Major League Baseball held its (second) Opening Day of the 2022 season Friday. After 14 teams played their openers on Thursday, the league’s other 16 teams opened on Friday. The Yankees got their 2022 off on the right foot on the field (after not coming to an extension agreement with Aaron Judge), beating the Red Sox in 11 innings with Josh Donaldson hitting a walk-off single. The Phillies, Dodgers, Blue Jays, Giants and Rays also started their seasons with wins.
And for the second straight night, the Diamondbacks were in jeopardy of being no-hit. Padres lefty Sean Manaea did not allowed a hit against Arizona through seven innings, but David Peralta broke up the no-hit bid against reliever Tim Hill to start the eighth inning.
Here’s a look at Friday’s full scoreboard:
MLB Opening Day schedule, scores
- FINAL (11): Yankees 6, Red Sox 5 (Box score)
- FINAL: Tigers 5, White Sox 4 (Box score)
- FINAL: Phillies 9, A’s 5 (Box score)
- FINAL: Rays 2, Orioles 1 (Box score)
- FINAL: Dodgers 5, Rockies 3 (Box score)
- FINAL: Mariners 2, Twins 1 (Box score)
- FINAL (10): Giants 6, Marlins 5 (Box score)
- FINAL: Mets 7, Nationals 3 (Box score)
- FINAL: Blue Jays 10, Rangers 8 (Box score)
- FINAL: Braves 7, Reds 6 (Box score)
- FINAL: Astros 13, Angels 6 (Box score)
- FINAL: Padres 3, Diamondbacks 0 (Box score)
And now for takeaways from Friday’s action.
Padres flirt with another no-no
Padres left-hander Sean Manaea, acquired just last weekend as part of a four-player trade with the Oakland Athletics, held the Diamondbacks hitless through seven innings on Friday night. Alas, Manaea’s replacement, reliever Tim Hill, surrendered a single to David Peralta, or the first hitter he faced in the eighth inning.
Had Hill (and the rest of the Padres bullpen) finished off the no-no, it would have been the second in Padres franchise history. The first, coincidentally, was thrown just last season by San Diego’s expected Saturday starter, right-hander Joe Musgrove. (Musgrove kept the Texas Rangers out of the hit column last April 9, or almost a year to the day.)
The Padres had also kept the Diamondbacks out of the hit column for more than six innings on Thursday night before Arizona rallied and won on a walk-off home-run by Seth Beer.
Donaldson, Yankees bail out Cole
It was not a good start to Opening Day for Gerrit Cole. The Yankees ace and reigning Cy Young runner-up surrendered three runs to the rival Red Sox before recording an out Friday, including giving up a towering two-run home run to Rafael Devers. Cole settled down and got through four innings, and home runs by Anthony Rizzo, Giancarlo Stanton, and DJ LeMahieu sent the game to extra innings.
In the bottom of the 11th, new addition Josh Donaldson gave his team the win with a ground ball single back up the middle, scoring the automatic runner from second. It was New York’s first walk-off win on Opening Day since 1957.
“The team resiliency is going to lead to good things in the future,” Donaldson said after the game. “… To show some resiliency and fight back and hang in there — total team win, bullpen did a great job — hopefully it leads to great things in the future.”
Following Cole’s short start, seven Yankees relievers held the Red Sox to two runs in seven innings, and one of the two was the automatic runner in the 10th inning. Boston’s bullpen was tagged for three runs in five innings, and that was with Garrett Whitlock cruising through his first two innings without much issue.
Scherzer overshadowed by benches-clearing incident
Max Scherzer made his Mets debut on Friday, going up against his old club, the Nationals. Unfortunately, his start might not be what people take away from the game.
In the fifth inning, Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor was hit in the helmet by a pitch from Steve Cishek. Lindor went down and the benches and bullpens cleared, with New York manager Buck Showalter being among the most aggrieved Mets personnel. Take a look:
Lindor departed the game while Cishek was ejected by the umpires. It should be noted that Lindor was the fourth Mets player hit by a pitch already this series.
Scherzer did his part, by the way, recording a quality start by throwing six innings and allowing three runs on three hits and a walk. He also struck out six batters and threw 53 of his 80 pitches for strikes.
Rangers shell Berríos, but Blue Jays come back
Prior to the lockout, the Blue Jays signed righty José Berríos to a . Things can only get better from here. On Friday, the Rangers tagged Berrios for four runs in his Opening Day start, and he recorded just one out. Six of the seven hitters Berríos faced reached base. That includes Brad Miller’s leadoff homer.
I suppose the good news is Berríos did not have the worst Opening Day start in Blue Jays history. Mark Bomback holds that distinction. He allowed six runs and recorded just one out against the Brewers in 1982. Three years prior Tom Underwood was charged with nine runs in only 1 2/3 innings on Opening Day. Toronto has had some Opening Day stinkers in their history.
Even so, the Blue Jays stormed back and took the lead in the sixth inning en route to a 10-8 win.
This is the second straight season the Rangers have been involved in an Opening Day game in which a starter couldn’t get out of the first inning. Last year Texas righty Kyle Gibson allowed five runs while recording just one out. It’s much more fun when you’re on the business end of the Opening Day beatdown.
Ray strong in M’s debut
Robbie Ray, the reigning American League Cy Young Award winner, made his debut with the Mariners on Friday, months after signing a five-year contract worth $115 million.
Ray was tasked with shutting down the Twins lineup, and he managed to do just that. In the process, he became the fourth Seattle pitcher in franchise history to throw seven innings and allow one run or fewer on Opening Day, according to the club, joining a group that includes Félix Hernández (who did it five times during his illustrious career), Randy Johnson, and Mike Moore.
Ray’s overall line saw him surrender three hits and four walks. He also struck out five batters. He’s in line to take his next start next Wednesday on the road against the White Sox in what could be a potential playoff preview.
Phillies lineup lives up to hype
The Phillies spent a lot of money this offseason to sign Kyle Schwarber and Nick Castellanos with an eye on improving the lineup around Bryce Harper. It’s too early to judge those moves, but they looked smart in their opener vs. the Athletics.
Philadelphia notched 11 hits and plated nine runs, including a handful against A’s starter Frankie Montas, over the course of Friday afternoon. The Phillies’ top five hitters — Schwarber, JT Realmuto, Harper, Castellanos, and Rhys Hoskins — combined for seven hits, six runs batted in, and four walks.
Schwarber even received curtain-call treatment after hitting a home run in his first at-bat in town:
The Phillies will continue their three-game series with the Athletics on Saturday.
Day of walk-offs
The second day of MLB’s season saw three teams record walk-off victories, mimicking the Diamondbacks’ come-from-behind win on opening night.
The Tigers trailed the White Sox by a 3-0 margin heading into the bottom of the sixth inning, and were down by two coming into the eighth. Detroit tied the game on a Miguel Cabrera single. The Tigers then won the game in the bottom of the ninth, with Eric Haase hitting a game-tying home run and Javier Báez plating the winning run in memorable fashion following a triple by new acquisition Austin Meadows.
We covered the Yankees in a different subhead, but they knocked off the Red Sox in extras thanks to Josh Donaldson.
Then there were the Giants, who squandered a two-run lead in the ninth inning against the Marlins. San Francisco would force extras with a Thairo Estrada home run. Austin Slater then scored Darin Ruf in the bottom of the 10th for the win.
