Yankees beat Sox in thrilling opener
NEW YORK » Josh Donaldson capped his Yankees debut with an RBI single in the 11th inning, lifting New York over the Boston Red Sox 6-5 Friday for its first walk-off win on opening day since Yogi Berra scored in 1957.
Trailing 3-0 before ace Gerrit Cole got a single out, the Yankees rallied against their longtime rival.
Xander Bogaerts put the Red Sox ahead 5-4 in the 10th with an RBI single against winner Michael King (1-0) — Bogaerts’ third hit of the game. Pinch-hitter Gleyber Torres tied it in the bottom half with a sacrifice fly off Ryan Brasier.
Donaldson, acquired from Minnesota last month, grounded a single up the middle against rookie Kutter Crawford (01) leading off the 11th. Isiah Kiner-Falefa, who started the inning as the automatic runner at second base, scored in his Yankees debut.
It was the Yankees’ sixth overall walk-off win on opening day. The last time came when the defending World Series champions began the 1957 season by beating the Washington Senators 2-1 as Berra scored on a single by Andy Carey.
BLUE JAYS 10, RANGERS 8 » Lourdes Gurriel Jr. doubled in the go-ahead run in the seventh inning and the Toronto erased a seven-run deficit and completed the biggest opening day comeback in seven decades to beat Texas.
A capacity crowd of 45,022 packed in to see Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and the upstart Jays for the first time since before the pandemic. They erupted when a video review ruled Teoscar Hernández beat catcher Mitch Garver’s tag at the plate on Gurriel’s double, putting Toronto ahead 9-8 after trailing 7-0.
BRAVES 7, REDS 6 » Charlie Morton allowed only two hits while pitching into the sixth inning in his return from a broken leg, Travis d’Arnaud drove in three runs and Atlanta held off Cincinnati.
Morton (1-0) was in top form after suffering a broken right leg when struck by a comebacker in Game 1 of the Braves’ World Series win over Houston.
TIGERS 5, WHITE SOX 4 » Javier Báez wound up with a winning RBI single on a game-ending replay reversal in his Detroit debut.
With two out and a runner on third in the ninth inning, Báez hit a drive to right off Liam Hendriks that sent AJ Pollock back to the wall. Pollock appeared to make a juggling catch, but the ball struck the wall before going off the outfielder’s glove.
METS 7, NATIONALS 3 » A benches-clearing interruption after Mets star Francisco Lindor was hit by a pitch overshadowed Max Scherzer’s return to Nationals Park even as the three-time Cy Young Award winner pitched New York past Washington.
On an evening that began with a 14-minute delay because the stadium lights weren’t working and sputtered to an end with a 38-minute rain delay in the top of the ninth, Scherzer (1-0) allowed three runs and three hits in six innings in his debut for the Mets.
RAYS 2, ORIOLES 1 » Budding star Wander Franco had three hits, Francisco Mejía snapped an eighthinning tie with a pinch-hit sacrifice fly and AL East champion Tampa Bay beat Baltimore.
Franco started the winning rally with a single to right off reliever Dillon Tate (0-1). It was the 21-year-old’s first game since signing a $182 million, 11-year contract in the offseason. He batted .288 with seven homers and 39 RBIs in 70 games as a rookie.
DODGERS 5, ROCKIES 3 » Freddie Freeman reached base three times and scored a run in his Los Angeles debut, helping Walker Buehler (1-0) and the Dodgers beat Colorado.
Freeman struck out in his first at-bat. He was then hit by a pitch, walked and lined a sharp single before taking a called third strike in the eighth.
Colorado’s big offseason acquisition, Kris Bryant, had a double and a walk but struck out against Craig Kimbrel with a runner on to end the game. Kimbrel got his first save in Dodger Blue.
MARINERS 2, TWINS 1 » Reigning AL Cy Young Award winner Robbie Ray tossed seven impressive innings in his Seattle debut, Mitch Haniger homered and the Mariners opened with a win over Minnesota.
Ray (1-0) surrendered just three hits, walked four and struck out five. He made the opening day start after leaving Toronto and signing a five-year, $115 million contract with Seattle.