World Series champions Los Angeles Dodgers were humbled on the Opening Day of the new Major League Baseball season 8-5 by the Colorado Rockies on Thursday.
The Dodgers had 14 stranded runners throughout the game while Cody Bellinger hit a ball into the stands which did not count as a home run on a strange afternoon.
With crowds returning to MLB, the Dodgers were unable to get off to a flying start.
"Honestly, we just didn’t play a good baseball game," Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. "All the way around, we didn’t play well."
In the Houston Astros' first game back playing in front of crowds since their cheating scandal emerged they were jeered and boed in an 8-1 win on the road against the Oakland Athletics.
Back-to-back home runs from Michael Brantley and Alex Bregman in the eighth put the Astros out of sight and silenced the crowd.
Trout lifts Angels, Mariners mighty comeback
Mike Trout flexed his muscle as the Los Angeles Angels rallied to beat the Chicago White Sox 4-3. At the bottom of the eighth, a visibly pumped Trout's hit gave him an RBI and tied the game. Shohei Ohtani then got on the board after an error by second baseman Nick Madrigal.
The Seattle Mariners trailed 6-1 in the eighth inning against the San Francisco Giants before mounting a remarkable fightback and eventually prevail 8-7. The winning run came when Jake Fraley walked with the bases loaded.
The New York Yankees' bats let them down as they were beaten 3-2 by the Toronto Blue Jays.
The Tampa Day Rays shut out the Miami Marlins in a 1-0 win earned by Austin Meadows' solo home run in the ninth.
Bellinger denied by mix-up
Bellinger was denied his first homer of the new season in a moment of confusion, when team-mate Justin Turner, who was on first base, thought Bellinger had been caught in the outfield and ran back. Bellinger's hit was actually fumbled by Raimel Tapia over the fence so when Turner reversed and passed by the left-hander that made him out and resulted in only an RBI single.
First homer of season
Detroit Tigers hitter Miguel Cabrera claimed the maiden homer of the new season in driving snow, which left him confused, sliding into base just in case it had not cleared the fence.
Thursday's results
Toronto Blue Jays 3-2 New York Yankees
Detroit Tigers 3-2 Cleveland Indians
Milwaukee Brewers 6-5 Minnesota Twins
Pittsburgh Pirates 5-3 Chicago Cubs
Philadelphia Phillies 3-2 Atlanta Braves
Tampa Bay Rays 1-0 Miami Marlins
St Louis Cardinals 11-6 Cincinnati Reds
Colorado Rockies 8-5 Los Angeles Dodgers
San Diego Padres 8-7 Arizona Diamondbacks
Kansas City Royals 14-10 Texas Rangers
Los Angeles Angels 4-3 Chicago White Sox
Houston Astros 8-1 Oakland Athletics
Seattle Mariners 8-7 San Fransisco Giants
Dodgers to bounce back
The Dodgers will look to bounce back from their opening day loss on Friday on the road again versus the Colorado Rockies.
Astros star Jose Altuve out indefinitely after fracturing thumb at World Baseball Classic
Houston Astros All-Star second baseman Jose Altuve suffered a fractured right thumb at the World Baseball Classic and will require surgery, sidelining him indefinitely.
Astros general manager Dana Brown revealed the severity of the injury on Sunday, a day after Altuve was hit by a pitch from reliever Daniel Bard in the fifth inning of Venezuela’s 9-7 quarter-final loss to the United States.
The Astros said he will undergo surgery in the coming days, and they will then determine a prognosis for him.
There is no official timeline for when he will return, but it has been reported that similar injuries have sidelined players for eight-to-10 weeks.
A major part of Houston’s dominance over the last half-dozen years, the 32-year-old Altuve is coming off his eighth All-Star season.
In helping the Astros win the 2022 World Series, Altuve hit .300 with 28 home runs, 39 doubles, 18 steals and 103 runs while earning his sixth Silver Slugger Award and finishing fifth in AL MVP voting.
He won the 2017 AL MVP – the same year he helped the Astros win the franchise’s first World Series championship.
Among active players, Altuve ranks seventh in hits (1,935), eighth in doubles (379) and 12th in runs (986).
He is the second MLB All-Star to suffer a serious injury at the World Baseball Classic after elite New York Mets closer Edwin Diaz tore his patellar tendon, ruling him out for the entire season.
Mets pitcher Diaz expected to miss 2023 season after injuring knee in Puerto Rico celebrations
New York Mets pitcher Edwin Diaz is expected to miss the entire MLB season after suffering a serious knee injury while celebrating a Puerto Rico win in the World Baseball Classic.
Diaz left the field in a wheelchair after injuring his right knee while celebrating Wednesday's win over the Dominican Republic, with his team-mates visibly upset by the incident.
On Thursday, the Mets revealed Diaz – who penned a five-year, $102million contract with the team in the offseason – had undergone surgery after sustaining a complete patellar tendon tear.
"Edwin Diaz underwent successful repair of the patellar tendon in his right knee today," read an update from the team. "He is expected to begin a formal rehab program in about a week."
Earlier on Thursday, Mets general manager Billy Eppler suggested the closer – widely considered to be the best in the game – could be sidelined for around eight months, a timeline which would rule him out for the entire 2023 season.
Eppler noted some athletes have returned from similar injuries within a six-month timeframe, but added such cases were "more the exception than the rule".
Diaz took to social media to update his fans after the surgery, writing on Twitter: "To all my beloved fans, especially the Mets fans, I want to let you know that I am doing well and healing.
"I feel blessed and grateful for your support with messages and prayers, thank you very much! I can't wait to see you guys in NY again and play those trumpets."
Diaz injures knee as Puerto Rico celebrate WBC win over Dominican Republic
Celebrations for Puerto Rico at the World Baseball Classic turned sour when pitcher Edwin Diaz hurt his knee after their victory against the Dominican Republic.
The New York Mets closer – widely considered to be the best in the game – eliminated the favourites for the competition as he struck out Teoscar Hernandez to complete a 5-2 victory.
In the ensuing celebrations, the players were jumping in a huddle before stopping once it became apparent that Diaz was injured.
His brother, Cincinnati Reds reliever Alexis Diaz, was in tears as medics attended to him, helping the 28-year-old from the field.
According to ESPN, the 28-year-old will undergo an MRI on Thursday, with sources fearing "the injury could keep Díaz out for a significant period".
"I didn't see it right away," Puerto Rico manager Yadier Molina said. "I was hugging our coaches in the dugout, and when we looked up, Edwin was on the ground.
"I didn't know. I didn't know how to act, I didn't know what to say. It caught me by surprise. It sucks. When you see a guy that works so hard like Edwin, when you see him on the ground like that, it's just sad."
Center fielder Enrique Hernandez added: "It wasn't pretty much until we got to the infield dirt that we realised something had gone wrong.
"At the moment we didn't know who it was. When we got there, that's when we realised who it was. Obviously, aside from being the best closer in the game right now, and being a huge part of this team, [Diaz] is one of the glue guys in that clubhouse."
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
