Rays’ six-run eighth KO’s Sox
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Denard Span made a huge splash in his debut for his hometown team on Opening Day, lining a bases-loaded triple to highlight a six-run rally in the eighth inning that sent Tampa Bay over Boston, 6-4, on Thursday.
The revamped Rays, playing with a starting lineup featuring just one position player from Opening Day a year ago, had been shut out on one hit through the sixth by Chris Sale. Tampa Bay took advantage of four walks in the eighth to come back. Span’s triple was only Tampa Bay’s third hit of the day and gave the Rays a 5-4 lead.
Adeiny Hechavarria followed with an infield single off Carson Smith (0-1), providing a two-run cushion for closer Alex Colome to earn a save.
The Red Sox wasted a superb start from Sale, who showed no ill effects from being hit by a line drive in the hip in his final spring training start. The 2017 big league strikeout leader fanned nine and walked three. Matt Barnes pitched the seventh for Boston, which let the game slip away after Joe Kelly entered in the eighth.
l World Series MVP George Springer hit a leadoff homer in the season opener for the second year in a row, Justin Verlander pitched six scoreless innings and Houston started its championship defense with a 4-1 win over host Texas.
l Adam Jones homered on Fernando Rodney’s first pitch starting the bottom of the 11th inning, and Baltimore beat Minnesota at home, 3-2 , for its eighth consecutive Opening Day victory. With two outs, Twins pinch-hitter Robbie Grossman blooped a two-run single to tie it. AP
l Marcus Semien singled into an empty center field with one out in the 11th inning, beating a five-man infield as host Oakland beat the Los Angeles Angels, 6-5, in 11 innings. Shohei Ohtani connected on the first pitch he saw for a single in a much-hyped major league debut for the Japanese two-way star.
l Matt Davidson homered three times on Opening Day, the White Sox went deep six times total and visiting Chicago routed Kansas City, 14-7, to spoil the Royals’ 50th anniversary celebration.
l Ian Happ homered on the first pitch of the major league season, and Anthony Rizzo made his emotional homecoming even more memorable with a home run, leading the visiting Chicago
Cubs past Miami, 8-4. Rizzo homered into the upper deck in the second inning — an unscripted tribute to the victims of last month’s shooting at his former high school in Parkland, Florida. As he crossed home plate, Rizzo patted his chest and pointed to the sky. Both teams wore patches to honor those killed.
l Nick Markakis hit a three-run homer with two out in the ninth, capping the Atlanta’s home comeback from a five-run deficit that rocked Philadelphia, 8-5.
l Joe Panik homered off Clayton Kershaw in the fifth inning and San Francisco beat the Los Angeles Dodgers, 1-0, on the road, dealing the three-time NL Cy Young Award winner his first loss in his franchise-record eighth consecutive Opening Day start.
l Orlando Arcia singled in Ji-Man Choi with two outs in the 12th inning to lift Milwaukee to a 2-1 road win over San Diego.
l Shohei Ohtani got off to a perfect start at the plate. The two-way newcomer from Japan quickly put aside a rugged spring training, hitting a single in his first real at-bat for the Los Angeles Angels before finishing 1 for 5 with three groundouts and a strikeout in a 6-5, 11-inning loss to host Oakland.