Home sweet homer in Dodgers’ opener
LOS ANGELES – Shaking the sleep out of their old ballpark, awakening their urgency to end a title drought, the Los Angeles Dodgers majestically opened the 2017 baseball season Monday afternoon with a perfect two-part greeting in a 14-3 victory. Hello. Goodbye! Shortly before the start, the first video was narrated by the recently retired Vin Scully, missing his first season after 67 years but still taking the time to offer a homage.
An hour into the opener against the San Diego Padres at Dodger Stadium, Joc Pederson hammered the ball into the right-field corner seats for a grand slam, starting a roar.
Two minutes later, Yasmani Grandal cranked up the volume by lofting a ball over the same fence just beyond the same spot.
Two innings later, Corey Seager turned Chavez Ravine into a dance party with a three-run homer into the left-field pavilion.
Three innings after that, Grandal sent those fans bouncing to the exits in exhausted joy by driving a ball into the empty leftfield Dodgers bullpen.
The four home runs, a first in Dodgers’ history in an opener, quite possibly foreshadowed an unforgettable summer – struck on a day as cool as October but sunny with hope.
“With our guys, every night something special could happen,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said, shaking his head and smiling after a 14-3 victory.
Their opening-day bats were so special – every starter hit safely, Grandal homered from each side of the plate, Pederson had five runs batted in – it was easy to forget the Dodgers also benefited from the planet’s best arm.
Yes, Clayton Kershaw pitched, and brilliantly, allowing just two hits in seven innings with eight strikeouts in remaining unbeaten in his seventh consecutive opening-day start.
“This is a lot of fun,” said Kershaw, sharing his manager’s smile. “A lot of fun to win, a lot of fun to get the edge off, to play in front of this crowd again. We have a great team, we have a good chance to win this thing.”
(Los Angeles Times/TNS)
Mets 6, Braves 0
Noah Syndergaard pitched six sharp innings before exiting with a blister on his right middle finger and New York scored six runs in the seventh inning of a win over Atlanta.
Syndergaard uncorked 92 mph sinkers, 94 mph sliders and 98 mph fastballs while allowing five outs. He struck out seven without issuing a walk and his next start was pushed back a day to Sunday against Miami.
Nationals 4, Marlins 2
Adam Lind hit a two-run pinch hit home run with two outs in the seventh inning and Washington edged Miami.
Bryce Harper also homered while Daniel Murphy added an RBI single. Stephen Strasburg allowed two runs and six hits in seven inning.
Miami’s Edinson Volquez allowed four hits in five scoreless innings. Giancarlo Stanton and Marcell Ozuna had run-scoring hits for the Marlins.
Phillies 4, Reds 3
Freddy Galvis and Cesar Hernandez homered as Philadelphia edged Cincinnati.
Howie Kendrick went 3-for-5 with a double as Philadelphia totaled seven extrabase hits. Right-hander Jeremy Hellickson allowed one run and six hits in five innings.
Rockies 7, Brewers 5
Mark Reynolds hit a two-run home run and doubled as Colorado beat Milwaukee.
Reynolds reached four times and drove in three runs for the Rockies, who erased a one-run deficit with two late errors by the Brewers and got four scoreless innings from their bullpen.
Twins 7, Royals 1
Ervin Santana pitched seven effective innings and Miguel Sano hit a solo homer as Minnesota scored six times in the seventh inning to beat Kansas City.
Santana (1-0) allowed just two hits and Jason Castro drove in two runs for Minnesota.
Red Sox 5, Pirates 3
Rick Porcello struck out five in 61/3 sharp innings and Andrew Benintendi clubbed a three-run home run as Boston beat Pittsburgh.
Dustin Pedroia and Pablo Sandoval each had an RBIs, and Craig Kimbrel pitched a scoreless ninth for Boston.
Orioles 3, Blue Jays 2 (11)
Mark Trumbo hit a solo homer off Jason Grilli with two outs in the bottom of the 11th inning to lift Baltimore over Toronto.
Trumbo crushed a 1-2 pitch into the leftfield seats off Grilli (0-1), the sixth walk-off homer of the designated hitter’s career.
Last year, Trumbo led the major leagues with 47 homers and Baltimore re-signed him to a new contract during the winter.
Astros 3, Mariners 0
Dallas Keuchel worked seven shutout innings, and George Springer and Carlos Correa backed him with solo home runs as Houston claimed a shutout victory over Seattle in the season opener.
Keuchel (1-0) delivered a performance reminiscent of his Cy Young Award campaign in 2015, allowing two hits and two walks while recording four strikeouts.
Indians 8, Rangers 5
Reigning AL champion Cleveland rallied from a 5-1 deficit to top Texas.
The Indians overcame a two-homer night from Texas second baseman Rougned Odor by keeping the Rangers off the board after they built a 5-1 lead after three innings.
Athletics 4, Angels 2
Khris Davis hit two home runs and Kendall Graveman threw six strong innings to lead Oakland to a season-opening victory over Los Angeles.
Stephen Vogt also homered for the A’s, who won on Opening Day for just the second time in the past 13 seasons. Graveman (1-0), making his first career Opening Day start, allowed two runs on six hits.