Thairo Estrada gave the San Francisco Giants a walk-off win in their home opener Friday afternoon, lacing a one-out double to left-center field to score Matt Chapman from first base for a 3-2 victory over the San Diego Padres.
The win completed a happy homecoming for new Giants manager Bob Melvin, the former Padres skipper who grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area and played three of his 10 big-league seasons with the Giants. Chapman set the stage for Estrada’s heroics by getting hit on the left elbow on a 1-2 pitch from Padres reliever Enyel De Los Santos (0-1).
Estrada then swung through a changeup before sending a fastball to the wall in left-center, just far enough to allow Chapman to beat Fernando Tatis Jr.’s strong throw to the plate with a head-first slide.
Camilo Doval (1-0), the third Giants pitcher, got the win after escaping a jam in the top of the ninth.
Blue Jays 3, Yankees 0
Ernie Clement opened the seventh inning by hitting his first career pinch-hit home run and visiting Toronto shut out New York.
Blue Jays starter Yusei Kikuchi and four relievers combined to hold the Yankees to six hits.
New York starter Marcus Stroman allowed three hits in six shutout innings while walking one and striking out six.
Tigers 5, Athletics 4
Gio Urshela drove in the go-ahead run with a two-out double in the eighth as Detroit won its home opener against Oakland.
Matt Vierling and Mark Canha hit solo homers and Spencer Torkelson doubled twice and scored two runs for the Tigers.
Brent Rooker and Abraham Toro homered for the A’s, whose starter, JP Sears, allowed four runs and six hits in 5 2/3 innings.
Phillies 4, Nationals 0
Aaron Nola and three relievers combined on a two-hitter and visiting Philadelphia beat Washington.
Kyle Schwarber had a two-run single as part of a three-run second inning and walked twice for the Phillies. Bryce Harper had three hits including an RBI single, and J.T. Realmuto had two hits. Nola (1-1) went 5 2/3 innings, allowing two hits and four walks. He struck out four.
Patrick Corbin (0-1) became the first Nationals starter to go six innings, working six-plus and allowing four runs on nine hits. He struck out six and walked three.
Braves 6, Diamondbacks 5 (10 innings)
Travis d’Arnaud led off the 10th inning with a single that scored pinch runner Forrest Wall, giving Atlanta a come-from-behind win over Arizona in the home opener at Atlanta.
The Braves rallied from a 5-2 deficit, scoring once in the eighth and twice in the ninth. The winning pitcher was Pierce Johnson (2-0), who pitched a scoreless top of the 10th. Atlanta starter Spencer Strider was knocked out after pitching just four innings. He yielded five runs on seven hits while walking three and fanning four.
The losing pitcher was Scott McGough (0-2), whose only batter was d’Arnaud. Arizona starter Tommy Henry went five innings and allowed two runs on six hits and two walks with five strikeouts. He escaped trouble in the fourth and fifth innings, stranding a combined five runners in the two frames.
Brewers 6, Mariners 5
William Contreras drew a game-ending, bases-loaded walk, giving Milwaukee a victory over visiting Seattle in the opener of a three-game series.
Seattle’s Andres Munoz (0-1) relieved to start the inning and walked Sal Frelick, pinch-hitter Jake Bauers and Brice Turang — the bottom of the order. Rookie Jackson Chourio was called out on strikes, but Contreras drew a five-pitch walk to give Milwaukee its fifth win in six games.
The Mariners tied it 5-5 in the top of the ninth with two runs off Brewers closer Abner Uribe (1-0), who had saved his first three opportunities. Uribe wound up posting his first career win.
Cubs 9, Dodgers 7
Dansby Swanson and Michael Busch each homered while Seiya Suzuki supplied three RBIs as Chicago outlasted visiting Los Angeles.
Cubs left-hander Drew Smyly struck out five while allowing two runs on one hit over 2 2/3 innings in relief of starter Kyle Hendricks. Julian Merryweather pitched a scoreless eighth and Adbert Alzolay worked around two singles in the ninth to secure his first save of the season and Chicago’s first 4-0 start at home since 1998.
Shohei Ohtani homered for the second straight game and finished 2-for-5 with a double and two RBIs for the Dodgers. Will Smith had four hits and Teoscar Hernandez notched three singles and four RBIs.
Orioles 5, Pirates 2
Grayson Rodriguez (2-0) logged 6 1/3 strong innings, allowing two runs on six hits while walking two and striking out seven, as Baltimore spoiled Pittsburgh’s home opener.
Ryan O’Hearn, Gunnar Henderson, Adley Rutschman and Anthony Santander each had two hits for the Orioles.
Oneil Cruz went 3-for-4 with a home run for Pittsburgh, which lost for just the second time in eight games to start the season. Pirates starter Jared Jones (1-1) lasted six innings, giving up two runs and six hits with no walks and seven strikeouts. Michael A. Taylor saw a season-opening, seven-game hitting streak come to an end.
Royals 2, White Sox 1
Salvador Perez went 3-for-3 and Brady Singer turned in a sterling pitching performance as host Kansas City edged Chicago.
The Royals hustled to take the lead at 2-1 in the bottom of the eighth against Chicago’s hard-throwing reliever Michael Kopech (0-1). Singer gave up just two hits over 6 1/3 innings to Chicago, allowing one run.
Erick Fedde allowed just one run over five-plus innings with two walks and four strikeouts over 91 pitches for the White Sox.
Red Sox 8, Angels 6
Jarren Duran’s solo home run in the eighth inning snapped a tie and helped lift Boston to a victory over Los Angeles in Anaheim, Calif.
Duran’s home run was one of five by Boston hitters in the game, including two by Tyler O’Neill. Reese McGuire and Triston Casas also homered. Shortstop Trevor Story left in the fourth inning after injuring his left shoulder. Chris Martin (1-0), one of five Red Sox relievers, earned the victory.
The Angels made a game of it, thanks to a game-tying grand slam by Logan O’Hoppe in the sixth inning. Angels starter Griffin Canning threw a scoreless first inning, but the Red Sox rocked him in the second inning with three home runs. Canning yielded four runs on five hits and three walks in 4 2/3 innings. He fanned four.
Rockies 10, Rays 7
Ryan McMahon hit a walk-off grand slam, and Colorado rallied from blowing a four-run lead to beat Tampa Bay in Denver.
McMahon finished with three hits and Ezequiel Tovar and Kris Bryant also went deep for Colorado. Harold Ramirez had three hits, including one in the Rays’ five-run ninth inning. Amed Rosario also had three hits, and Isaac Paredes and Yandy Diaz added two hits apiece.
The Rockies trailed 7-6 entering the bottom of the ninth, but Tampa Bay closer Pete Fairbanks (0-1) walked the bases loaded with no outs. Jason Adam relieved Fairbanks and struck out Bryant, but McMahon homered to right on the first pitch he saw to end it. It was his first of the season. Rockies reliever Jalen Beeks (1-0) got the final two outs of the top of the ninth.
Mets 3, Reds 2
Pete Alonso drove in the go-ahead run with a bases-loaded grounder and Jeff McNeil homered to lead visiting New York past Cincinnati.
Alonso came up against Fernando Cruz (0-1) with the bases loaded. He hit a chopper that Elly De La Cruz didn’t handle cleanly, allowing Harrison Bader to score in the seventh. Drew Smith (1-0) worked his way out of a jam he inherited from starter Jose Quintana in the sixth inning to earn the win.
Jonathan India reached to open the ninth on a fielding error by Mets closer Edwin Diaz. Spencer Steer, who earlier homered, worked a walk. Christian Encarnacion-Strand hit a chopper up the middle that Francisco Lindor was unable to turn into a double play and settled for one out. After Jeimer Candelario’s sacrifice fly made it a one-run game, Diaz struck out Jake Fraley to end the game for his first save. The Reds stranded 12 runners and went 0-for-11 with runners in scoring position.
Rangers 10, Astros 2
Cody Bradford pitched into the eighth inning, Adolis Garcia and Marcus Semien each hit three-run homers, and host Texas routed Houston in the opener of a four-game series.
Garcia also singled in a run and Semien finished with three hits and three runs scored for the Rangers, who collected 16 hits and received a stellar outing from Bradford.
The Astros scored their lone run with two outs in the eighth inning when Yerry Rodriguez replaced Bradford with Pena at first base and allowed Jake Meyers’ two-run homer to right field.
–Field Level Media
