Baseball Returns With Three Early Openers

Though it still feels like winter in much of the country, Major League Baseball made its regular season debut for 2016 with three games on April 3rd, all involving teams expected to make strong showings this season.

The Pittsburgh Pirates hosted the St. Louis Cardinals in a matchup of two National League Central powerhouses who are expected to compete with the Chicago Cubs for the division crown. The Cardinals’ ace Adam Wainwright was on the mound for St. Louis; he was limited to just seven games last year due to injury. Wainwright allowed three runs, six hits, and three walks while striking out three, but it was Pittsburgh starter Francisco Liriano who was the pitching star. Liriano struck out an Opening Day club record 10 batters in six scoreless innings. He also drove in a run with an RBI single in the second inning as the Pirates topped the Cardinals 4-1.

In St. Petersburg, Florida the Toronto Blue Jays held off a ninth inning rally by the Tampa Bay Rays to win 5-3. Rays’ starter Chris Archer struck out 12 Jays, which was another franchise Opening Day record. But Archer, who got the loss despite the strong effort, was outpitched by Toronto’s Marcus Stroman, who allowed just one hit in eight innings. Toronto is one of the favorites to win the A.L. East.

In Kansas City, the Royals hosted the New York Mets in an interleague game rematch of the 2015 World Series. The Royals got off to a 4-0 lead, but the Mets rallied for three runs in the eighth inning. That was as close as it got on a night where the Royals hoisted their World Series banner.