PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Jean Segura hit an RBI single with two outs in the 10th inning to lift the Philadelphia Phillies over the Atlanta Braves 3-2 in their season opener Thursday.
After Nate Jones (0-1) intentionally walked Did Gregorius, Segura hit a bouncer down the third-base line to score Bryce Harper, who began the inning as the automatic runner at second base and advanced to third on a grounder.
In the top of the 10th, center fielder Roman Quinn made a perfect throw to the plate to retire Ozzie Albies, who was trying to score on Marcell Ozuna’s fly ball. Catcher J.T. Realmuto caught the ball and slid in front of the plate in one slick motion, successfully blocking Albies’ path.
Phillies ace Aaron Nola was one strike away from tossing seven scoreless innings before pinch-hitter Pablo Sandoval ripped an 0-2 pitch into the second deck in right field to tie it at 2.
The Phillies got 3 1/3 scoreless innings from four relievers, with Connor Brogdon (1-0) working the 10th. They had the worst bullpen in the majors last year, blowing 14 saves with a 7.06 ERA.
ASTROS 8, ATHLETICS 1
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) - Zack Greinke pitched six shutout innings, Michael Brantley and Alex Bregman homered back-to-back in the eighth, and Houston hushed an unwelcoming Oakland crowd in beating the reigning AL West champions.
Athletics fans had to wait an extra year to properly boo the Astros, who were supposed to play their first road game of the coronavirus-shortened 2020 season in Oakland last spring. Houston’s sign-stealing scandal was brought to light by A’s right-hander Mike Fiers against his former club, and many in the crowd chanted “Cheaters!”
Among the biggest cheers of the night: when Carlos Correa was drilled by a fastball from Chris Bassitt (0-1) with a runner in scoring position.
Backed by a two-run double from Yordan Alvarez, Greinke (1-0) allowed three hits, struck out four and didn’t walk a batter in Houston’s club-record ninth straight win on opening day. It marks the majors’ longest active streak, and the Astros joined only four other teams since 1900 to win nine consecutive season openers, according to the Elias Sports Bureau: Mariners (2007-15), Reds (1983-91), Mets (1975-83) and St. Louis Browns (1937-45).
The game drew a sellout of 10,436, with the ballpark at 20% capacity.
Houston lost all but one of eight games in Oakland in 2020 before eliminating the A’s in a four-game Division Series last fall.
BLUE JAYS 3, YANKEES 2, 10 INNINGS
NEW YORK (AP) - Randal Grichuk led off the 10th with an RBI double and Toronto took advantage of the second year of starting extra innings with a runner on second to beat New York.
Jordan Romano (1-0) escaped trouble in the ninth with the help of third baseman Cavan Biggio. After pinch-runner Michael Tauchman stole two bases, he was thrown out at the plate by Biggio trying to score on a grounder by AL batting champion DJ LeMahieu. Romano then struck out Aaron Judge to strand two runners.
Nick Nelson (0-1) relieved to begin the 10th and with pinch-runner Jonathan Davis on second, and Grichuk lined his second pitch over Judge in right. Julian Merryweather struck out Aaron Hicks, Giancarlo Stanton and Gleyber Torres on 11 pitches for the save.
Teoscar Hernández hit a tying homer in the sixth off Gerrit Cole as Toronto improved to 23-22 in openers.
ROCKIES 8, DODGERS 5
DENVER (AP) - On an afternoon Cody Bellinger had a homer negated due to a baserunning mistake, Colorado played plenty of small ball to beat the defending World Series champions, scoring runs courtesy of a squeeze play, two wild pitches, a groundout, an error and three RBI singles.
Bellinger lined what appeared to be a two-run homer to left-center in the third inning. The ball hit off the glove of outfielder Raimel Tapia and bounded over the fence. Justin Turner was on first base at the time and believing the ball was caught, retreated back to the bag. Bellinger passed Turner in the confusion and the umpires ruled Bellinger out.
Colorado started off on the right foot against Clayton Kershaw (0-1) and the perennial NL West-champion Dodgers, who owned a 22-7 record over the Rockies the last two seasons. Kershaw had a rare rocky season opener for Kershaw, allowing 10 hits and six runs, five earned, over 5 2/3 shaky innings.
Reliever Chi Chi Gonzalez picked up the win in allowing three runs over two innings. Daniel Bard pitched a shaky ninth but got Mookie Betts to line out with the bases loaded to pick up the save as 20,570 fans were allowed into Coors Field.
PADRES 8, DIAMONDBACKS 7
SAN DIEGO (AP) - Eric Hosmer had a homer among his three hits and drove in three runs, newcomer Victor Caratini also had three RBIs and San Diego gave up four long balls in the fifth inning to blow a five-run lead before beating Arizona to open one of the most anticipated seasons in franchise history.
Jake Cronenworth hit a leadoff triple in the seventh off Alex Young (0-1) and scored the go-ahead run on Jurickson Profar’s sacrifice fly in front of an announced crowd of 8,773, about 20% of Petco Park’s capacity as allowed under state coronavirus guidelines.
Emilio Pagán (1-0) pitched one inning for the win and newcomer Mark Melancon breezed through a perfect ninth on seven pitches for the save.
Arizona’s Ketel Marte had four hits, including one of Arizona’s four home runs in the wild six-run fifth that got Madison Bumgarner off the hook for what would have been his third straight opening day loss to San Diego.
BREWERS 6, TWINS 5, 10 INNINGS
MILWAUKEE (AP) - Lorenzo Cain scored the winning run in the 10th after Travis Shaw sparked a ninth-inning comeback and Milwaukee beat Minnesota.
Cain opened the bottom of the 10th on second base and moved to third when Omar Narváez singled to right off Randy Dobnak. Orlando Arcia then hit a bouncer to second baseman Jorge Polanco, whose throw to the plate wasn’t in time to get a sliding Cain.
The Brewers forced extra innings after Travis Shaw’s two-out double capped a three-run rally in the ninth off closer Alex Colomé in his Twins debut.
Josh Hader (1-0) struck out Luis Arraez and Jake Cave to end the top of the 10th. The Twins left 13 men on base.
ROYALS 14, RANGERS 10
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) - Michael A. Taylor homered, drove in three runs and threw out two players at the plate from center field, leading Kansas City past Texas in a wild season opener.
Each team scored five times in the first inning of a game that took 4 hours, 26 minutes. The first seven Rangers batters reached safely - on six hits and a walk - but Kansas City roared back with the help of home runs from Jorge Soler and Whit Merrifield.
Taylor, who spent his first seven seasons with Washington, had three hits and three RBIs in a do-it-all debut for the Royals. Kyle Isbel had three hits and two RBIs in his first major league game. Merrifield also got three hits, scored twice and knocked in two. Kansas City set a club record for runs on opening day, surpassing its previous high of 11 in 1979, as both pitching staffs struggled.
Carlos Hernandez earned his first career win, and Wade Davis struck out two batters for a save in his return to the Royals. Kyle Cody took the loss.
PIRATES 5, CUBS 3
CHICAGO (AP) - Ke’Bryan Hayes hit a two-run homer and Pittsburgh’s relievers dominated in a two-hitter on a chilly opening day.
Six Pirates relievers combined for six innings of one-run ball - Duane Underwood Jr., Clay Holmes, Sam Howard (1-0), David Bednar and Chris Stratton each worked an inning before Richard Rodríguez finished for the save.
Anthony Rizzo, Joc Pederson and Willson Contreras each hit a sacrifice fly for Chicago, but that was it for the reigning NL Central champions. Cubs right-hander Kyle Hendricks (0-1) lasted just three innings in his second straight opening-day start. He issued three walks while allowing three runs and four hits after he walked eight in 81 1/3 innings last season.
CARDINALS 11, REDS 6
CINCINNATI (AP) - Paul Goldschmidt and newcomer Nolan Arenado combined for six hits in a boosted St. Louis lineup, roughing up Luis Castillo for six runs in the first inning to beat Cincinnati.
With snow flurries and a game time temperature of 37 degrees, the Cardinals scored all their runs in the first four innings. Dylan Carlson hit a three-run homer and Tyler O’Neill connected for a two-run shot.
St. Louis starter Jack Flaherty couldn’t take advantage of the big lead, giving up six runs in 4 1/3 innings. Reliever Giovanny Gallegos (1-0), the fourth of five Cardinals relievers, got the win.
Castillo (0-1) had a bad day almost from the start. He surrendered 10 runs, eight of them earned, on eight hits over 3 1/3 innings.
RAYS 1, MARLINS 0
MIAMI (AP) - Austin Meadows’ home run with two outs in the eighth inning was all Tampa Bay needed, and the reigning AL champions started their season with a win over Miami.
Meadows - who hit 33 homers for the Rays two years ago, then only four in 36 games last season - connected off Miami reliever Yimi Garcia (0-1) on a drive that cleared the 387-foot sign in right-center with ease.
Ryan Thompson (1-0), the second of four Rays pitchers, worked the seventh for the win. Diego Castillo pitched a perfect ninth for the save.
The starters - Miami’s Sandy Alcantara and Tampa Bay’s Tyler Glasnow - were stellar in dueling six-inning performances.
TIGERS 3, INDIANS 2
DETROIT (AP) - Miguel Cabrera homered through the snow in his first at-bat of the season, then added a sparkling play at first base to lift Detroit over Cleveland.
Matthew Boyd (1-0) beat reigning Cy Young Award winner Shane Bieber, and the Tigers welcomed their fans back to Comerica Park with a victory. The temperature at game time was 32 degrees, and the snow was starting to pick up a bit when Cabrera connected for his 488th career homer.
Bieber (0-1) allowed two runs on Cabrera’s homer in the first inning, then another in the second. He pitched fine after that and ended up with 12 strikeouts in six innings. Roberto Perez hit a two-run homer off Gregory Soto in the ninth, but Soto held on for the save. AJ Hinch won his first game as manager of the Tigers.
ANGELS 4, WHITE SOX 3
ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) - Mike Trout delivered the tying single and Shohei Ohtani scored the go-ahead run on Albert Pujols’ groundout in the eighth inning, leading Los Angeles’ rally to a victory over Chicago.
Max Stassi homered and Justin Upton had an RBI single in the Angels’ first opening day at home since 2016. The Halos’ late surge for two unearned runs spoiled the second debut of White Sox manager Tony La Russa.
Adam Eaton hit a tiebreaking, two-run homer in his first game back with Chicago.
Trout and Pujols came up big before 13,207 loud fans at Angel Stadium, the biggest sports crowd in the Los Angeles metroplex since the start of the pandemic.
Mike Mayers (1-0) pitched the eighth, and Raisel Iglesias needed just eight pitches in the ninth to earn the save in his Angels debut.
Aaron Bummer (0-1) took the loss, and second baseman Nick Madrigal committed a costly throwing error.
MARINERS 8, GIANTS 7, 10 INNINGS
SEATTLE (AP) - Jake Fraley walked with the bases loaded in the 10th inning to score Evan White with the winning run, and Seattle rallied from a five-run deficit to beat San Francisco.
The Mariners scored six times in the eighth to take a 7-6 lead, only to lose it on pinch-hitter Alex Dickerson’s solo homer in the ninth. Evan Longoria, Buster Posey and Austin Slater also went deep for the Giants.
San Francisco’s bullpen struggled all night, capped by three walks from Jose Alvarez (0-1) after White began the inning on second base.
Anthony Misiewicz (1-0) escaped the 10th unscathed after Mitch Haniger made a terrific sliding catch down the right-field line to end the inning with Longoria at third.
Giants starter Kevin Gausman allowed only one run while pitching into the seventh. First baseman Brandon Belt made a costly throwing error in the eighth.
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