MLB Recap: March 31st

Reds 7 Brewers 6

The Reds beat the Brewers today in exciting fashion, with Ramon Hernandez hitting a walk off 3-run home run with two outs in the ninth. Yovani Gallardo had a solid outing, but John Axford gave it up in the ninth with four runs in 0.2 innings.

Yankees 6 Tigers 3

The Yankees were able to best the Tigers today behind a strong start from ace C.C. Sabathia. He out dueled Justin Verlander with six strong innings giving up 3 runs, 2 earned, and striking out 7. Mark Teixeira hit a 3-run homer in the 3rd, and Granderson broke a 3-3 tie in the 7th with a 2-run shot of his own. It was the earliest win in franchise history for the Yankees.

Braves 2 Nationals 0

Our old friend here in Boston Derek Lowe threw 5.2 shutout innings giving up just three hits and two walks, but in typical Lowe fashion, he managed to throw 105 pitches in those innings. The bullpen pitched well enough to finish the shutout. Jayson Heyward continued his tradition of hitting Opening Day first at bat home runs, doing so for the 2nd straight year. Braves fans got a pleasant surprise with Chipper Jones going 2-4 with a double and a run scored.

Angels 4 Royals 2

The Angels had a very solid Opening Day in Kansas City. They had two home runs, one from Torii Hunter and the other from Jeff Mathis. Jered Weaver was able to pitch 6.1 innings, giving up just two hits and striking out 6. The Royals got home runs from Jeff Francoeur and Mike Aviles, as well as a 5.2 inning outing from Luke Hochevar, giving up 3 earned runs and 9 hits.

Padres 5 Cardinals 3 F/11

In the first extra inning game of the Major League season, the Padres played typical Padre baseball en route to the victory. They got a solid 6 inning outing from Tim Stauffer, who was promoted to Opening Day duties with the injury to ace Matt Latos. They also got a clutch 9th inning game tying solo home run from Cameron Maybin, as well as starting the rally in the 11th. For the Cardinals, Matt Holliday hit a home run, and Albert Pujols's worst game in five years, according to ESPN's WPA stat.

Dodgers 2 Giants 1

The final game of the night had the best pitching matchup of Opening Day, pitting Tim Lincecum against Clayton Kershaw. The game lived up to its pitching duel billing, with Kershaw picking up the W. He pitched 7 shutout innings, striking out 9. The Giants defense let Lincecum down, who gave up one unearned run in 7 innings of work, striking out 5. Matt Kemp scored both runs for the Dodgers, and Pat Burrell hit a solo shot in the top of the 9th to give the Giants their only run of the game.