Baseball’s Openers Feature Abundant Home Runs, Matchups of Top Pitchers, and Defensive Heroics

Major League Baseball got underway on March 28th (yes, there were those two early games in Japan last week) with every team in action. Every Opening Day is memorable, in part because it’s a sign winter is over, but also because star players who changed clubs in the off season are making their regular season debuts with their new teams, and because there are usually some pretty good performances on the field, like these:

In Philadelphia, a whole host of good, new players took the field for the first time, most notably Bryce Harper. The Phillies have spent big money to win immediately, adding Jean Segura, Andrew McCutcheon, and J. T. Realmuto, along with Harper. While the new players all got hits, it was first baseman Rhys Hoskins, starting his third year in Philly, who belted a grand slam home run in the Phillies’ 12-4 win over the Atlanta Braves.

Harper’s old club, the Washington Nationals, hosted the New York Mets in a matchup of the 2017 (Max Scherzer) and 2018 (Jacob DeGrom) NL Cy Young Award winners. Robinson Cano, in his first game as a Met after five years in Seattle, belted a two run homer to provide the only offense that mattered as DeGrom picked up a 2-0 victory.

In Los Angeles, the Dodgers hit eight home runs in their 12-5 drubbing of the Arizona Diamondbacks, setting a new record for Opening Day home runs.

In Arlington, Texas, the Rangers hosted the Cubs in an interleague series. Cubs shortstop Javier Baez, who was second in the NL MVP voting in 2018, picked up where he left off with pair of home runs and four RBIs in Chicago’s 12-4 win. In Seattle, the Mariners touched Boston ace Chris Sale for seven runs in three innings on the way to a 12-4 romp over the defending World Series Champion Red Sox. Shortstop Tim Beckham hit a pair of homers for the Mariners.

Finally, Milwaukee Brewers center fielder Lorenzo Cain made a spectacular catch in the ninth inning of the Brewers’ game with the St. Louis Cardinals, robbing Jose Martinez of a home run to preserve a 5-4 victory for Milwaukee. Christian Yelich, the 2018 NL MVP, belted a three run homer for the Brewers.