Arenado’s homer powers Cardinals
ST. LOUIS — Nolan Arenado hit a tie-breaking, two-run homer in the eighth inning of his home debut with the Cardinals, lifting St. Louis over the Milwaukee Brewers 3-1 Thursday as fans returned to Busch Stadium for the first time since 2019.
Arenado, a five-time All-Star acquired from Colorado on Feb. 1 after eight seasons with the Rockies, followed a walk to Austin Dean with the score 1-1. Arenado turned on a first pitch 96.6 mph offering from Drew Rasmussen (0-1) and sent the ball 373 feet to left for his second homer this season.
Arenado pointed to the St. Louis dugout just before rounding first and screamed as he helped the Cardinals to their fourth straight win, setting off cheers from a crowd limited by coronavirus protocols to 13,328.
Adam Wainwright started his sixth home opener, tying the franchise record set by the late Bob Gibson.
METS 3, MARLINS 2: Jeff McNeil launched a tying homer in the bottom of the ninth inning on his 29th birthday and host New York scored the winning run on a disputed hit by pitch for a victory over Miami in front of the first crowd at Citi Field in 557 days. With the bases loaded and one out, a scuffling Michael Conforto appeared to stick out his right elbow pad just enough to get it grazed by a 1-2 breaking ball from closer Anthony Bass. Plate umpire Ron Kulpa ruled Conforto was hit by the pitch, and he headed toward first base as Luis Guillorme scored.
CUBS 4, PIRATES 2: Javy Baez hit a go-ahead two-run home run in the sixth inning, Kris Bryant and Anthony Rizzo also homered as the Cubs pounded out a seasonhigh 11 hits in a win at home.
WHITE SOX 6, ROYALS 0: Lance Lynn pitched a fivehitter for the first complete game and shutout in the major leagues this season, and host Chicago beat Kansas City. Yermin Mercedes kept up his scorching start with a 485-foot homer and the White Sox gave manager Tony La Russa the win in his first home game on the South Side in 35 years. Lynn (1-0) struck out 11 and walked none in his second shutout in 238 career starts, his first since a five-hitter against the New York Yankees on May 27, 2014.
RED SOX 7, ORIOLES 3: Eduardo Rodriguez won in his return from heart inflammation that caused him to miss the 2020 season, allowing three runs over five innings to lead Boston over Baltimore in the Orioles’ home opener. Rafael Devers and Kike Hernandez homered for the Red Sox, who have won four consecutive games for the first time since Aug. 14-18, 2019.
ROCKIES 7, DIAMONDBACKS 3: Jon Gray took a no-hit bid into the seventh inning and got his first win of the season, pitching Colorado over Arizona at Denver. Gray (1-0) allowed three runners through six innings. Daniel Bard got the final two outs for his second save.
ANGELS 7, BLUE JAYS 5 (11): David Fletcher’s two-run single in the 11th inning broke a tie game as Los Angeles went on to defeat Toronto at Dunedin, Fla. Fletcher finished with three rbis and Mike Trout contributed a home run for the Angels. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Cavan Biggio homered for Toronto.
TWINS 10, MARINERS 2: Mitch Garver, Byron Buxton and Luis Arraez hit home runs to back another strong start by Jose Berrios, providing Minnesota fans plenty to cheer for in their return to Target Field.