Shohei Ohtani reached base three times in his first home game for the Dodgers, and Los Angeles defeated the St. Louis Cardinals 7-1 on Thursday in the opening game of the season at Dodger Stadium, which had very high hopes for the team.
Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman hit home runs in the third inning, and Tyler Glasnow pitched six innings with only two hits allowed for the Dodgers. One week ago, the club started the season with two games in South Korea, showing off its talent with an expensive, star-studded roster featuring three former MVPs at the top of the lineup.
No addition was more important than Ohtani, who did not appear to be distracted after a difficult week in which he strongly denied participating in sports betting following the departure of his longtime interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara.
After getting a standing ovation from the enthusiastic sold-out crowd of 52,667, Ohtani hit a double in his first official at-bat at Chavez Ravine since signing his record 10-year, $700 million contract. The two-time AL MVP then followed with a walk and a single as the designated hitter for the Dodgers.
Freeman had two hits and brought in three runs, while Betts scored three runs and reached base three times. Teoscar Hernández doubled and scored in the sixth inning of his first home game for the Dodgers, and Max Muncy brought in two runs.
Glasnow (1-0) was impressive in his first home game for his hometown team, striking out five and allowing only one run over 81 pitches. Glasnow, who also started the Dodgers’ opener in Seoul last week, is expected to be a mainstay for Los Angeles after its rotation was hit hard by injuries and off-field issues last season.
Ryan Yarbrough pitched three innings of one-hit relief for his first save.
Paul Goldschmidt hit a home run off Glasnow, and Miles Mikolas (0-1) gave up seven hits and five runs for the Cardinals, who only managed three hits on their opening day.
PADRES 6, GIANTS 4
SAN DIEGO — Jake Cronenworth’s two-run double was the key hit in a four-run seventh inning for San Diego, which defeated San Francisco and spoiled Bob Melvin’s return to San Diego.
While it was opening day for the Giants, the Padres began the season by splitting a two-game series last week against the Los Angeles Dodgers in Seoul, South Korea.
Melvin managed the Padres for the last two seasons before leaving for the Giants with a year left on his contract. He led the Padres into the 2022 NL Championship Series and then presided over a disappointing season that included reports of an irreparable relationship with general manager A.J. Preller. He was replaced by Mike Shildt.
BLUE JAYS 8, RAYS 2
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — George Springer, Cavan Biggio, and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hit home runs to guide Toronto to a win in the season opener against Tampa Bay.
Alejandro Kirk and Bo Bichette each brought in two runs for the Blue Jays, who scored five runs in the sixth inning after being limited to one hit — Springer’s solo homer in the fourth — off Rays starter Zach Eflin (0-1) through five innings.
José Berríos (1-0), making his second opening-day start for the Blue Jays and fourth overall, gave up a leadoff homer to Yandy Díaz on his fifth pitch of the day and also yielded a RBI double to the defending AL batting champion in the sixth.
TWINS 4, ROYALS 1
In Kansas City, Pablo Lopez pitched for seven innings, Royce Lewis hit a home run but got injured, and Minnesota beat Kansas City to start defending its AL Central title.
Carlos Correa had three hits and two RBIs to support Lopez's great performance. Lopez allowed four hits and struck out seven without walking anyone in his first opening-day start.
Lopez (1-0) gave up only one run, a homer to Maikel Garcia, the first batter he faced.
REDS 8, NATIONALS 2
In Cincinnati, Nick Martini hit two home runs and brought in five runs in his first opening-day start, Frankie Montas pitched six scoreless innings in his debut for Cincinnati, and the Reds easily won against Washington.
Martini, a 33-year-old designated hitter playing for his fourth major league team since 2018, hit a two-run home run in the second inning and a three-run shot in the third, bringing the score to 7-0 off Josiah Gray (0-1). Martino became the first Cincinnati player to hit two homers on opening day since Adam Dunn in 2007.
TIGERS 1, WHITE SOX 0
In Chicago, Tarik Skubal pitched six innings, allowing only three hits, and Detroit had a good start to the season by defeating Chicago.
Skubal and three relievers retired the last 17 batters. The White Sox didn't get past first base and wasted a great start by Garrett Crochet.
Javier Báez singled and scored on Andy Ibáñez's sacrifice fly in the third. The Tigers had six hits.
ORIOLES 11, ANGELS 3
In Baltimore, Corbin Burnes had an impressive debut, allowing only one baserunner, while Anthony Santander and Cedric Mullins both hit home runs as the Orioles began defending their AL East title by defeating Los Angeles.
Mike Trout hit a home run in the first inning off Burnes, but the Angels couldn't do much against the new Baltimore ace after that. Burnes (1-0) struck out 11 in six innings in his first start after the Orioles acquired him from Milwaukee in an offseason trade.
