LOS ANGELES (AP) — Joc Pederson and Enrique Hernandez each hit two of the Los Angeles Dodgers’ eight home runs Thursday in a 12-5 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks.
The Dodgers set a major league record for homers on opening day and tied the franchise mark for any game.
Hernandez, Austin Barnes and Corey Seager all homered in the fourth inning to chase Arizona ace Zack Greinke (0-1). Max Muncy, Cody Bellinger and Hernandez connected in the seventh for the power-packed Dodgers, whose pursuit of a third straight National League got off to a thrilling start.
BREWERS 5,
CARDINALS 4
MILWAUKEE (AP) — Center fielder Lorenzo Cain soared above the wall to rob Jose Martinez of a tying home run for the final out, lifting Christian Yelich and the Milwaukee Brewers over St. Louis.
With at least one Cardinals player in the bullpen already raising his arms to celebrate, Cain pulled back the pinch-hit drive by Martinez in right-center. A fired-up Cain flung the ball high into the air as the Brewers poured onto the field to celebrate.
Yelich got right back to work after winning the NL MVP award last season, putting Milwaukee ahead to stay with a three-run homer off Miles Mikolas (0-1) in the third.
METS 2, NATIONALS 0
WASHINGTON (AP) — Robinson Cano homered in his first at-bat for the Mets and added a late RBI single, Jacob deGrom outpitched Max Scherzer as each struck out at least 10 in a sterling matchup between the winners of the past three NL Cy Young Awards, and New York edged the Bryce Harper-less Washington Nationals.
PHILLIES 10, BRAVES 4
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Bryce Harper struck out twice in green Phanatic cleats in his $330 million debut and bowed to thousands of fans in No. 3 jerseys who gave him rousing standing ovations during Philadelphia’s win over Atlanta.
Harper had the city electric in anticipation for his first game in Philly since he signed a $330 million, 13-year deal that was briefly the richest in baseball.
MARINERS 12,
RED SOX 4
SEATTLE (AP) — Tim Beckham hit two of Seattle’s three home runs off Boston ace Chris Sale, and the Mariners improved to 3-0 with a victory over the defending World Series champions.
The Mariners followed up their two wins against Oakland last week in Japan by rattling Sale (0-1) and knocking out the lefty that had dominated Seattle in the past. Sale was done after just three innings, while the Mariners were just getting started on their big offensive day.
YANKEES 7, ORIOLES 2
NEW YORK (AP) — Luke Voit hit a first-inning homer, Masahiro Tanaka finally got an opening day victory in his fourth try and New York started the season with a win over Baltimore.
Voit launched a three-run drive off Andrew Cashner (0-1), and Greg Bird added a solo homer in the eighth, the first big flies for the Yankees a year after hitting a record 267 en route to 100 wins. Of course, that wasn’t enough to catch the rival Boston Red Sox, who won 108 games and a World Series championship.
TIGERS 2,
BLUE JAYS 0, 10 INNINGS
TORONTO (AP) — Jordan Zimmermann took a perfect game into the seventh inning, Christian Stewart hit a two-run homer in the 10th and Detroit beat Toronto.
Zimmermann, who pitched a no-hitter for Washington on the final day of the 2014 season, came close to bookending it — Hall of Famer Bob Feller threw the only no-hitter on opening day, for Cleveland in 1940.
ASTROS 5, RAYS 1
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Justin Verlander outpitched Blake Snell in a rare opening day matchup between a reigning Cy Young Award winner and runner-up, helping Houston begin the season with a victory over Tampa Bay.
George Springer homered on opening day for the third straight year. Michael Brantley and Jose Altuve also went deep for the Astros against Snell (0-1), the AL Cy Young recipient who won 21 games and led the American League in ERA in 2018.
CUBS 12, RANGERS 4
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Javier Baez homered twice, Jon Lester won for the first time in his last five opening day starts and Chicago spoiled the debut of new Texas manager Chris Woodward.
Kris Bryant added a two-run shot for the Cubs, opening their fifth season under manager Joe Maddon after four playoff appearances in a row that included the 2016 World Series title.
TWINS 2, INDIANS 0
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Minnesota newcomer Marwin Gonzalez hit a two-run double in the seventh inning, Jose Berrios outpitched Corey Kluber and the Twins gave manager Rocco Baldelli a victory in his debut against Cleveland.
Berrios (1-0) set a Twins opening day record with 10 strikeouts. He allowed just two hits and a walk in 7 2/3 innings.
Taylor Rogers got four outs for the save, stretching his scoreless streak to 27 innings.
ROCKIES 6,
MARLINS 3
MIAMI (AP) — Kyle Freeland allowed two hits and one run over seven innings in his first opening day start as Colorado beat the sloppy Miami Marlins.
Freeland (1-0), who had a breakout 17-win season in 2018, retired his first 11 batters before Starlin Castro lined a single. The only other hit the left-hander gave up was a pinch-hit home run by J.T Riddle leading off the sixth inning.
Neil Walker also had a pinch-hit homer in his first at-bat for Miami. Marlins teammate Jorge Alfaro homered with two out in the ninth.
REDS 5, PIRATES 3
CINCINNATI (AP) — Pinch-hitter Derek Dietrich connected for a three-run homer in the seventh inning and the new-look Cincinnati Reds rallied past Pittsburgh.
Playing their first game under manager David Bell, the Reds got starring performances from two players signed for backup roles last month. They also ended the game with a relief pitcher playing center field, a sign of Bell’s openness to new ideas.
ROYALS 5,
WHITE SOX 3
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Brad Keller pitched two-hit ball over seven shutout innings, Adalberto Mondesi tripled twice and Kansas Royals held off Chicago after the start of their season opener was delayed nearly two hours by rain.
Eloy Jimenez went 0 for 3 with an RBI in his major league debut for the White Sox after signing a $43 million, six-year contract — a record high for a player under club control yet to appear in a big league game. The 22-year-old outfielder was nicked on the left toe by a pitch with the bases loaded in a three-run ninth.
