#485---TB @ COL, 4/5/2024

 

Colorado’s home opener was a wonderful display of Coors Field baseball. Both starters pitched decently, Austin Gomber allowing two runs in four innings and Zach Littell just one in five. But the home team touched up Colin Poche for three runs in the fifth, including a two-run Ezequiel Tovar homer, and Kris Bryant poled a two-run homer off Jacob Waguespack in the eighth for some insurance. Staked to a 6-2 lead, Justin Lawrence allowed hits to five of the six batters he faced and the game was tied. 

Former Ray Jalen Beeks came in, and Jose Caballero was credited with a sacrifice for moving Ben Rortvedt to second because obviously it’s always the right play to make the second out at Coors Field to buy 90 feet. But it paid off when Ryan McMahon threw away Jose Siri’s grounder, allowing Rortvedt to score the go-ahead run.

Pete Fairbanks came in to try to close it out and promptly walked the bases loaded against the top of the order. Jason Adam struck out Kris Bryant on three pitches, but McMahon found quick redemption, launching a walk-off grand slam on the first pitch he saw. 10-7 Colorado, as natural as can be.

#484---LAA @ LA, 3/26/2023

This Freeway Series exhibition saw Clayton Kershaw make his final tune-up an impressive one as he needed just 74 pitches to hold the Angels to three hits and no runs over six innings, with seven strikeouts (including three of Mike Trout). Solo homers provided all the scoring, with Max Muncy and Chris Taylor going back-to-back in the second off Tucker Davidson and James Outman adding one in the eighth.

#483---CLE @ LA, 6/17/2022

 

I’m not a huge fan of the Project Scoresheet method. Its linear nature is great if you are going to be using it to input to a database, but makes it hard to follow which players are involved in action on the basepaths. One thing it handles very well, though, is the Manfred runner in extra innings. Since the top line of each scorebox records what happens before the end of the plate appearance, I just jot “A2” for automatic runner on second and proceed as if everything is perfectly normal and that I am not watching some kind of Frankenstein monster being passed off as baseball. 

Both Clayton Kershaw and Zach Plesac allowed a single run over five and six innings respectively, and both bullpens kept the game scoreless into the tenth (although the Dodgers’ relievers allowed just one walk in four innings while Guard’s relievers had to escape jams in the seventh and ninth. The latter was particularly scary as Oscar Gonzalez flat dropped a flyball that should have been the second out, putting runners at first and third before Anthony Gose struck out Gavin Lux and got Trea Turner to foul out). 

In the tenth, the Guards used an Andres Gimenez infield single and Richie Palacios pinch-hit sac fly to push across their free runner, while the Dodgers mustered a walk but never advanced theirs against Anthony Gose and Enyel De Los Santos.

#482---CLE @ CHA, 4/14/2021

 

Zach Plesac failed to escape the first inning, allowing a three-run Yermin Mercedes homer along with three additional tallies. Meanwhile, Carlos Rodon was methodically cutting down the Indians inning after inning. Through his first twenty-five batters faced he had six strikeouts and nothing else on his pitching line. But on a 1-2 count he grazed Roberto Perez with a backfoot slider. He fanned Yu Chang and got Jordan Luplow to ground to third to complete the no-hitter, but he had come oh so close to the majors’ first perfect game in nine seasons.

#481---NYA @ WAS, 7/23/2020

 It was appropriate that the very first game of the shortened 2020 season should itself be shortened, as one of the main architects of the absurd, tyrannical display of authoritarian muscle sat smugly in the stands. The only justice was that his team and the team of the New Babylon was beaten by the real America’s team. This was Gerrit Cole’s first start as a Yankee and aside from a first inning Adam Eaton homer, he was nearly flawless, allowing just a walk over the rest of his five innings. His opposite number Max Scherzer struck out eleven in 5 1/3 but dealt with traffic all night...or at least all hour and forty-three minutes of this rain-shortened affair.

#480---BOS @ SEA, 3/28/2019

Seattle crushed Chris Sale and the defending champion Red Sox on Opening Day. Sale went just three innings, allowing seven runs, including one homer from Edwin Encarnacion and two from Gordon Beckham.  Ryon Healy and Domingo Santana would homer off the Boston bullpen to extend the lead.

Boston put up some hits of their own; they had eleven to Seattle’s twelve, but Boston’s accounted for just fourteen total bases while Seattle’s were worth thirty-two, which was reflected in the 12-4 final score.

 

#479---CLE @ SEA, 3/29/2018

Corey Kluber retired the first two batters he faced, but then Robinson Cano singled and Nelson Cruz homered to put Seattle up 2-0. Felix Hernandez shut out the Indians for 5 1/3 innings, and while a two-out sixth-inning rally against Nick Vincent plated a run, they came no closer. Edwin Diaz had an adventurous ninth, striking out Yonder Alonso before plunking Edwin Encarnacion, balking pinch-runner Rajai Davis to second, and hitting Lonnie Chisenhall. Davis swiped third on the first pitch to Yan Gomes, and Chisenhall second on the last, but that was a swinging strike that left runners at second and third with two outs. Diaz struck out Tyler Naquin to save a 2-1 Opening Day win for the Mariners.

#478---SF @ ARI, 4/2/2017

For five innings it looked as if Madison Bumgarner might have a historic Opening Day. He had been perfect, striking out seven Diamondbacks and needing just 54 pitches. He had also just taken Zack Greinke deep in the top of the inning to pad his lead to 2-0.  San Francisco added a tally in the top of the sixth and led 3-0. But after MadBum fanned David Peralta to make it sixteen up, sixteen down, the wheels fell off quickly. Jeff Mathis tripled, pinch-hitter Nick Ahmed singled, and AJ Pollock homered and just like that it was tied. 

Bumgarner came right back and gave the Giants the lead back on his second homer, this one off Andrew Chafin, and held Arizona scoreless in the seventh to leave with a 4-3 lead. It was short-lived as AJ Pollock, Chris Owings, and Paul Goldschmidt greeted Derek Law with three straight singles to tie the game. But in the ninth, Joe Panik led off against Fernando Rodney with a triple and Connor Gillaspie’s sac fly put the Giants up 5-4.

Mark Melancon was summoned for the save, and things look good after he struck out Brandon Drury and Peralta grounded out. But Mathis delivered his second extra base hit with a double (he went 3-4), Daniel Descalso singled to tie it, and Pollock and Owings singled to win it.

 

#477---LA @ SD, 4/4/2016

 

Three runs was probably always going to be enough for Clayton Kershaw on this Opening Day, as he pitched seven shutout innings allowing just one hit and one walk with nine strikeouts. But then the Dodgers pummeled the Padres for five in the sixth, three in the seventh, and four in the eighth to make it a 15-0 massacre without the benefit of a single longball.

#476---CLE @ HOU, 4/8/2015

Solo homers from Carlos Santana and Mike Aviles were all Indians pitchers would need, as Carlos Carrasco turned in an excellent start (6 1/3 IP, 0 R, 3 H, 1 W, 10 K). Nick Hagadone relieved him and allowed the first two batters to reach, so he was replaced by Marc Rzepczynski in a rare left-for-left move. Scrabble got Colby Rasmus to hit into a double play on the first pitch, and Bryan Shaw and Cody Allen each turned in scoreless innings to preserve the 2-0 win.