The short-handed Toronto Blue Jays claimed a much-needed 15-1 win over the Los Angeles Angels as unheralded duo Josh Palacios and Santiago Espinal stepped up on Saturday.

Toronto had lost four consecutive MLB games and were without some key weapons for the third matchup of the Angels series, including star recruit George Springer and Silver Slugger Teoscar Hernandez.

But the Blue Jays returned to form thanks to the likes of Palacios and Espinal – Toronto, who had scored seven runs across their previous 31 innings, using a seven-run second inning to blitz the Angels in Dunedin after rain delayed the start of proceedings for almost three hours.

Palacios managed his first MLB hit and scored on a three-run double from Randal Grichuk as he finished with four runs and as many hits against the Angels.

The 25-year-old became the second player in American League (AL) history with four-plus hits and four-plus runs in one of his first two career games, per Stats Perform. The other was Wid Conroy in 1901.

Espinal – called up to the Blue Jays from the alternate training site on Saturday – had two runs and three hits in five at-bats as Toronto registered 15 runs without homering.

Bo Bichette had five RBIs with three runs and two hits, while Marcus Semien and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. also scored.

Steven Matz impressed in his start for the Blue Jays, allowing just one run and five hits across six strong innings, while Angels pitcher Jose Quintana was tagged with the loss after giving up five hits, seven runs – five earned – in less than two innings.

Dodgers flex muscles in LA, Locastro makes history

Chris Taylor hit a three-run homer as World Series champions the Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the Washington Nationals 9-5. The Dodgers improved to 7-2 for the season after AJ Pollock also drove in three runs. Juan Soto homered twice but it was not enough for the visiting Nationals.

Tim Locastro became the first player on record (since 1951) to start a career with 28 consecutive stolen bases without being caught. It came as the Arizona Diamondbacks topped the Cincinnati Reds 8-3.

Jacob deGrom matched a career best with 14 strikeouts over eight innings, but the New York Mets were blanked 3-0 by the Miami Marlins.

Avisail Garcia homered, doubled and drove in five runs as the Milwaukee Brewers beat the St Louis Cardinals 9-5. Keston Hiura hit a three-run homer in a five-run seventh inning for the Brewers.

Yankees shut out as German pays the price

It was a miserable outing for Domingo German and the New York Yankees, who were blanked 4-0 by AL East rivals the Tampa Bay Rays. Austin Meadows and Randy Arozarena homered off German. The Yankees optioned German to the club's alternate site after the shut-out loss. 

Memorable day for Espinal

Toronto's Espinal will not be forgetting Saturday's game any time soon. Prior to starring for the Blue Jays, the 26-year-old Dominican infielder met iconic countryman and MLB legend Albert Pujols thanks to team-mate Guerrero. Angels star Pujols is a two-time World Series champion, three-time National League (NL) MVP, 10-time All-Star, six-time Silver Slugger, two-time Gold Glove winner and one of the Dominican Republic's most famous names.

Saturday's results

Miami Marlins 3-0 New York Mets
Tampa Bay Rays 4-0 New York Yankees
Seattle Mariners 4-3 Minnesota Twins
Milwaukee Brewers 9-5 St Louis Cardinals
San Francisco Giants 4-3 Colorado Rockies
Oakland Athletics 7-3 Houston Astros
Cleveland Indians 11-3 Detroit Tigers
Pittsburgh Pirates 8-2 Chicago Cubs
Boston Red Sox 6-4 Baltimore Orioles
San Diego Padres 7-4 Texas Rangers
Atlanta Braves 5-4 Philadelphia Phillies
Arizona Diamondbacks 8-3 Cincinnati Reds
Los Angeles Dodgers 9-5 Washington Nationals
Toronto Blue Jays 15-1 Los Angeles Angels
Kansas City Royals-Chicago White Sox (postponed)

Angels at Blue Jays

The Blue Jays (4-5) will look to level their series with the Angels (6-3) in Sunday's decider in Dunedin.

Mike Trout continued his prolific start to the new Major League Baseball season with a homer in a third straight game as the Los Angeles Angels won 7-5 against the Toronto Blue Jays on Thursday.

With the game tied at 3-3 at the top of the fifth, Trout creamed Blue Jays right-hander Ross Stripling a projected 444 feet for a solo home run.

"That one definitely had some flight attendants working on it," Angels manager Joe Maddon joked.

In the first of their four-game series in Dunedin, Florida, Trout starred with 3-for-5 but fell a triple short of the cycle in the victory.

On Trout's form, Maddon added: "There's no surprise element to any of this. He's not doing anything new, it's actually a lot of old stuff."

Yermin Mercedes endeared himself to the Chicago White Sox fans in their home opener with a monster 485-foot home run.

The home run in their 6-0 victory over the Kansas City Royals was Mercedes' second of the season and goes down as the third-longest hit by a White Sox player in Guaranteed Rate Field history.

Mets walk-off controversy, Jose lift off for Astros

The New York Mets' 3-2 walk-off victory over the Miami Marlins ended in controversy and the winners admitted they got lucky.

After Jeff McNeil tied the game at 2-2 in the ninth with a home run, the Mets had bases loaded as Michael Conforto stepped up.

After two strikes, a pitch grazed Conforto's elbow pad and home-plate umpire Ron Kulpa initially appeared set to call a third strike before changing mid-motion to say the pitch hit the batter, earning the Mets the run they needed.

"Not the way I wanted to win the ballgame," Conforto said post-game. "I wanted to go up there and drive the ball somewhere.

"From my point of view, it was a slider. I felt it was coming back toward me and I turned. There may have been a little lift of my elbow just out of habit, out of reaction, and it barely skimmed the edge of my elbow guard."

Marlins manager Don Mattingly was left frustrated that they could not review the call.

"You'd think with all the replay we do that you could say, 'That ball's a strike'," he said.

The Houston Astros improved to a 6-1 record with a 6-2 triumph over the struggling Oakland Athletics, with Jose Altuve delivering a home run in their home opener after a long wait.

The Minnesota Twins won 10-2 against the Seattle Mariners, while the Boston Red Sox won 7-3 on the road to the Baltimore Orioles.

Fails for the A's

The A's slumped to a 1-7 record with their loss to the Astros, where it took them until the ninth inning to get on the board.

Grichuk grasps Trout hit

Trout's day may have been a little bit better for the Angels if not for Randal Grichuk's sensational diving catch in center in the ninth.

Thursday's results

New York Mets 3-2 Miami Marlins
Chicago Cubs 4-2 Pittsburgh Pirates
Boston Red Sox 7-3 Baltimore Orioles
Colorado Rockies 7-3 Arizona Diamondbacks
Chicago White Sox 6-0 Kansas City Royals
Minnesota Twins 10-2 Seattle Mariners
St Louis Cardinals 3-1 Milwaukee Brewers
Los Angeles Angels 7-5 Toronto Blue Jays
Houston Astros 6-2 Oakland Athletics

Rays against Yankees

Last year's American League champions the Tampa Bay Rays have had a slow start at 2-4 and they take on the New York Yankees (3-3).

The Oakland Athletics ended their run of six consecutive losses to start the season by rallying past MLB champions the Los Angeles Dodgers 4-3 in extra innings.

Mitch Moreland hit an RBI single in the 10th inning on Wednesday as the Athletics won for the first time in 2021.

The A's were in danger of falling to 0-7 for the first time in their history before Matt Chapman scored on a sacrifice fly in the ninth inning.

Moreland completed the confidence-boosting comeback in the 10th – a line-drive single scoring Mark Canha from third in Oakland midweek.

"It's definitely not the start we wanted," Moreland said. "We know we're a lot better team than that. We played great in spring and kind of had a little bit of lag. It didn't go our way out of the gate. That's a good win for us."

Trevor Bauer impressed for World Series champions the Dodgers, despite the defeat.

The reigning National League (NL) Cy Young winner allowed three hits and two runs, recording 10 strikeouts for the second consecutive start.

Cain makes history

Lorenzo Cain became the first player in Milwaukee Brewers history to hit two go-ahead home runs in the eighth inning or later in the same game, per Stats Perform. The Brewers overcame the Chicago Cubs 4-2.

Justin Dunn impressed for the Seattle Mariners, who defeated the Chicago White Sox 8-4. He became the first pitcher since Pete Harnisch in 1991 to walk eight-plus batters and allow one hit or fewer in his season debut, via Stats Perform. The only other Mariners pitcher to do so in any regular-season game was Randy Johnson in 1991.

Connor Brogdon became the first Philadelphia Phillies player to have three wins in the team's first six games of a season in the modern era. The Phillies accounted for the New York Mets 8-2.

The Cleveland Indians were 4-2 winners against the Kansas City Royals thanks to Shane Bieber, who became the first MLB pitcher to start multiple seasons with back-to-back 12-plus strike-out games.

Marlins mauled

The Miami Marlins were blanked 7-0 by the St Louis Cardinals, who claimed a series sweep. Zach Pop struggled after giving up four runs and a homer in less than an inning.

Waffles over bat flips for Pederson

Joc Pederson hit his first home run for the Cubs – a game-tying homer in the eighth inning against the Brewers. A World Series winner with the Dodgers last season, the 2015 All-Star celebrated with a waffle maker.

"I hope we're making a lot of waffles," Pederson said after the game. "I don't know. It's [Ian] Happer's. I think I just rented it for a minute, but we'll see. Hopefully we're passing out waffles soon to all of us."

Wednesday's results

Atlanta Braves 7-6 Washington Nationals
Atlanta Braves 2-0 Washington Nationals
Cincinnati Reds 11-4 Pittsburgh Pirates
Cleveland Indians 4-2 Kansas City Royals
Minnesota Twins 3-2 Detroit Tigers
Boston Red Sox 9-2 Tampa Bay Rays
Texas Rangers 2-1 Toronto Blue Jays
Milwaukee Brewers 4-2 Chicago Cubs
Oakland Athletics 4-3 Los Angeles Dodgers
Philadelphia Phillies 8-2 New York Mets
Seattle Mariners 8-4 Chicago White Sox
San Francisco Giants 3-2 San Diego Padres
St Louis Cardinals 7-0 Miami Marlins
Baltimore Orioles 4-3 New York Yankees
Colorado Rockies 8-0 Arizona Diamondbacks

Angels at Blue Jays

The Blue Jays (3-3) will stage their first home series – at their spring base in Dunedin as the coronavirus pandemic prevents them from returning to play in Toronto – starting Thursday. The Los Angeles Angels (4-2) are their opponents.

Los Angeles Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw returned to form as the World Series champions crushed the helpless Oakland Athletics 5-1 in MLB action on Tuesday.

Kershaw – a three-time Cy Young Award winner – struggled on Opening Day following a difficult Spring Training campaign for the Dodgers.

But Kershaw bounced back against the winless Athletics, striking out eight batters across seven solid innings in Oakland.

Kershaw allowed one run and four hits and did not walk a batter as the star pitcher retired 20 of 22 opponents for the Dodgers, who won their fifth consecutive game.

Dodgers team-mate Mookie Betts homered for the first time this season, while team-mates Max Muncy and Edwin Rios also went long for the visitors.

In New York, three-time All-Star Gerrit Cole impressed with a 13-strikeout gem – his most in a regular-season game since joining the franchise in 2020 – as the Yankees made light work of the Baltimore Orioles 7-2.

Yankees ace Cole allowed four hits without a walk over seven scoreless innings, while slugger Aaron Judge and Jay Bruce homered at Yankee Stadium.

Per Stats Perform, Cole already has 21 punchouts this season – tying Al Downing (1964) for the most by any Yankees pitcher in his first two starts of a season.

Reds flying after slow start

The Cincinnati Reds humbled the Pittsburgh Pirates 14-1. Cincinnati allowed 11 runs on Opening Day but have proceeded to score 40 runs over their next four games. According to Stats Perform, they are the first National League (NL) team to allow 10-plus runs in their first game and then tally 40-plus runs over the next four since the 1877 Louisville Grays (47 runs).

Juan Soto was the hero for the Washington Nationals, hitting a walk-off home run in the ninth inning in a 6-5 victory against the Atlanta Braves.

American League (AL) MVP Jose Abreu crushed his second grand slam of the season to lead the Chicago White Sox to a 10-4 success against the Seattle Mariners.

Roark rocked in Texas

Tanner Roark's first start of the season for the Toronto Blue Jays was a dismal one. The veteran pitcher gave up three homers – five runs – in three innings as the Blue Jays lost 7-4 to the Texas Rangers. He finished with a 15.00 ERA for the night.

The Baddoo legend grows

Akil Baddoo continued his amazing start to his MLB career. After homering on his very first pitch in the big leagues on Sunday, Baddoo hit a grand slam on Monday. Not satisfied with that, he hit a walk-off homer to lift the Detroit Tigers past the Minnesota Twins 4-3 – in just his third appearance.

Tuesday's results

Detroit Tigers 4-3 Minnesota Twins
Washington Nationals 6-5 Atlanta Braves
Houston Astros 4-2 Los Angeles Angels
New York Yankees 7-2 Baltimore Orioles
Cincinnati Reds 14-1 Pittsburgh Pirates
St Louis Cardinals 4-2 Miami Marlins
New York Mets 8-4 Philadelphia Phillies
Boston Red Sox 6-5 Tampa Bay Rays
Milwaukee Brewers 4-0 Chicago Cubs
Texas Rangers 7-4 Toronto Blue Jays
Los Angeles Dodgers 5-1 Oakland Athletics
San Diego Padres 3-1 San Francisco Giants
Chicago White Sox 10-4 Seattle Mariners
Arizona Diamondbacks 10-8 Colorado Rockies

Braves at Nationals

After finally opening their season, the coronavirus-hit Nationals (1-0) will look to stay undefeated in a doubleheader against the winless Braves (0-4) on Wednesday. Erick Fedde will start game one for the Nationals against Atlanta's Max Fried, while ace Stephen Strasbourg takes to the mound in the second clash as the Braves counter with Huascar Ynoa.

Mike Trout delivered his first home run of the 2021 season as the Los Angeles Angels defeated the Houston Astros 7-6 in MLB on Monday.

The 29-year-old three-time American League Most Valuable Player clubbed a towering shot from Luis Garcia to left field to earn the Angels their first run in the fourth inning when they were trailing 4-0.

However once again the Angels did most of their work late, with four runs in the eighth inning, meaning they have scored in either the eighth or ninth inning in all five of their games this season.

The win improves the Angels to 4-1 while the Astros, who were once again booed, suffer their first loss to move to 4-1.

The Los Angeles Dodgers triumphed 10-3 over the winless Oakland Athletics but they lost star man Cody Bellinger to injury.

The two-time All Star was removed with a reported foot injury during a close play at first base where he was stepped on.

Rangers crowd silenced, Stanton slam leads Yankees

Full crowds were back in Dallas but the Texas Rangers did not give them much to cheer as the Toronto Blue Jays won 6-2.

Marcus Semien hit his second home run of the new season early, before Cavan Biggio went back-to-back in the second inning too, opening up a 4-0 lead.

The return of bumper crowds was a different dynamic as noted by Rangers shortstop Isiah Kiner-Falefa who said it "nerve wracking" and that it felt "like my debut all over again".

The New York Yankees cruised to a 7-0 victory over the Baltimore Orioles with Giancarlo Stanton hitting a monster 471-foot home run in the fifth with bases loaded.

The Philadelphia Phillies maintained their perfect record with a 5-3 win over the New York Mets, although they left it late, with five runs at the bottom of the eighth.

Tatis injures shoulder in strike-out

The San Diego Padres lost talented 22-year-old shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr to a shoulder subluxation as he swung at an Anthony DeSclafani curveball in their 3-2 loss to the San Francisco Giants. Tatis looked in considerable pain and was escorted off the field.

Debutant Dustin on fire

Rookie pitcher Dustin May produced a sizzling display for the Dodgers in their win over the As, with eight strike-outs and six scoreless innings.

Monday's results

Minnesota Twins 15-6 Detroit Tigers
Toronto Blue Jays 6-2 Texas Rangers
Kansas City Royals 3-0 Cleveland Indians
New York Yankees 7-0 Baltimore Orioles
St Louis Cardinals 4-1 Miami Marlins
Cincinnati Reds 5-3 Pittsburgh Pirates
Philadelphia Phillies 5-3 New York Mets
Boston Red Sox 11-2 Tampa Bay Rays
Chicago Cubs 5-3 Milwaukee Brewers
Los Angeles Angels 7-6 Houston Astros
Los Angeles Dodgers 10-3 Oakland Athletics
San Francisco Giants 3-2 San Diego Padres
Chicago White Sox 6-0 Seattle Mariners

Astros at Angels

The Los Angeles Angels (4-1) take on the Houston Astros (4-1) once again.

Shohei Ohtani enjoyed an historic night as the two-way Los Angeles Angels star fuelled his team to a 7-4 walk-off win against the Chicago White Sox.

Ohtani made MLB history by starting and serving as the designated hitter, while he put on a show with bat and ball in stunning opening inning on Sunday.

The 26-year-old Japanese sensation, who became the first pitcher to bat second in a game since 1903, produced a scoreless first inning as his fastball reached 100mph (the fastest in MLB so far in 2021) three times.

After starring on the mound, Ohtani hit a crushing solo homer in the bottom of the inning – his projected 451-foot shot reaching 115.2mph – the hardest homer by an Angels player since 2015, eclipsing team-mate Mike Trout (115mph in 2018).

Hampered by injuries since entering the majors in 2018, Ohtani, who exited in the fifth inning after a collision at the plate, also became the first Angels pitcher to record a hit in an American League (AL) game since Clyde Wright in 1972.

Jared Walsh called game with the contest tied at 4-4 in the bottom of the ninth, launching a walk-off homer – his second of the night – to lift the Angels.

Astros blitz Athletics

The Houston Astros are 4-0 for the first time since 2001 after a 9-2 victory away to the Oakland Athletics. Kyle Tucker, Jason Castro and rookie Chas McCormick hit home runs for the Astros, who outscored the A's 35-9 across the four games. Houston are the fourth team in MLB history to tally at least eight runs in their first four games, following in the footsteps of the New York Yankees (2003), Red Sox (1995) and Milwaukee Brewers (1978).

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Randal Grichuk homered as the Toronto Blue Jays beat AL East rivals the Yankees 3-1 to claim the season-opening series. Bo Bichette became the fastest Blue Jays player to reach 100 career hits, achieving the feat with a first-inning double in his 78th game.

World Series champions the Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the Colorado Rockies 4-2 behind Julio Urias. He pitched a career-high seven innings to inspire the Dodgers, tallying six strikeouts while giving up three hits and one walk.

Red Sox make slow start

The Boston Red Sox's winless start to the season continued, swept by the Baltimore Orioles following an 11-3 defeat. Boston have now fallen to their second-ever 0-3 start at Fenway Park and first since 1948. The Red Sox are coming off a 24-36 record in last year's coronavirus-shortened season – their lowest winning percentage since 1965.

Baddoo homers on first career pitch

It was a memorable outing for Detroit Tigers outfielder Akil Baddoo, who homered in his opening MLB at-bat – the very first pitch. The 22-year-old Baddoo – making his first appearance above Class A – drove to left field in the bottom of the third inning. Detroit, though, lost 9-3 to the Cleveland Indians.

"I was actually waiting for the silent treatment, but everyone was just full of energy -- just so happy for me," Baddoo said. "So I loved every second of it."

Sunday's results

Philadelphia Phillies 2-1 Atlanta Braves
Toronto Blue Jays 3-1 New York Yankees
Baltimore Orioles 11-3 Boston Red Sox
Cleveland Indians 9-3 Detroit Tigers
Cincinnati Reds 12-1 St Louis Cardinals
Minnesota Twins 8-2 Milwaukee Brewers
Texas Rangers 7-3 Kansas City Royals
Chicago Bulls 4-3 Pittsburgh Pirates
Los Angeles Dodgers 4-2 Colorado Rockies
Houston Astros 9-2 Oakland Athletics
Arizona Diamondbacks 3-1 San Diego Padres
Los Angeles Angels 7-4 Chicago White Sox
New York Mets-Washington Nationals (postponed)

Astros at Angels

The Astros (4-0) will put their perfect record on the line in the opening game of their series with the Angels (3-1) on Monday.

Yermin Mercedes entered MLB's history books after maintaining his red-hot start to the season, despite the Chicago White Sox losing 5-3 to the Los Angeles Angels.

White Sox rookie Mercedes set a league mark on Saturday after he made it eight-for-eight hits in 2021.

Mercedes – who also hit a solo homer in the second inning against the Angels – surpassed Chris Stynes for the longest streak of hits to start a season in the modern era (since 1900).

After a groundball single in the seventh inning and a double in the eighth, the 28-year-old's streak came to an end in his ninth at-bat.

Mercedes finished with three hits and a run, to go with two RBIs as a designated hitter for the White Sox, who dropped to 1-2.

The Angels trailed 3-2 heading into the eighth but capped a three-run rally via Justin Upton's two-run homer.

Dominant Musgrove leads Padres

Joe Musgrove enjoyed a memorable debut for the San Diego Padres. He struck out eight batters in six innings to lead the unbeaten Padres to a 7-0 shutout of the Arizona Diamondbacks and 3-0 start to the season. Musgrove held the Diamondbacks to three hits, while walking none.

An inside-the-park home run from Zach McKinstry lifted World Series champions the Los Angeles Dodgers past the Colorado Rockies 6-5. McKinstry hit the go-ahead score in the eighth inning after connecting on a fastball from Mychal Givens for his first major league homer. It was the first inside-the-park homer by a Dodgers player since 2017.

Jose Berrios struck out 12 batters in six hitless innings as the Minnesota Twins took down the Milwaukee Brewers 2-0. He combined with three relievers on a one-hitter with 17 strikeouts. Berrios and Brewers pitcher Corbin Burnes became the first pair of opposing starters to have 10-plus strikeouts and one or fewer hits allowed in the same game in the modern era, per Stats Perform.

The Houston Astros maintained their 100 per cent record thanks to Yordan Alvarez's three-run homer in the 9-1 rout of the Oakland Athletics.

Hill humbled in Miami

Rich Hill struggled in the Tampa Bay Rays' 12-7 loss to the Miami Marlins. The 41-year-old gave up four earned runs in four innings in his first start with the Rays. He also walked two. Chris Archer took the loss after giving up four runs in two innings of relief.

Haniger completes comeback

It was a special day for Mitch Haniger. After three surgeries and nearly two years of recovery, the 30-year-old hit his first home run since 2019 as the Seattle Mariners blanked the San Francisco Giants 4-0.

Saturday's results

Houston Astros 9-1 Oakland Athletics
Cincinnati Reds 9-6 St Louis Cardinals
Miami Marlins 12-7 Tampa Bay Rays
New York Yankees 5-3 Toronto Blue Jays
Baltimore Orioles 4-2 Boston Red Sox
Detroit Tigers 5-2 Cleveland Indians
Kansas City Royals 11-4 Texas Rangers
Chicago Cubs 5-1 Pittsburgh Pirates
Philadelphia Phillies 4-0 Atlanta Braves
Minnesota Twins 2-0 Milwaukee Brewers
Los Angeles Dodgers 6-5 Colorado Rockies
San Diego Padres 7-0 Arizona Diamondbacks
Los Angeles Angels 5-3 Chicago White Sox
Seattle Mariners 4-0 San Francisco Giants
New York Mets-Washington Nationals (postponed)

Blue Jays at Yankees

The Blue Jays (1-1) and Yankees (1-1) will look to settle their three-game series in New York on Sunday.

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.

Yadier Molina has agreed to terms on a new deal to extend his St Louis Cardinals career into an 18th MLB season.

The 38-year-old catcher's new contract was announced by the Cardinals on Monday.

Molina made his MLB debut with the Cardinals in 2004 and has gone on to win two World Series with the team, while being named an All-Star nine times.

"We are excited to announce that we have agreed to terms with Yadier Molina on a new contract!" the Cardinals wrote on Twitter.

"We will have more details tomorrow on Yadi continuing his Cardinals legacy."

Reports said Molina, who was a free agent, had agreed to a one-year extension with the Cardinals.

Molina's 2,025 games for the Cardinals ranks as the third most for the team, behind Stan Musial (3,026) and Lou Brock (2,289).

He is sixth for hits (2,001), seventh for RBIs (932), 10th for home runs (160) and 22nd for runs scored (713).

The Cardinals made the MLB playoffs in 2020 before falling to the San Diego Padres in the National League (NL) Wild Card Series.

The Los Angeles Angels have acquired World Series champion and All-Star Dexter Fowler from the St Louis Cardinals, it was announced on Thursday.

MLB veteran Fowler is swapping the Cardinals for the Angels in exchange for a player to be named or cash considerations.

The Cardinals – who secured star third baseman Nolan Arenado in a blockbuster trade with the Colorado Rockies on Monday – are also sending the Angels $12.75million as part of the deal.

Fowler will reunite with Angels manager Joe Maddon after the pair teamed up during the Chicago Cubs' triumphant World Series run in 2016.

The 34-year-old Fowler – in the final year of a five-year-, $82.5m deal – left the Cubs for the Cardinals ahead of the 2017 season.

Fowler batted .233/.317/.389 with four home runs and 15 RBIs in 31 games during the coronavirus-shortened 2020 campaign.

In his last full season, Fowler hit .238/.346/.409 with 19 homers, 24 doubles and 67 RBIs in 150 games in 2019.

Since debuting with the Rockies in 2008, Fowler is a career .259/.358/.418 hitter with 127 home runs, 253 doubles, 82 triples and 516 RBIs in 1,453 games.

The Angels have not reached the playoffs since being swept by the Kansas City Royals in the 2014 American League Division Series (ALDS).

The St Louis Cardinals made a splash after acquiring Nolan Arenado on Monday.

It cost five players, but the Cardinals fleeced the Colorado Rockies to bring in a five-time All-Star via a blockbuster trade.

The Cardinals will reportedly receive $50million in cash considerations, new deferrals in Arenado's contract that has six years and $199m remaining, and the waiving of his no-trade clause.

Arenado only signed an eight-year, $260m contract with the Rockies prior to the 2019 MLB season but Colorado opted to make a deal with the Cardinals.

The 29-year-old's arrival is a significant addition and quickly establishes the Cardinals as the team to beat in the National League (NL) Central ahead of the Chicago Cubs, Cincinnati Reds, Milwaukee Brewers and Pittsburgh Pirates.

St Louis – eyeing their first World Series championship since 2011 – now boast a formidable corner-infield combination in Arenado and six-time All-Star Paul Goldschmidt.

We take a look at the numbers behind Arenado using Stats Perform data as the World Series-chasing Cardinals eye success in 2021.

Arenado's a genuine star

The third baseman's record speaks for itself.

Eight Gold Gloves, four Silver Slugger awards and four Platinum Gloves, to go with three NL home run and NL RBI leader honours.

Arenado is one of two players in MLB history to win a Gold Glove in each of his first eight seasons in the majors, along with former Seattle Mariners favourite Ichiro Suzuki.

While he was hampered by a shoulder injury during the coronavirus-shortened 2020 season – tallying 46 hits, 23 runs, eight homers and 26 RBIs in 182 at-bats for the Rockies, Arenado was coming off a career-best .315 with 41 home runs and 118 RBIs in 2019.

Arenado had five successive seasons with at least 35 home runs and 110 RBIs from 2015-19 (before the shortened 2020 season) – tied for the longest streak in NL history, alongside ex-Cubs star Sammy Sosa (1997-2001).

The Cardinals, on the other hand, have never had a third baseman hit 35-plus home runs in a season in their history.

St Louis are one of five current franchises that have never had a third baseman hit 35-plus homers in a season (34 in 1992 and 2004), and they are the oldest team (1882) in that group, ahead of the Boston Red Sox (1901), Washington Nationals (1969), Mariners (1977) and Miami Marlins (1993).

After making his debut with the Rockies in 2013, Arenado has amassed 1,206 hits, 649 runs, 235 homers and 760 RBIs at an average of .293 in his career.

Since his first MLB appearance almost eight years ago, only Nelson Cruz (287), Mike Trout (267) and Edwin Encarnacion (265) have hit more homers than Arenado.

Arenado, though, tops the list for most RBIs since 2013 – ahead of new team-mate Goldschmidt (720), who sits fourth.

In the postseason, Arenado has two runs, one homer and three RBIs while averaging .190 in 21 at-bats.

The Cardinals – beaten in the Wild Card Round last season – lost to the Nationals in the 2019 National League Championship Series (NLCS), while they went down to the Red Sox in the 2013 World Series.

The St Louis Cardinals have acquired five-time MLB All-Star Nolan Arenado in a blockbuster trade with the Colorado Rockies.

St Louis and Colorado announced the deal on Monday, with the Cardinals sending Austin Gomber, Elehuris Montero, Tony Locey, Mateo Gil and Jake Sommers to the Rockies in exchange for Arenado and cash considerations.

The Cardinals will reportedly receive $50million in cash, new deferrals in Arenado's contract that has six years and $199m remaining, and the waiving of his no-trade clause.

Arenado signed an eight-year, $260m contract with the Rockies prior to the 2019 season but Colorado opted to deal the eight-time Gold Glove Award winner.

The 29-year-old was hampered by soreness in the AC joint of his left shoulder during the coronavirus-shortened 2020 season, tallying 46 hits, 23 runs, eight homers and 26 RBIs in 182 at-bats for the Rockies – who missed the playoffs.

Arenado was coming off a career-best .315 with 41 home runs and 118 RBIs in 2019.

A Gold Glove winner in each of his eight seasons in Colorado, where he made his debut in 2013, Arenado has amassed 1,206 hits, 649 runs, 235 homers and 760 RBIs at an average of .293 in his career.

In the postseason, the four-time Silver Slugger and four-time Platinum Glove winner has two runs, one homer and three RBIs while averaging .190 in 21 at-bats.

The Cardinals, who lost in the Wild Card Round last season, quickly become favourites to win the National League (NL) Central, which consists of the Chicago Cubs, Cincinnati Reds, Milwaukee Brewers and Pittsburgh Pirates.

Not since 2011 have the Cardinals won the World Series.