This was the first game to get underway on Opening Day, and when Jeff Samardzija bunted into a 1-5-3 double play in the fifth inning, the Cubs issued the first challenge in MLB history (I have long since ceased recording whether players were reviewed or not unless it is particularly noteworthy), which they lost as the out at first was upheld. Samardzija (7 IP, 5 H, 2 W, 3 K) and Francisco Liriano (6 IP, 4 H, 3 W, 10 K) both shutout the opposition, and each bullpen carried that into the tenth. The only close call was when Emilio Bonifacio was thrown out at home with one out in the Chicago eighth trying to score on Starlin Castro’s grounder to second.
Bonifacio reached in the tenth but was picked off by Bryan Morris. Carlos Villaneuva came on in the bottom of the inning for the Cubs and went to a full count on Neil Walker. Walker fouled two pitches off and that hit a walkoff homer to right for a 1-0 Pittsburgh win.
One play to note from a scoring perspective came in the Chicago first. With Junior Lake at the plate I have a notation “AC – CP1RE3”. This means that after the third pitch (AC), the runner was caught stealing and picked off in a play that would have been a 1-3 out but for a muffed catch by the first baseman (R[ecieving]E3). This was an odd play because it did not fit in the scorebox of the runner Bonifacio as he was obviously not putout but he also did not advance.
