Dodgers coast past Cardinals in home opener
Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman hit home runs, while Shohei Ohtani and Tyler Glasnow delivered key contributions in their first home game for their new team as the Los Angeles Dodgers earned a 7-1 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals on Thursday afternoon.
After receiving a standing ovation from the Dodger Stadium crowd of 52,667 before his first at-bat, Ohtani reached base in his first three trips to the plate with a pair of hits and a walk. Ohtani signed a 10-year, $700-million heavily-deferred contract in the offseason.
Glasnow, who was acquired in a trade to lead a rebuilt rotation, gave up one run on two hits over six innings with five strikeouts in his second outing for his hometown team. Glasnow (1-0) pitched a solid five innings in the team’s season-opening victory last week against the San Diego Padres at Seoul, South Korea.
Paul Goldschmidt hit a home run for the Cardinals as he continued his career-long success against the Dodgers, but St. Louis’ injury woes were too difficult to overcome. Goldschmidt had all three of the Cardinals’ hits.
With new staff ace Sonny Gray injured, Miles Mikolas (0-1) started the Cardinals’ season opener and gave up five runs on seven hits with two walks in 4 1/3 innings.
The Cardinals also were without outfielders Tommy Edman (wrist), Lars Nootbaar (ribs) and Dylan Carlson (shoulder).
The Dodgers’ offense got off to a fast start when Betts led off the bottom of the first inning with a walk, went to third on an Ohtani double and scored on a Freeman single. Freeman scored on a Max Muncy sacrifice fly for the early 2-0 lead.
Betts led off the third inning with a home run well over the left-field wall and Freeman followed an Ohtani walk with a home run to rightcenter for a 5-0 lead.
Goldschmidt cut the Cardinals’ deficit to 5-1 when he went deep in the fourth inning against Glasnow, for his 34th career home run against the Dodgers and his 19th at Dodger Stadium.
The Dodgers received an RBI single from James Outman in the sixth inning to score Teoscar Hernandez, who was also making his home debut for Los Angeles. Muncy drove in his second run on a single in the seventh.
Left-hander Ryan Yarbrough pitched the final three innings for the Dodgers to earn the save.
Nick Martini belts 2 HRs as Reds top Nationals
Nick Martini homered twice and drove in five while starter Frankie Montas threw six shutout innings to lead the Cincinnati Reds to an 8-2 win over the visiting Washington Nationals in the traditional season opener in Cincinnati.
Spencer Steer doubled, singled and scored twice for the Reds, who won their season opener for the first time since 2020, and their first in front of a crowd since 2019 against the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Eddie Rosario broke up the shutout bid in the seventh with a two-run homer to right off reliever Emilio Pagan.
Martini, making his first Opening Day start at the age of 33, drilled a slider from Nationals starter Josiah Gray 405 feet to the seats in right to cap Cincinnati’s three-run second inning.
The Martini homer marked the sixth straight season Cincinnati homered in the season opener, matching a run from 1986-1991 for the second-longest such streak in franchise history. The Reds clubbed homers in 10 straight openers from 1963-72.
Martini, the designated hitter, added to his memorable day in next inning when he reached the third row of seats in right-center with Spencer Steer and Elly De La Cruz aboard to expand Cincinnati’s lead to 7-0.
It marked the second two-homer game of his career and the first two-homer game by a Cincinnati player on Opening Day since Adam Dunn in 2007 against the Chicago Cubs.
Montas (1-0) also had a day to remember in his first Cincinnati opener. He allowed just four hits over six shutout innings, striking out four and walking none.
Gray (0-1) tossed a scoreless first inning, striking out the final two batters of the frame before getting tagged for seven runs over the next two innings.
In his first Opening Day start, Gray, a former Reds pitching prospect, was charged with seven runs on eight hits, striking out six and walking two in four innings.
Facing his former team, Jesse Winker singled off Montas in the first inning. But the Nationals left fielder was thrown out by right fielder Jake Fraley at second trying to extend it to a double.
Another former Red, Nick Senzel, was in the original starting lineup at third base but was scratched an hour before first pitch.
Corbin Burnes shines in debut, Orioles smack Angels
Corbin Burnes pitched six innings of one-hit baseball in his Baltimore debut and the Orioles rolled past the visiting Los Angeles Angels 11-3 in their opener Thursday.
Cedric Mullins hit a three-run homer and Anthony Santander added a two-run shot while totaling four RBIs for the defending American League East champions.
Burnes (1-0), acquired in a February trade with the Brewers, struck out 11 batters without a walk. Mike Trout’s first-inning homer was the only hit allowed by the 29-year-old right-hander.
Starter Patrick Sandoval (0-1) allowed five runs – three earned – in 1 2/3 innings for the Angels, who endured a long afternoon as they began the post-Shohei Ohtani era.