NEW YORK YANKEES (3-4) 8
TAMPA BAY RAYS (5-3) 1
NEW YORK– Michael Pineda took a perfect game into the seventh inning as he led the Yankees to a win in their home opener. After struggling in his first start against the Rays last week, Pineda allowed only two hits and struck out eleven in 7 2/3 innings. Aaron Judge provided the offense early for New York while Chase Headley and Starlin Castro each had home runs late in the game to seal the victory. Tampa Bay picked up their sole run off a Logan Morrison home run. On the mound, Alex Cobb allowed five runs, four of them earned, along with six hits in 7 1/3 innings.
DETROIT TIGERS (4-2) 2
BOSTON RED SOX (3-3) 1
DETROIT– Justin Verlander and Chris Sale were locked into a pitcher’s duel for a majority of the game before the Tigers pulled away with the victory. With two outs in the eighth inning, Nicholas Castellanos hit a go-ahead single off Boston’s ace. Sale pitched 7 2/3 innings, allowing two earned runs and five hits while striking out ten. As for Verlander, he gave up an unearned run and just three hits over seven innings before handing it over to the bullpen. Francisco Rodriguez earned his second save as he struck out two in the ninth.
OAKLAND ATHLETICS (4-4) 2
KANSAS CITY ROYALS (2-5) 0
KANSAS CITY– Jharel Cotton pitched seven shutout innings allowing only two singles and three walks as the Athletics spoiled the Royals’ home opener. After honoring the late Yordano Ventura with a pregame tribute and his mother throwing out the first pitch, Kansas City struggled to find any offense. Ian Kennedy kept the Royals in the game allowing only two hits over six innings but his one mistake to Khris Davis proved to be costly. After Ryon Healy singled to start off the fourth inning, Davis brought him home on a two run round tripper. With the win, Oakland has now won seven straight over Kansas City.
SEATTLE MARINERS (2-6) 6
HOUSTON ASTROS (4-4) 0
SEATTLE– James Paxton silenced the Astros’ potent offense to get the Mariners back into the win column. In seven innings, he allowed only four hits while striking out eight. Having struggled with runners in scoring position in their first seven games, Nelson Cruz helped turn that around as he had a two-run single. However, not all went right for Seattle as Jean Segura went down with a right hamstring strain. The severity of his injury is expected to be announced tomorrow although it is expected to be mild. Charlie Morton gave the Astros five innings, surrendering three runs on seven hits.
CINCINNATI REDS (5-2) 7
PITTSBURGH PIRATES (3-3) 1
PITTSBURGH– Billy Hamilton had three hits, scored two runs, and stole a pair of bases as the Reds won the first game of a three-game series. Starter Brandon Finnegan struggled to find his command early resulting in him lasting only two innings while walking five batters. However, Cincinnati’s bullpen was dominant as they retired the final 21 batters of the game. Pittsburgh had their chances but could not maximize on them as they went 0-for-9 with runners in scoring position. Struggling for the Pirates was also Tyler Glasnow who made his season debut. Unable to make it out of the second inning, he gave up five earned runs on four hits.
WASHINGTON NATIONALS (4-3) 14
ST. LOUIS CARDINALS (2-5) 6
WASHINGTON– Bryce Harper reached base in all six plate appearances and had his first four-hit game since April 17, 2013 to lead the Nationals to a victory. Although they were sloppy on defense as they had four errors, Washington’s offense made up for it with 19 hits. Adam Eaton, Ryan Zimmerman and Stephen Drew each had three hits and combined for seven runs batted in. On the mound, Tanner Roark went five innings and gave up five runs, three earned, on seven hits. In his return to the Cardinals lineup after missing two games with knee soreness, Stephen Piscotty drove in two runs. Adam Wainwright struggled in his second start giving up six runs on eleven hits in four innings.
NEW YORK METS (4-3) 4
PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES (3-4) 3
PHILADELPHIA– Jay Bruce hit two home runs including one in the eighth inning to give the Mets the lead and eventually the win. That four bagger would not be the most interesting thing to occur in the inning though. Just two batters before, Phillies reliever Edubray Ramos threw a fastball over Asdrubal Cabrera‘s head in what many believe to be retaliation for Cabrera’s bat flip last September. As a result, both teams went to the top step of their respective dugouts and Phillies manager Pete Mackanin was ejected. Providing some of the offense for Philadelphia was Brock Stassi who drove a pitch over the wall in right center field in the ninth inning for his first major league hit.
SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS (3-5) 4
ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS (6-2) 1
SAN FRANCISCO– A scary moment occurred in the first inning when Giants catcher, Buster Posey, was hit in the helmet by a 94 mile per hour fastball. He was taken out of the game and is likely to sit out of Tuesday’s game as a precaution. In the fourth inning of this contest, the Giants offense came alive as they loaded the bases and had two runs score as a result of multiple errors. That would be enough for starter Matt Moore as he held the Diamondbacks to one earned run on three hits in eight innings. Opposing him, Taijuan Walker did not have as much success as he only went five innings and allowed three runs with two of them being earned. Driving in the sole run for Arizona was Yasmany Tomas who hit his first home run of the season.
SAN DIEGO PADRES (4-4) 5
COLORADO ROCKIES (5-3) 3
DENVER– Wil Myers hit for the first cycle of his career as the Padres defeated the Rockies. After getting a triple when he came up to bat in the eighth, Myers became only the second in franchise history to achieve the cycle. Hunter Renfroe also hit a home run for San Diego. On the mound, Jarred Cosart went four innings without allowing a run. DJ LeMahieu and Mark Reynolds each hit a four bagger for the Rockies. Tyler Chatwood struggled and gave up four runs and seven hits in 5 1/3 innings.
CHICAGO CUBS (5-2) 3
LOS ANGELES DODGERS (4-4) 2
CHICAGO– Anthony Rizzo drove in his first RBI of the season in the bottom of the ninth to give the Cubs a walk off win. In the third inning, Kris Bryant hit a RBI double to give Chicago their first lead. Starting pitcher Jon Lester pitched six innings allowing one run on four hits to go with seven strikeouts. Opposing him was Alex Wood who struggled with his command. In just 3 2/3 innings, he allowed five walks and two runs. The Dodgers tied the game in the eighth on a throwing error by Addison Russell. That set the stage for the Cubs to become the first defending world champion since 2011 to hit a walk off in their home opener.
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