter Julio Teheran, hitting eight career home runs off the righty. Harper also is tied among active players with five career homers on opening day.
Oh yeah, Harper wasn’t the only MVP added to the lineup. Andrew McCutchen, the 2013 NL MVP with the Pirates, led off the game with a homer that sent an already pumped crowd into a tizzy. McCutchen signed a $50 million, three-year deal in the offseason.
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3:15 p.m.
At 20 years, 85 days, Fernando Tatis Jr. is the youngest San Diego Padres player to play on opening day and the youngest to play in a game since Roberto Alomar in 1988. He is the fifth-youngest Padres player ever.
The son of the former major leaguer said he was prepared to start the season in the minor leagues, but was told on Tuesday afternoon that he’d made the big league roster.
“I was going to be honest. I told my dad, my head was in the minor leagues. If they sent me down, I was not surprised. If they called me up, it was going to be a big surprise,” the younger Tatis said before the Padres played the San Francisco Giants on opening day. Tatis Jr. batted sixth and started at shortstop, next to offseason free agent acquisition Manny Machado at third base.
His father, mother and siblings made the trip from the Dominican Republic for opening day.
- Bernie Wilson reporting from San Diego.
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3:10 p.m.
Bryce Harper wore green Phanatic cleats as he jogged out of the dugout to a standing ovation when he was introduced for the first time as a member of the Philadelphia Phillies.
Harper signed a $330 million, 13-year contract with the Phillies and hit third and played right field in the opener against the Atlanta Braves.
Harper walked into the ballpark wearing a black T-shirt that read “Phan Fiction” made by South Fellini that featured Philly mascots the Phanatic and Gritty in a “Pulp Fiction” homage. Fans slammed the website and caused it to temporarily crash, and by the time it was up, the shirt was sold out.
Harper fist-bumped fans as the Phillies walked through the outfield stands and onto the red carpet on the field for opening day festivities.
Fans brought signs that read “The Year of Bryce” and thousands more wore his No. 3 jersey.
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3:07 p.m.
Look who’s back.
Christian Yelich hit a three-run homer to center off Miles Mikolas in the third inning on opening day, giving the Milwaukee Brewers a 4-3 lead over the St. Louis Cardinals.
The 27-year-old Yelich won the NL MVP award last year, helping Milwaukee win the NL Central for the first time since 2011. He hit .326 with 36 homers and 110 RBIs.
Mike Moustakas also went deep for the Brewers in the second.
St. Louis scored the first three runs of the game on consecutive first-pitch homers by Kolten Wong and Harrison Bader in the second. Wong connected after Dexter Fowler reached on a two-out walk, and Bader hit a drive deep to left.
- Jay Cohen reporting from Milwaukee.
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3 p.m.
Rocco Baldelli will make his major league debut as a manager for Minnesota, with one of his former bosses across from him in the opposing dugout.
The Twins are opening the season at home against Cleveland, the winner of three straight AL Central division titles. Baldelli played for Terry Francona, starting his seventh year as skipper of the Indians, with the Boston Red Sox in 2009.
Twins chief baseball officer Derek Falvey, who hired Baldelli in Minnesota, worked in the front office in Cleveland for nine seasons. Francona raved about both Falvey and Baldelli before the game: “Those people have some fans over here.”
Two-time AL Cy Young Award winner Corey Kluber is taking the mound for the fifth straight opener for the Indians. The Twins are giving All-Star Jose Berrios his first such nod.
- Dave Campbell reporting from Minneapolis
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2:47 p.m.
Astros shortstop Carlos Correa is not in the lineup for Houston against the Tampa Bay Rays because of neck stiffness.
Correa said before the game that the injury is “nothing major” and that he hopes to be ready to play sometime before the end of the four-game, season-opening series that runs through Sunday at Tropicana Field.
Correa hit .239 with 15 homers and 65 RBIs in 110 games last season.
Aledmys Diaz is replacing him at shortstop and batting eighth in the opener.
- Fred Goodall reporting from St. Petersburg
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1:20 p.m.
Welcome to the Mets, Robinson Cano.
Making quite an introduction to his new team, Cano homered in his debut at-bat, taking Washington Nationals starter Max Scherzer deep to center field on a 1-1 changeup in the first inning.
The two-out shot made it 1-0 for the visiting Mets.
Scherzer, a three-time Cy Young Award winner, struck out the other three batters he faced in the opening inning of 2019 - including Pete Alonso, the first baseman making his major league debut.
Cano joined the Mets in a blockbuster trade with the Seattle Mariners that also brought closer Edwin Diaz to New York.
- Howard Fendrich reporting in Washington.
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1:15 p.m.
On a day when baseball teams look with hope toward the future, the Yankees and Orioles are putting some focus on the past.
The Yankees announced Thursday that they will wear a black armband on the left sleeve of their jerseys this season to honor former pitching coach and right-hander Mel Stottlemyre, who died in January at the age of 77.
The Orioles, meanwhile, are wearing commemorative patches with Frank Robinson’s No. 20 this season. The Hall of Famer died in February at 83 years old.
- Jake Seiner, reporting from New York.
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12:35 p.m.
Milwaukee Brewers reliever Corey Knebel says he will decide on the next course of action for his ailing right arm on Friday.
Knebel is sidelined with a partial tear of the ulnar collateral ligament in his elbow. He could have season-ending Tommy John surgery or try to rehab the injury.
Knebel says he is going to see team physician Dr. William Raasch on Thursday and “go from there.”
Losing Knebel for the year could be a big blow for Milwaukee, which leaned on its bullpen in its run to the NL Championship Series last October.
Knebel had 16 saves and a 3.58 ERA last season, plus a sparkling 0.90 ERA in nine playoff appearances. He was an All-Star in 2017 with 39 saves and a 1.78 ERA in 76 innings.
- Jay Cohen reporting from Milwaukee.
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12:30 p.m.
Post-Bryce life officially begins for the Washington Nationals.
He’s no longer in the outfield. He’s no longer in the heart of the lineup. He’s no longer in the clubhouse.
Until this opening day, Bryce Harper was a key component for the Nationals for seven years, making six All-Star teams, winning 2012 NL Rookie of the Year and 2015 NL MVP honors.
Now he’s with the Philadelphia Phillies, leaving as a free agent for a $330 million contract.
So on Thursday, it was 21-year-old rookie Victor Robles starting in center field against the New York Mets, not Harper. And 20-year-old Juan Soto, last year’s runner-up for NL Rookie of the Year, batting cleanup. And veteran utilityman Howie Kendrick’s No. 47 uniform hanging at the locker that had been home to Harper’s familiar No. 34.
Kendrick, as it happens, was not at Nationals Park, either, though. He’s starting the season on the injured list.
- Howard Fendrich reporting from Washington.
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12:25 p.m.
Bryce Harper will bat third and play right field when he makes his Philadelphia Phillies debut.
Harper signed a $330 million, 13-year contract with the Phillies and the 2015 NL MVP has stirred anticipation in town for opening day not felt in years. The ballpark parking lots started to fill up hours before first pitch and plenty of fans were in Harper gear. Harper has the sport’s top-selling jersey, ending a two-year reign for Aaron Judge’s No. 99.
Harper isn’t the only star in the Phillies opening day lineup against the NL East champion Atlanta Braves. The Phillies have nine All-Stars, two MVPs, one Cy Young Award winner and one Rookie of the Year award winner on the roster. The average age of the 25-man roster is 28.5.
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