Grichuk leads Cards by Cubs
Randal Grichuk hit a two-run homer in the eighth inning and a game-ending RBI single in the ninth, helping the Cardinals top the Chicago Cubs 4-3 in St. Louis in a prime-time opener Sunday.
Jose Martinez sparked the winning rally with a pinch-hit double against Mike Montgomery, who closed out Chicago’s World Series championship in November. Yadier Molina then was awarded the first nopitch intentional walk in major-league history, part of baseball’s offseason rule changes designed to speed up the game.
With two outs and the bases loaded, Grichuk lined a 1-2 pitch into the gap in left-center. He was mobbed as he rounded first in the rain, and what was left of a sellout crowd of 47,566 cheered wildly.
The Cardinals appeared set for a tidy 3-0 win before the Cubs rallied in the ninth. Ben Zobrist was hit by a pitch from Seung-hwan Oh and Jason Heyward hit an infield single before Willson Contreras hit a drive to left for a tying homer.
Before the dramatic finish, the night belonged to St. Louis right-hander Carlos Martinez, who retired 12 in a row and 18 of 19 over one stretch against the defending champions. The righthander struck out 10 and walked none in 71⁄3 innings.
Jon Lester kept the Cubs in the game with five effective innings despite not having his best stuff. Kyle Schwarber reached three times in his first game as Chicago’s leadoff hitter.
Rays 7, Yankees 3: Chris Archer pitched seven solid innings and host Tampa Bay roughed up Masahiro Tanaka, sending New York to its sixth consecutive Opening Day loss.
“We didn’t play perfect, but we played well enough to win,” Archer said. “We scored a lot of runs and made some nice defensive plays. It’s all about winning, and we did that.”
Evan Longoria and Logan Morrison homered and drove in three runs apiece before a sellout crowd of 31,042 at Tropicana Field. Tanaka, who had baseball’s lowest ERA in spring training, was tagged for a careerworst seven earned runs in 22⁄3 innings.
“Obviously, you just have to accept it. I can’t take it back,” Tanaka said through a translator. “So, the main thing is, I really need to move forward from today. Make the necessary adjustments.”