Category: MLB

Dave Roberts was recognized wherever he went last winter: at a Chargers game, at a UCLA game, at a Palisades High baseball practice, even in Japan. He is the manager of the Dodgers, the reigning World Series champions. In three weeks, the Dodgers will distribute 40,000 Roberts bobbleheads.

Ron Washington, the manager of the Angels, went out to run some errands Thursday. As usual, he said, no one noticed.

“I have not had anyone recognize who I am out there,” he said Friday.

When might that change?

“When we show a consistent amount of success,” Washington said. “Right now, I’m just a regular Joe out there.”

This is the Dodgers’ world, and everyone else in baseball is just living in it.

Unfortunately for the Angels, they are living with the longest playoff drought in the major leagues, and with the Dodgers in their faces, in a stadium 30 miles up the Santa Ana Freeway.

And so it was that when the Angels threw their fans a party before the home opener Friday, I did not have to look far to find someone in a Dodgers jersey.

In fairness, the Dodgers fans I found were part of households with divided loyalties. Marie Hernandez of Los Angeles came with her son, who supported the Angels. Her gear for the day: a Dodgers World Series sweatshirt and cap.

“I’m representing the team that won,” she said. “I’m still very hopeful for the Angels.”

Read more:Shaikin: What's the future for aging Angel Stadium? It feels like an increasingly uncertain one

Manny Galvan of Pico Rivera did not much care about that. His son wore his Mike Trout jersey. Galvan wore a Dodgers jersey with Shohei Ohtani’s name.

“I always wear a Dodger jersey,” he said. “I wore Ohtani so I didn’t get booed today.”

Zuleyka Gonzalez of Riverside also wore a Dodgers jersey with Ohtani’s name. She attends Angels games regularly — sometimes in that Ohtani jersey, other times wearing Dodgers jerseys with the names of Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman or Teoscar Hernández.

Her fiancé is an Angels fan. The couple agreed their child would be raised as a Dodgers fan if a boy and an Angels fan if a girl.

Congratulations, Halo Nation: You have a beautiful month-old girl supporting your team, even if she does not quite know that yet. Her name is Zule.

Jered Weaver, one of the greatest pitchers in Angels history, caught the ceremonial first pitch Friday. He played high school ball in Simi Valley, where he grew up a Dodgers fan. He now lives in Thousand Oaks.

“Everybody’s on the Dodgers bandwagon out there,” Weaver said.

Kenley Jansen, the Dodgers’ closer for a decade, is the Angels’ closer this season.

Read more:Shaikin: The Angels have the longest playoff drought in MLB. What exactly is the plan?

“Dodger fans have been great forever,” he said. “Every time I’m walking down the street in L.A., all these great Dodgers fans keep me giving me a fist bump. They show love, and how much they care.

“Now, I’m getting all the Angels fans too. I feel like I’m a complete package now. All the Angels fans are so excited that I’m wearing the Angels uniform. I’m a complete L.A. guy. I get to play for both teams now. It’s something special.”

Jansen lives in Palos Verdes, which he is said is more Dodgers territory than Angels territory. Travis d’Arnaud, the Angels’ new backup catcher, played at Lakewood High and lives in Los Alamitos, on the Orange County edge of the border with Los Angeles County.

“There’s more Angel fans and Angel gear,” he said. “There’s still a lot of Dodgers gear, don’t get me wrong.”

I asked Jansen what message he had for Angels fans tired of hearing about the Dodgers.

“We can’t worry about that,” he said. “The Dodgers are going to be the Dodgers. We have to figure out how to be successful again. The focus of this group is to get this organization back to winning.”

I thought about that in light of the Angels' news of the morning: Anaheim mayor Ashleigh Aitken wants Angels owner Arte Moreno to restart negotiations on a deal to revitalize Angel Stadium and extend the team’s tenure there, and she wants Moreno to stop with the Los Angeles name and revert to calling his team the Anaheim Angels.

To be sure, the Angels’ fan party was overwhelmingly populated by Angels fans: many in Trout jerseys, very few in jerseys of anyone else on the roster, quite a few in jerseys of Angels greats that actually won postseason games in Anaheim, including Weaver and Vladimir Guerrero, Torii Hunter and Howie Kendrick, Garret Anderson and Tim Salmon, Darin Erstad and Troy Glaus, Rod Carew and Reggie Jackson.

Trout is 33. The last year the Angels won a postseason game was the year he graduated from high school.

There is work to be done in Anaheim. Aitken can negotiate a deal on behalf of the city, if Moreno even wants to negotiate.

If you build a better ballpark, will they come? If you build a better ballclub, will they come?

The Dodgers have done both. Fans have come. Rings have come. For the Angels, success is defined 30 miles up the freeway.

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

Tylor Megill was just the opening act and a supporting player in the Mets' 5-0 win in their home opener on Friday at Citi Field. But the right-hander delivered a second-straight solid outing and set the table for the fireworks around him before exiting stage left.

“Just exciting. Full crowd today, electric, energy was great,” Megill said after delivering 5.1 innings of two-hit, three-walk ball with four strikeouts. “That’s what makes it super fun when all the fans show up, and they’re all chanting hard and we’re playing great, as well.”

Megill, who again went heavy on his fastball, slider, and sinker in his second start of the season, got fewer called strikes and whiffs than he did a week ago in Houston but was just as effective.

Carlos Mendoza liked the mix of pitches and the right-hander “keeping it simple” and “attacking hitters,” which was a key for him in his debut.

“I thought he used all of ‘em today in a good way,” the manager said of Megill’s arsenal. “But I think it comes down to throwing strikes and staying on the attack.”

After throwing two curveballs last week, Megill threw nine on Friday, getting two whiffs on four swings.

“It’s completely different from where it was last year. It’s a lot harder and sharper,” he said. “I used it a few times today for strikeouts today against the lefties. And then threw some good ones to righties.

“I think it’s just good for change of pace, change of eyes. I think it’s pretty important.”

After an 11-pitch first, Megill put himself into a spot of bother early and had to dig out of a hole after Pete Alonso gave him a 2-0 lead to work with.

With two down in the second, Megill surrendered a triple to George Springer and walked Will Wagner on a full count. That’s when pitching coach Jeremy Hefner came out to give the starter a moment, having already thrown 21 pitches in the frame.

“He slowed the game down and made pitches when he needed to,” Mendoza said, adding that Hefner’s visit helped “put him in a better position there, and he went out there and executed.”

Megill got Ernie Clement to pop out in foul territory on a 95 mph fastball above the zone to end the threat.

Could he have drawn the day up any better? “A little more efficient with the pitching,” the starter said with a smile. “Did the job.”’

He added: “Full bullpen killing it. Offense killing it. It was pretty perfect ball game today.”

Mets' 'pen spells relief

“We like the guys that we got there, and they keep doing their jobs,” Mendoza said of the Mets’ bullpen after his relievers delivered 3.2 scoreless innings allowing two hits and no walks while striking out six.

Of course, it is pretty simple for the first part of that sentence to be true when the second part is this apparent.

Through seven games, Mets relievers have posted a 1.40 ERA (second lowest in MLB), a 0.97 WHIP (sixth lowest), and are holding opponents to a .178 batting average (tied for fourth lowest) over 25.2 innings. The 'pen has a 24 to 9 strikeout-to-walk ratio.

“There’s a lot of different looks, a lot of different pitch types, righty, lefties, and the biggest thing is coming into the game and attacking the strike zone,” the manager said. “They’re doing that.” 

The first man out of the bullpen on Friday was Reed Garrett, and he had no easy task as Megill departed following back-to-back one-out walks. But the right-hander needed just eight pitches to get Andrés Giménez and Alejandro Kirk swinging. 

“Reader comin' in and just dealing,” Megill said.

“He’s done it before, he keeps doing it,” the skipper added. “I like his pitches, obviously, his ability to slow the game down. Having the awareness of the situation, whether you’re trying to make a guy chase, you’re trying to get a ground ball.”

Garrett induced four whiffs, with the splitter working as the put-away pitch both times.

“This is a guy that can get righties, get lefties, get ground balls, can get swing and misses with a lot of his pitches, and he’s done that. He’s a big part of that bullpen, and he’ll continue to play a huge role.”

It was a big day for one of those relievers: childhood Mets fan Max Krannick, who again provided two innings to protect the rest of the arms.

“Krannick continues to do a helluva job on a day where we needed him to finish that game, he ended up doing that,” Mendoza said. “That goes a long way when you’re protecting the bullpen the way they’re doing. Whether it’s a [Huascar] Brazobán, whether it’s [José] Butto going multiple innings the other day, today Krannick.”

So far, that trio has provided 14.1 innings and allowed just four hits over eight scoreless outings.

“We’re gonna need all of them,” Mendoza continued. “And they’re all doing their job and their parts. And that’s good to see.”

Heading into the 2025 season, the Mets' offense was one to be reckoned with. The addition of Juan Soto and bringing back Pete Alonso made a formidable 1-2 punch that could rival any other team. Add in NL MVP runner-up Francisco Lindor and a cast of capable hitters and the 2025 Mets were poised to score a ton of runs.

Well, that hasn't proven true in the early going. Not until the home opener at Citi Field, at least.

Entering Friday's game against the Blue Jays, the Mets have scored 23 runs in their first six games, but only in two of them did they score more than three runs.

New York was motivated to be aggressive and push across as many runs as possible, and it started with Lindor.

Leading off, the unofficial Mets captain went the other way and deposited a hit into left-center and stretched it into a double -- originally called out but overturned after replay. After the game, Lindor said that coaches and other players have been talking to him about setting the tone by being aggressive.

"The guys behind me are really, really good. Let them do what they do," Lindor said. "My job as a leadoff is to set the tone."

It was a great start for Lindor, who entered the game mired in an all-too-familiar April slump. He was 2-for-20 on the team's road trip to start the season with six strikeouts and no walks.

"I didn’t do a good job on the road trip to give the team quality at-bats. My main goal today was to give quality at-bats, if I do that, hitting is very contagious," Lindor elaborated. "Hopefully, that passes on to Soto. Soto’s been having great at-bats, the he can pass it on to Pete, he’s been doing fantastic. Then to Nimmo, he’s been doing very good. By me setting the tone, hopefully, everyone else can pass it along and end up on top."

"Great to set the tone right away. Everything is calculated, what he does," Nimmo said of Lindor. "Push it for the double, obviously a great slide to get in there safely and to grab the momentum right away and never let go. That’s the way you want to play all the way through. Happy for Lindor. You’re not going to keep him down for long. We know big games are coming from him soon."

Alonso would drive in Lindor with his opposite-field homer that put the Mets up 2-0 after the first. Lindor would set the table for the Mets again in the sixth with a one-out walk. The Jays brought in a lefty to take on Soto, but the perennial All-Star lined a double down the right-field line, scoring Lindor all the way from first base.

After Alonso was intentionally walked, Nimmo would make Toronto pay with a double to increase the Mets' lead to 4-0. Starling Marte would push across the final run of the game with a sacrifice fly.

That sixth inning magnified how dangerous this lineup could be. No matter how the Blue Jays tried to play around with the matchups, it was a next-man-up mentality, with Nimmo's double that Alonso said "pushed us over the edge" for the win. Nimmo said after that he always wants to make a team pay for intentionally walking the batter in front of him and was glad to come through for the team.

He also echoed Lindor when asked about the offense as a whole.

"They say hitting is contagious and that’s a real thing. Just going up there and playing off the momentum," he said. "Soto getting that big double was huge to be able to get some more breathing room. Knowing that hitting is contagious and knowing you’re going up there with a good plan and try and execute it.

"It was a good feeling to come through and glad I can help the boys there and solidify that win in the end."

When the Mets signed Soto and re-signed Alonso, when talking about Nimmo's RBI double, Lindor pointed to it as proof that this offense is more than just a couple of players.

"It proves that it’s not about 1, 2, 3 hitters. Everyone in this lineup can do damage," Lindor said. "Nimmo’s been doing damage for a very long time. To walk Pete to go lefty on lefty, now they’re going to have to start rethinking their game plan because they know Nimmo is going to execute. I like the depth of the lineup.

"Today was a good day to be a New York Met, and we got to come back tomorrow and put on a better show."

To many around the sport, the Dodgers have become villains for the way they’ve outspent the rest of the league, loaded their roster with international talent, and stockpiled depth at seemingly every position.

To the Philadelphia Phillies, however, it makes them the standard; one with which their own big-money, star-studded roster is trying to compete.

“I don’t know if people will like this,” said the Phillies' biggest star, two-time MVP Bryce Harper, when asked Friday about the Dodgers' juggernaut status, “but I feel like only losers complain about what they’re doing. I think they’re a great team, they’re a great organization. That’s why guys want to go there and play.”

Read more:Mookie Betts will join teammates for Dodgers' White House visit: 'This is not about me'

In other words, Harper added, “they’re doing what the Dodgers do.”

That’s why, on Friday night, there was a distinct buzz around Citizens Bank Park when the Dodgers came to town. Why, for the first week of April, this series had a litmus-test kind of feel.

"I think that both teams like to use each other as a barometer, or a benchmark,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said.

But right now, no team sets the bar higher than the Dodgers.

And for one night, at least, the first-place Phillies were able to measure up.

In a 3-2 defeat, the Phillies handed the defending World Series champions their first loss of the season; dropping the Dodgers to 8-1 in a game that, yes, proved this year’s $400 million team is, in fact, beatable.

"Uncharted territory,” Roberts deadpanned of the team’s first loss. 

“We were bound to lose eventually,” added Tommy Edman. “But still a tough loss for sure."

Indeed, knocking off the Dodgers was no easy feat.

Over six innings against Yoshinobu Yamamoto, the Phillies had one unearned run. Yamamoto misfired on a pick-off throw to third that allowed Trea Turner to score.

“That was very regrettable,” Yamamoto, who was otherwise flawless in a three-hit, three-walk, five-strikeout start, said through interpreter Yoshihiro Sonoda. “It was a very fundamental play.”

Philadelphia’s starter, burgeoning 27-year-old left-hander Jesús Luzardo, produced one of his best career starts, blanking the Dodgers over seven scoreless innings on two hits, two walks, eight strikeouts — and some help from a howling wind blowing in from center, which kept seemingly surefire home runs from Shohei Ohtani and Teoscar Hernández in the ballpark.

“I thought Shohei's ball, on any normal night, would've been a homer. I thought Teo's ball, any normal night, would've been a homer,” Roberts said. “But you can't take credit away from Luzardo. He pitched a heck of a ballgame."

And the few times the Dodgers did have opportunities to erase the deficit — which grew to 3-0 after the Phillies scored twice in the seventh off reliever Kirby Yates — they squandered them with either empty at-bats (such as Kiké Hernández’s inning-ending strikeout with two aboard in the seventh) or, more frustratingly, miscues on the bases.

Andy Pages was caught stealing to end the sixth inning, getting stuck in a rundown after a premature jump that triggered a pick-off throw from Luzardo.

“As a young player, you still got to play the game the right way,” Roberts said. “He was doubled off a couple games ago. And this one, you go and you stop — you just can't. ... Gotta eliminate those outs on the bases."

Ohtani gambled with runners on the corners and two outs in the eighth, getting thrown out by star Phillies catcher JT Realmuto at second to end the inning with Mookie Betts at the plate. 

“Realmuto is one of the best throwers in the game,” Roberts said, noting Ohtani had the green light to steal. “But when you're down three with Mookie at the plate, you got to make sure you're safe if you're going to go.”

Then, after a two-run, ninth-inning homer from Edman (who is tied for the early National League lead with five long balls) cut the three-run deficit to one, Chris Taylor was thrown out trying to steal second as a pinch-runner, ending the game on a strike ‘em out, throw ‘em out double-play that also saw Max Muncy go down swinging.

“Giving those guys three outs on the bases,” Roberts said, “that's something that we have to clean up.”

As a result, the Dodgers’ perfect start to the season fell two wins shy of the all-time franchise record of 10-0, set by the 1955 “Boys of Summer” World Series squad.

And they got their first reminder that, in this year’s National League pennant race, they will still be tested by fellow contenders, from divisional rivals like the San Francisco Giants (who are 6-1) and San Diego Padres (who also lost their perfect record Friday, dropping to 7-1), to perhaps the World Series-starved Phillies (also 6-1) most of all.

“It's hard to beat a good team,” Roberts said. “That's what happened tonight."

As for Harper’s “losers” comment about people who take issue with the Dodgers’ way of doing business?

“I guess that's probably why Bryce is one of my favorite players,” Roberts said with a laugh. “I agree."

Sign up for more Dodgers news with Dodgers Dugout. Delivered at the start of each series.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

In the interview room, Pete Alonso was searching for the right word to sum up what had to be the most heartwarming day of his career, for so many reasons.

After all, no matter what he says publicly, there were surely times last winter when the slugger believed he wasn’t coming back to the Mets, given the lack of traction in contract negotiations.

Yet here was Alonso at the home opener, soaking in all the love the Citi Field fans could heap upon him after his first-inning home run that set the tone for a 5-0 win over the Toronto Blue Jays, eventually taking a curtain call when the cheering wouldn’t end.

So what was the right word to describe such a memorable day?

Alonso went with “picturesque” a couple of times, speaking to the feel of a convincing win on a day the Mets dodged threatening skies and got temperatures warm enough for short sleeves.

Finally, when asked about his own personal feelings, Alonso tried again.

“It was very storybook-like,” he said with a smile.

Yep, that works.

Maybe there are other emotions Alonso would rather not speak to as well, of course. It’s only natural for him to have a chip on his shoulder and a determination to prove he deserved the long-term contract the Mets wouldn’t give him.

But to his credit, he hasn’t offered so much as a hint in that direction from the day in February that he re-signed for the two-year, $54 million deal that includes an opt-out after 2025.

Instead, he has shown up with a smile and gone to work, so far at least debunking any notion that he is in decline as a hitter after his numbers had fallen off the last two seasons.

“He’s locked in,” was the way Carlos Mendoza put it after Friday’s win. “When he’s not chasing, when he’s going to the opposite field, he’s really, really good.”

More than that, Alonso has been a difference-maker, something he wasn’t in 2024, at least until the postseason.

Already this season, he has hit three game-changing home runs, all of them to center or right-center, to the point Mendoza was making, which indicates he is not pressing and overswinging, which seemed to be the case last year.

All in all, after seven games, Alonso is hitting .292 with five extra-base hits, 10 RBI and a .750 slugging percentage. On Wednesday he hit three balls at 113 mph or higher off the bat, which is rarefied air for exit velocity.

Even more impressive, after his first two at-bats on Friday, including his home run and then a rocket ground ball to third, Alonso had hit the ball at 101 mph or harder in six straight at-bats over two games.

Yet, to fully appreciate how hot Alonso is at the moment, you had to see just how he hit that first-inning home run on Friday. Facing an elite starter in Kevin Gausman, whose nasty splitter puts hitters in protect mode with two strikes, Alonso fell behind 1-2, fouled off an inside fastball, and then flicked his bat at a 95-mph heater below the knees on the outside corner.

And it went 377 feet into the wind over the right-field fence.

According to Inside Edge, a statistical website, it was only the fourth time in his career that Alonso had hit a home run with two strikes on a pitch outside the strike zone.

That’s locked in, all right.

Yet long-time teammate Brandon Nimmo insisted he wasn’t surprised.

“That’s very much Pete,” Nimmo said. “He finds the barrel and it can leave any ballpark.”

However, scouts will tell you it wasn’t happening as much as usual last season. Heck, your own eyes told you that. He was hitting mistake pitches and not much else, rarely coming through in the clutch -- at least until sitting back on that fateful change-up from Devin Williams in Milwaukee last October.

But the point is, Alonso is capable of this. He hit some of his most impressive home runs to the opposite field early in his career, and he has talked about how he made some changes in his swing mechanics in the offseason to get more balanced again.

Maybe it’s as simple as that. More likely, Alonso learned something from playing for that mega-contract last year, maybe wanting it a little too much.

In any case, he looks like the best version of himself, which could mean 40-plus home runs and the type of protection for Juan Soto that could make the Mets’ offense a beast.

The sixth inning on Friday was an indication of the possibilities. With Francisco Lindor on base, the Blue Jays went to a lefthanded reliever, Mason Fluharty, and after Soto lined an RBI double to the right-field corner, the Jays had little choice but to intentionally walk Alonso.

That set the table for Brandon Nimmo, who has hit lefties better than right-handers the last few years, to deliver his own RBI double, before Starling Marte finished off the three-run rally with a hard sacrifice fly to center.

“That’s what this lineup can do,” said Nimmo, “especially with Pete swinging the bat like he is.”

That’s when Nimmo was asked about his own take on the Alonso contract saga.

“We were definitely worried [that Alonso wouldn’t be back],” he said. “But we don’t have to worry anymore.”

Finally, an NL scout texted me with an observation that added some notable perspective: “I thought Soto was a stone-cold lock to be the first Met intentionally walked this season. Not Alonso.”

There is a long way to go, of course. But on Friday, Alonso deserved to savor all the cheers and chants from the fans, all the hugs and handshakes from teammates that made this a day to remember. Storybook indeed.

The Yankees got big-time production from the bottom of the order and easily dispatched the hapless Pirates, 9-4, to spoil Opening Day in Pittsburgh.

Anthony Volpe, Trent Grisham, Jasson Dominguez, and Oswaldo Cabrera combined to go 6-for-7 with three walks and two hit batters for seven RBI… all in the game’s first four innings.

Max Fried produced 5.2 innings of effective work, allowing just one run and striking out six, Aaron Judge added the icing on the cake with a two-run blast in the seventh to give him six home runs on the year, and New York improved to 5-2. Pittsburgh fell to 2-6.

Here are the takeaways...

- Dominguez yanked a double into the right field corner after Grisham's one-out walk in the second. They came home on Cabrera's single to the gap in left-center to give the visitors a 2-0 lead off Pirates starter Mitch Keller.

The duo at the bottom of the lineup inflicted more damage with two outs in the third. After Volpe was hit by a pitch and Grisham rocketed an infield hit, Dominguez added an RBI with a broken-bat single to left (72.2 mph exit velocity). Cabrera tacked on another run with a ball hit just off the end of his bat (66 mph) for a single to left to make it 4-0.

A second-straight two-out rally produced another run in the fourth. Paul Goldschmidt singled, Austin Wells was hit by the pitch, and Volpe singled up the middle to plate the Yanks' fifth run. Keller walked Grisham for a second time. Pirates lefty Joey Wentz came in and plated two runs by plunking Dominguez and walking Cabrera to make it 7-1.

Here’s how the bottom of the order finished the day:

• Volpe: 3-for-4 with an RBI, two runs, HBP, and a caught stealing.
• Grisham: 1-for-3 with two walks, two runs, and two strikeouts.
• Dominguez: 2-for-4 with two RBI, one run, a HBP, and a strikeout.
• Cabrera: 3-for-3 with four RBI and a walk.

- Fried needed nine pitches in a 1-2-3 first, but Joey Bart and one-time Yank Andrew McCutchen singled to start the second. But a pair of soft grounders and a flyout kept the Buccos off the board. The left-hander hung a 0-1 curveball to Bryan Reynolds with two down in the third, and the Pirates DH didn’t miss for a homer into the first row of seats in left. After walking Oneil Cruz, Fried nabbed his first strikeout on his 54th pitch of the day to close the inning.

Isiah Kiner-Falefa reached on an infield hit to start the fifth, but with one out, the left-hander picked off the ex-Yank with a fine move before tallying his fourth strikeout to end the inning. Fried saved his best for last, striking out the first two he saw in the sixth before McCutchen’s infield hit on a slow roller to third chased the starter. (McCutchen, 38, went 3-for-3 off Fried.) 

The final line of his second start of the year: 5.2 innings, six hits, one run, one walk, and six strikeouts on 98 pitches (62 strikes)

- Judge had Yankee fans holding their breath when he tangled with the right field wall in the bottom of the first. The slugger’s left shoulder bore the brunt of it when he made a leaping, awkward grab on Ke'Bryan Hayes’ liner.

After walking his first time up, Judge got a chance with two men on and one out in the second, but swung through a 95.6 mph fastball that was over the plate and thigh-high. He went down on three pitches, looking at a sinker that just caught the outside corner in the fourth. 

Judge struck in his fifth at-bat, clobbering a first-pitch two-run home run off one-time Yank Tim Mayza. The middle-middle sinker was smashed (106.7 mph, 403 feet) to center for his sixth dinger and 17th RBI of the year. He is now the first player in MLB history to produce those numbers in his team's first seven games. Friday was also his 1,000th big league game, his 321 homers are the most by a player in history in that span. (Ryan Howard’s 279 dingers are the second-most.)

The right fielder added a running grab over his shoulder on the warning track in the eighth. He finished 1-for-5 with a walk and three strikeouts.

- Out of the bullpen, Fernando Cruz got the final out of the sixth but allowed a leadoff double in the seventh, a bloop one-out single to Kiner-Falefa before Hayes smacked a three-run homer over the short-porch to left to make it 9-4.

Brent Headrick added two strikeouts and a walk in scoreless 1.2 innings. Back off the paternity list, Devin Williams kicked off the rust with a scoreless ninth working around a two-out walk needing 18 pitches (9 strikes).

- The Yanks had some tough luck with two on and nobody out in the first as Jazz Chisholm Jr. got rung up by on a 2-2 slider that looked below the zone in the first. Chisholm Jr. wasn’t pleased about the call and immediately had a short face-to-face with home plate umpire Tom Hanahan. Goldschmidt then went down looking at a fastball that was well off the plate. A tough break for the Yanks, who had two on and nobody out.

Chisholm Jr. went on to finish 0-for-5 with two strikeouts. Goldschmidt rebounded from the bad call to finish the day 2-for-5.

Highlights

Aaron Judge makes the grab against the wall! pic.twitter.com/ZArrtssxRj

— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) April 4, 2025

A two-run double for Oswaldo Cabrera puts the Yankees on the board! pic.twitter.com/KreVEevvUg

— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) April 4, 2025

Broken bat RBI from Jasson Domínguez makes the Yankees lead 3-0! 🔥 pic.twitter.com/mAkDLRKGUw

— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) April 4, 2025

Second hit and third RBI from Oswaldo Cabrera today extends the lead! 💪 pic.twitter.com/tHGBEmdPQw

— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) April 4, 2025

AARON JUDGE TWO-RUN HOMER 🔥 pic.twitter.com/MvCHXD8JlL

— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) April 4, 2025

What's next

The two sides tangle for the second game of the series on Saturday, with righty Marcus Stroman starting for New York and lefty Bailey Falter for Pittsburgh in the 4:05 p.m. start.

Among all the pomp and circumstance of the Mets' home opener was a curious moment when the Blue Jays were being introduced during the pregame ceremony.

When the Mets' public announcer introduced Toronto slugger Vladimir Guerrero Jr., there were noticeable cheers from the Citi Field crowd. Guerrero Jr.'s impending free agency -- unless he agrees to an extension with the Blue Jays before the end of the regular season -- is not lost on the Mets fans in attendance and they remember when New York checked in on him this offseason.

Of course, the Mets re-signed Pete Alonso and didn't get Guerrero Jr., but those rumblings are hard to keep quiet as evidenced by the fan reception. When asked about it after the game, the Blue Jays first baseman downplayed it.

"To be honest with you, that's normal for me," Guerrero Jr. said of the cheers through an interpreter. "I've never been booed in any other stadium. Everybody always has been nice to me everywhere I go."

The 26-year-old is coming off one of the best seasons of his career and is off to a good start this year. Although he hasn't hit a home run, he's batting .267 and hit 2-for-3 with a walk on Friday. He's easily the Blue Jays' best player and a homegrown star, which is why the team is looking to sign Guerrero Jr. to an extension, which multiple reports say they are close to achieving.

But, Guerrero Jr. poured some cold water on those reports.

"We didn't talk anything about contracts or deals or nothing like that. Just talking about family and seeing how we're doing," he said. "Like I said before, I'm playing right now. I'm concentrating on the games, on my teammates."

He told ESPN's Jorge Castillo in Spanish a bit more on these reported extension talks, saying, "Well, until now, I don't know anything. I've always tried to talk to my agent and I've always left that to my agent. I focus on playing. Until now, I don't know what you're talking about."

Guerrero said back in early March that he was looking for a contract that would go for "14, 15, even 20" years but did not reach the reported $600 million ask. The most recent reports say both sides are close to a deal that is closer to $500 million.

The Mets will host the Blue Jays, and Guerrero Jr., for two more games this weekend.

"To be honest with you, that's normal for me. I've never been booed in any other stadium. Everybody always has been nice to me everywhere I go."

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. talks about being cheered by the Citi Field fans today: pic.twitter.com/qjPKn1wMaD

— SNY (@SNYtv) April 4, 2025

Realmuto's heroics, Ohtani's blunder help Phillies win fun first meeting vs. Dodgers originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

A Citizens Bank Park crowd of over 43,000 let out a collective, “Ooooh,” Friday night when Shohei Ohtani drilled the first pitch he saw in the third inning.

Jesus Luzardo was already walking back to the dugout.

Ohtani’s deep flyball died in the wind, a few feet in front of the warning track in left-center, and two hours later the Dodgers were undefeated no longer, watching the Phillies celebrate a dramatic finish in the teams’ first meeting of the season.

Ohtani’s own baserunning blunder helped the Phils seal it. With runners on the corners, he illogically attempted to steal second base down three runs in the bottom of the eighth and Mookie Betts at the plate representing the tying run. Realmuto nailed him pretty easily.

The next one was even prettier and even more important. Realmuto threw out Chris Taylor for a game-ending strike-em-out, throw-em-out double play as the Phillies won 3-2. It would’ve been a walk-off caught stealing for Realmuto if not for the umpires needing to review the play after an initial safe call.

“The Ohtani one surprised me a little bit just because Mookie was hitting,” Realmuto said. “When Chris ran, I had a pretty good idea he was gonna try to run at some point in that at-bat just because he was the tying run.

“Live, I thought I got (Taylor) for sure and the first replay it looked like he was out, then the next couple of angles, it was tough to tell whether the tag was there or not. It felt 50-50 and I didn’t feel good about them overturning that.”

It was overturned, though, ending an entertaining first edition of a potential NLCS preview.

The Phils have won seven of their last eight games against the Dodgers and outscored them 29-10 at home the last two years. This Dodgers roster is even better than the last two, but the Phillies have a ton of confidence against the team most of the baseball world seems to already have crowned. Facing them three times in early April and three times in mid-September provides a fun wrinkle.

“They have a lot of depth. They can beat you in a lot of different ways,” manager Rob Thomson said. “They can match up offensively, they can match up defensively, they’ve got great start pitching. We know we’ve got to play well every time we play them.”

The front office, fanbase and Phillies clubhouse has to love what it’s seen so far from Luzardo, who has allowed two runs through 12 innings with 18 strikeouts and held his opponents to a .167 batting average. He allowed two hits over seven scoreless innings Friday.

Luzardo called it “one of the most well-executed starts of my career,” and said he didn’t shake off Realmuto once.

“He’s incredible back there, obviously,” Luzardo said. “I’ve enjoyed being able to watch him from a distance for a while and now being able to work with him is awesome, all the homework he does, the preparation, and then going out and throwing two guys out in that situation is huge.”

The Phillies held a narrow one-run lead for most of the game after scoring in the bottom of the first when Trea Turner, doubled, stole third and scored on an errant throw. Dodgers pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto stepped off the mound and had a play on him but threw wide of third baseman Miguel Rojas, who was far off the bag and racing with Turner.

They were unable to muster anything else against Yamamoto but Luzardo just kept throwing up zeroes quickly to keep the Dodgers from gaining any momentum.

The Dodgers pulled Yamamoto after six innings and Kirby Yates gave up two runs in the seventh as Max Kepler walked, Nick Castellanos doubled down the line, Bryson Stott singled one in and Brandon Marsh brought another home with a groundout. Two themes throughout the first week have been the Phillies getting to opposing bullpens and starting rallies at the bottom of the order.

The Phils knew they didn’t have Jose Alvarado on Friday after using him for 35 pitches Thursday, his second of back-to-back appearances. They brought in Matt Strahm for the eighth inning but had to turn to Jose Ruiz with two outs after Ohtani rocketed a single past Bryce Harper to put runners on the corners and bring the tying run to the plate in the form of Betts. That’s when Ohtani bailed the Phillies out.

Jordan Romano earned his first save as a Phillie but it was of the heart-attack variety. Holding a three-run lead, he allowed a two-run homer and put the tying run on first base before striking out Max Muncy as Realmuto threw out Taylor.

The Phillies are 6-1 but do have to figure out what’s going on with Strahm, whose fastball was 90-91 mph against the Dodgers, and Romano, who has struggled with control and had a pair of two-run outings. Thomson suspects Strahm is dealing with a “dead arm” period that pitchers typically experience toward the end of spring training. Strahm missed most of camp with a left shoulder impingement.

As for Romano?

“Just not getting ahead of guys has been his biggest issue,” Realmuto said. “When he’s attacking the strike zone and able to get ahead then expand, that’s when he’s really good. For me, the stuff is there, just got to command the baseball a little better.”

The Phillies go for their third straight series win to begin the season when Aaron Nola opposes Japanese rookie Roki Sasaki on Saturday.

In their home opener, the Mets jumped ahead early and went on to a 5-0 win over the Toronto Blue Jays on Friday at Citi Field. 

The Mets are now 42-22 in home openers, including 12-5 at Citi, and they’ve won it in five of the last six seasons.

Here are the top takeaways...

-- Pete Alonso continued to be the driving force in the Mets’ offense, as he set the tone for the day with a two-run home run in the first inning, driving in Francisco Lindor, who had led off with a double to left-center.

The home run was a nice piece of two-strike hitting by Alonso, as he went down and got a low-and-away fastball from Kevin Gausman and drove it over the right field fence.

According to Inside Edge, it’s only the fourth time in Alonso’s career that he has hit a two-strike pitch out of the strike zone for a home run.

-- Alonso was also in the middle of the Mets’ three-run rally in the sixth, getting an intentional walk from rookie left-hander Mason Fluharty that was sandwiched between RBI doubles from Juan Soto and Brandon Nimmo.

For the day Alonso went 1-for-3 with two runs scored and two RBI. The one out he made was a 107.1 mph rocket on the ground to third. Going back to Wednesday in Miami, that was the sixth straight ball Alonso had put in play at 101 mph or harder. That streak ended in the eighth when Alonso flew out to right.

For the season, the Mets’ first baseman is hitting .292 with a .433 on-base percentage and a .750 slugging percentage.

-- Tylor Megill delivered his second strong start of the young season, holding the Blue Jays scoreless over 5.1 innings. The right-hander allowed two hits and three walks, to go with his four strikeouts as he threw 82 pitches.

Megill seemed to be sailing along through five innings and got Bo Bichette to lead off the sixth on a soft liner to third. But when he walked Vlad Guerrero Jr. and Anthony Santander back-to-back, Carlos Mendoza wasted no time going to the bullpen.

When Reed Garrett finished the inning with two strikeouts, Megill’s record was complete, giving him a 0.87 ERA for his two starts as he continued his success against the Blue Jays.

In three previous career starts vs. Toronto, the right-hander was 1-0 with a 0.52 ERA, allowing one earned run in 17.1 innings, with 19 strikeouts.

-- The Mets’ bullpen continued to excel, as three relievers combined to hold the Blue Jays scoreless over 3.2 innings.

Reed Garrett, A.J. Minter and Max Kranick allowed only two baserunners between them. Minter racked up three K’s in his one inning of work.

-- Mark Vientos continued his early-season slump, going 0-for-3 as his average fell to .074 through seven games.

-- In the first race of the five-borough mascots at Citi Field, the Queens subway car not-so-shockingly pulled ahead near the finish line for the win. The Bronx giraffe led until mysteriously stumbling and falling down the stretch on the warning track.

GAME MVP: PETE ALONSO

Juan Soto was probably the odds-on favorite to get the first intentional walk of the season for the Mets, but Alonso’s hot bat has changed that equation, at least for now.

With Soto on base, Alonso was walked intentionally in the sixth inning ahead of Brandon Nimmo, a testament to his scorching start to the season. It paid off for the Mets when Nimmo promptly doubled home a run and Starling Marte delivered another with a sacrifice fly.

Highlights

Tylor Megill strikes out Anthony Santander to complete a 1-2-3 first inning 💪 pic.twitter.com/bNq5mY3eJU

— SNY (@SNYtv) April 4, 2025

Alexa, play My Girl 🎶

Francisco Lindor gets a hustle double on the first pitch! pic.twitter.com/fj251uECxy

— SNY (@SNYtv) April 4, 2025

POLAR POWER.

Pete Alonso goes oppo for a two-run shot! pic.twitter.com/n2UlBFTva4

— SNY (@SNYtv) April 4, 2025

Reed Garrett comes in and gets back-to-back strikeouts to get out of the 6th 💪 pic.twitter.com/JlFZxG2KcQ

— SNY (@SNYtv) April 4, 2025

Juan Soto brings home Francisco Lindor with an RBI double!

It's his first Citi Field hit as a Met 🔥 pic.twitter.com/Yt3pq7bTcO

— SNY (@SNYtv) April 4, 2025

An RBI double for Brandon Nimmo! pic.twitter.com/S6FPa0rlBq

— SNY (@SNYtv) April 4, 2025

Starling Marte brings home Pete Alonso with a sacrifice fly! pic.twitter.com/ACKUM6srwc

— SNY (@SNYtv) April 4, 2025

Three strikeouts for A.J. Minter in the 7th! 💪 pic.twitter.com/oQRc5euNoh

— SNY (@SNYtv) April 4, 2025

Juan Soto tracks down Anthony Santander's fly ball in front of the wall pic.twitter.com/IDu2Hs0brv

— SNY (@SNYtv) April 4, 2025

What's next

The Mets continue their three-game series against the Blue Jays on Saturday. First pitch is at 7:10 p.m. on SNY.

Griffin Canning will take the mound and face former Met Chris Bassitt.

Justin Verlander feels love from Giants fans in home debut despite rough outing originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

SAN FRANCISCO – Having pitched at Oracle Park nearly 13 years ago when he was with the Detroit Tigers, Justin Verlander had an idea of what to expect when he made his first home start with the Giants on Friday in their home opener.

It turned out to be everything that the three-time Cy Young Award winner expected and then some.

On an afternoon when the 42-year-old pitcher was far from peak form, a sellout crowd of 40,000-plus serenaded Verlander with thronging cheers as he walked off the field after retiring only seven batters.

It was the type of ovation Giants fans usually save for big-time players when they make big-time plays.

Verlander didn’t have any big-time moments against the Mariners but was still treated like royalty by Giants fans when manager Bob Melvin removed the right-hander after he allowed four consecutive Mariners to reach base with one out in the third.

It was somewhat reminiscent of when Verlander pitched here in Game 1 of the 2012 World Series. That was the game when Pablo Sandoval clubbed out three home runs, two of them off Verlander, who was cheered by Giants fans then as he walked off the mound.

“I’ve experienced this from the other side, obviously in some big moments,” said Verlander. “You know how great these fans are. A lot of the guys told me how special opening day is here for SF. It really was. The atmosphere was wonderful.”

Verlander didn’t get to see much of the Giants’ walk-off 10-9 win against the Seattle Mariners in the 11^th. He spent the final three hours of the game in the Giants’ clubhouse watching the game on television.

While he didn’t last long on the mound in his first home start for San Francisco, Verlander definitely got work in. Probably more work than he or Melvin wanted in such a short span.

The Mariners were calm at the plate and patiently worked Verlander’s pitch count up. He threw 65 pitches and landed only 44 of them for strikes. That included a 13-pitch walk to Mariners slugger Cal Raleigh in the third. Raleigh got the walk after fouling off seven consecutive pitches.

“They just made him work really hard,” Melvin said. “He only walked two but they made him throw a ton of pitches. He gave up some hits. At that point in time, I wasn’t going to let him throw 40 pitches in an inning.”

When Verlander signed a one-year, $15 million deal in the offseason, Giants fans’ eyes glazed over at the thought of having one of the most dominant pitchers in baseball history toeing the rubber for the home team at Oracle.

This version of Verlander, however, is different. He’s pitched beyond the fifth inning only once in his last 11 starts dating to 2024. Instead of just blowing his fastball by hitters, Verlander needs to be more crafty and creative with his arsenal.

Even on a bad day, though, Verlander found a silver lining with the way he was welcomed by the Giants’ faithful.

“I would have liked to have done better,” Verlander said. “I appreciate the fans cheering me on the way off the field. The atmosphere was great.”

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Luzardo dominant vs. Dodgers as Phillies' rotation continues to excel originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

If Jesus Luzardo is going to throw 97-98 mph all season …

Making his second start as a Phillie on Friday night against the vaunted Dodgers in a premium early-season matchup, Luzardo continued an excellent start to the year for himself and the rotation.

He blew fastballs by good hitters, induced weak contact and finished the Dodgers off with four different pitches: a fastball that averaged 97 and maxed out at 99, a slider, his new sweeper and a changeup.

Healthy after missing more than half the 2024 season with a back injury, Luzardo’s velocity is in the same range as 2023, when he struck out 208 over a career-high 178⅔ innings. If he stays healthy, he has a chance to make this his career year.

Not only was Luzardo effective on Friday against perhaps the majors’ best lineup, he was also hyper-efficient in the Phillies’ 3-2 win, beginning the seventh inning at 72 pitches. The Dodgers test you with power, patience, bat-to-ball skills and speed. They’re a complete offense. Luzardo was in complete control of them on Friday night, though, encountering zero difficulty until there were two outs in the seventh inning and Teoscar Hernandez blooped a tough-luck double into no-man’s land in shallow right field. He walked the next batter, Will Smith, but struck Kiké Hernandez out swinging at a low slider with the tying run 90 feet away to end his evening.

Through two starts, Luzardo has allowed two runs in 12 innings with 18 strikeouts and four walks.

“”Probably one of the most well-executed starts I’ve had in my career,” he said. “Making the pitches when I needed, moving the ball around. I didn’t shake once, basically trusting J.T. (Realmuto).”

The Phillies’ rotation as a whole has a 2.16 ERA and 0.82 WHIP with 56 strikeouts and nine walks through seven games. The starter has pitched well in six of them, with only Aaron Nola struggling in the third game of the year at Nationals Park. Nola starts on Saturday opposite Japanese rookie right-hander Roki Sasaki.

The quality of the first two offenses the Phillies played was not strong. The Nationals could be a bottom-third offense and the Rockies could lose 105 games. But the Dodgers, even after losing Freddie Freeman to the injured list, have so many threats in their lineup: Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts, Smith, Tommy Edman, Hernandez, Michael Conforto. They all had quick, unsuccessful at-bats against Luzardo with only Hernandez reaching base.

“A lot of talent, a lot of experience, a lot of veteran guys with superstar power,” Luzardo said. “You have to take it pitch to pitch, at-bat to at-bat. You can’t get overwhelmed and take it as a whole.”

The Phillies aligned their rotation with Luzardo pitching the day in between Zack Wheeler and Nola. The start after Nola belongs to Cristopher Sanchez, which lets the Phillies follow their two right-handed workhorses with high-velocity lefties. Luzardo has the fastest average four-seam fastball among left-handed starters in MLB this season and Sanchez has the fastest sinker.

When you assemble a rotation like this and don’t have a lackluster offense or bullpen, you’re going to be favored in most games. The Phillies’ clearest strength is their group of five starters, and they don’t even have Ranger Suarez (or Andrew Painter) yet.

The widespread offseason stance that they did not do enough may have overlooked the impact of a healthy Jesus Luzardo.

Dodgers shortstop Mookie Betts announced Friday he will accompany the team on its visit to the White House next week, when President Trump will recognize the club’s World Series title.

There had been uncertainty over Betts’ decision, given he declined to go with the Boston Red Sox in 2019 during Trump’s first term. He went with the Dodgers in 2021, when President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris welcomed the club after its 2020 championship.

When the Dodgers announced this visit last month — they will go to the White House on Monday before their series opener against the Washington Nationals — Betts said he was undecided about whether he would participate.

In the end, Betts emphasized to reporters Friday, his choice to go was not political, but rather because of his desire to be there for the team.

Read more:Hernández: Dodgers visiting Trump's White House goes against everything they represent

“No matter what I say or what I do, people are gonna take it as political,” Betts said. “But that’s definitely not what it is. This is about what the Dodgers were able to accomplish last year.”

Betts called it a “regret” that he didn’t join the Red Sox for their visit, which also was skipped by Boston manager Alex Cora and pitcher David Price, among others. Betts felt like his absence distracted from that team’s accomplishment and made the news cycle about him, something he felt in hindsight was “selfish.”

“This is not about me; I don’t want anything to be about me,” Betts said. “This is about the Dodgers. Because these boys were there for me.”

That was especially true early last October when he started the National League Division Series 0 for 6, making him 0 for 20 in the playoffs dating to 2022.

Betts was visibly frustrated and referred to that period Friday as “dark times.” He credited his teammates’ support for aiding his eventual turnaround, as he hit .321 with four home runs and 16 RBIs over the rest of the playoffs.

“These boys rallied around me, to help me so much through the playoffs last year and just my well-being as a person,” Betts said. “So for me to be able to look in the mirror at night and for me to be happy with the person I’m looking at, I need to be there with my boys to celebrate this accomplishment. All the fight, all that we did last year, that was hard. And I wouldn’t be able to look at myself in the mirror if I wasn’t there with them.”

Read more:Arellano: The Dodgers should meet with Trump. In No. 42 Jackie Robinson jerseys

While other Dodgers were asked whether they would go — including Dave Roberts, Kiké Hernández and Shohei Ohtani, all of whom said they planned to attend — Betts’ decision had been a bigger question.

“It is what it is,” said Betts, the only Black player on the roster. “It comes with the territory, being Black in America in a situation like this. It’s a tough spot to be in. No matter what I choose, somebody is gonna be pissed. Somebody is gonna have their own opinion. But again, this is not about me. This is not about politics. This is about the Dodgers. It’s about my loyalty to these boys, this clubhouse. And that’s all it is for me.”

With Betts on board, Roberts said he was expecting 100% attendance, though he reiterated that the team would have been OK with any players who declined to go.

“It wasn’t about putting pressure on any particular person,” Roberts said. “We still feel it’s a baseball thing for us. It’s tradition. And we’re doing it unified. So I’m excited about that.”

Sign up for more Dodgers news with Dodgers Dugout. Delivered at the start of each series.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

Willy Adames' fitting walk-off in Giants' home opener follows script perfectly originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

SAN FRANCISCO — There was no other way. The baseball gods wouldn’t allow it. 

The Giants returned home with a sense that the chemistry, vibes, talent and, most importantly, winning that showed all spring was no fluke, that the first year of the second Buster Posey Era at Oracle Park could be something special. On what might be the most beautiful day in San Francisco all summer, they alternated good baseball with an ugly brand that would have fit in just fine the previous three seasons. 

A sellout crowd cheered and groaned in equal measures during the first four-hour Giants game since the pitch clock was instituted. It went 11 innings, and when it was finally over, rookie starter Hayden Birdsong was the only pitcher left in either bullpen.

In the center of it all, for four hours and three minutes, was Willy Adames, the star who was given the largest contract in franchise history shortly after Posey took over. Of course, it would all come down to him. There was no other way. 

“I love being in the middle of everything,” Adames said, smiling. 

That much has been clear since the first day he put on orange and black. Adames has never been an All-Star, and yet he has a way of becoming the centerpiece of any room he walks into. The Giants signed him nearly as much for the chemistry and leadership as for the power and dependable glove, and when the rest of the league starts trying to figure out how they’re exceeding expectations, many in the room will give a big slice of the credit to Adames.

WALK-OFF WILLYYYYYYYY 🥳 pic.twitter.com/XMNqtzupgw

— SF Giants on NBCS (@NBCSGiants) April 5, 2025

That was true even before he came up in the bottom of the 11th, but it doesn’t hurt to add highlights to your reel. With two outs, two on and the Giants trailing by a run, Adames poked a cutter into right field. Luis Matos scored easily and Tyler Fitzgerald raced home ahead of the throw, clinching a 10-9 win over the Seattle Mariners. 

It was the highest-scoring opener in Oracle Park’s history, and that also felt appropriate on Friday. Before the game, the Giants celebrated the 25th anniversary of the park, bringing members of the 2000 team out to help usher in a new season. 

That team won 97 games and the National League West. This group faces the daunting task of trying to stay within shouting distance of the Los Angeles Dodgers, who lost for the first time Friday, but at the very least, the Giants have shown through a week that they’re fully intent on surprising. 

Adames said the Giants are in a “great place” when it comes to clubhouse vibes, energy and chemistry. And then there’s another intangible. 

“They’re a bunch of dogs, man,” he said of his teammates. “They’re going to go out there and fight.”

Every last punch was needed Friday, because the Giants played a lot of baseball that would have led to sleepless nights had it not been for the final single, the 32nd combined hit of the game. There were missed opportunities on both sides, including the Giants’ failure to score the winning run from third with no outs in the ninth. 

Adames was part of that sequence, popping up to second. He was also seemingly part of every grounder or line drive for about an hour in the middle of the marathon. Adames leapt into the air to steal a single from close friend Julio Rodriguez, who later demanded that he buy him a meal on Saturday. He smiled and exchanged playful gestures with Rodriguez, and that continued when Adames was later on second base as a runner. 

The leap was followed by a series of rockets that Adames couldn’t get in front of, though. He said the hard dirt on a sunny day surprised him, but he also felt he should have made more plays.

“Man, they were trying to kill me today,” he said, laughing. “I felt like every groundball was hit to me like 155 (mph)! I was obviously trying to make the plays, unfortunately, it didn’t happen a few times. But obviously, I always want the ball hit to me.”

Adames shook the sequence off, the smile rarely leaving his face as he took in his first home game at Oracle Park. But there’s a commitment to his craft, too, and it’s no fluke that Adames is coming off a 112-RBI season. Manager Bob Melvin calls him an “RBI guy,” and with the winning run on second, Adames had his chance. 

The Mariners called a mound meeting around righty Carlos Vargas, who had just struck out LaMonte Wade Jr. with a nasty cutter, right after a walk of Fitzgerald, who took an impossibly close 3-2 slider that could have gone either way. 

Adames thought Vargas would throw a sinker on his hands. He told himself to make contact and give his runners a chance, and when he got a first-pitch cutter, he served it into right field. Within seconds, he was part of his first walk-off celebration in San Francisco.

It was the first opener at Oracle Park with more than 18 total runs, and it came on the heels of a trip during which the Giants mostly won with pitching and strong defense. They could have been charged with two or three errors Friday, and starter Justin Verlander was knocked out in the third inning of his own Oracle Park debut. 

But a win is a win, and 6-1 is 6-1. Good teams, Verlander said, find different ways to win.

“Like I said in the spring, this team has something special,” he said. “I thought we were overlooked. It’s early, but I think you can see that this team is pretty good.”

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Red Sox put new ‘Wally' HR celebration to use in 13-run home opener originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

Gone is the laundry cart. So too are Masataka Yoshida’s inflatable dumbbells. But there’s a new prop in the Boston Red Sox’ dugout at Fenway Park, and it got multiple uses in the team’s first home game of the season Friday.

After Trevor Story launched a three-run home run over the Green Monster in the first inning against the St. Louis Cardinals, teammate Jarren Duran presented him with a furry green Wally the Green Monster head in honor of Boston’s mascot.

After the very next batter, Wilyer Abreu, laced a homer to right field, the Wally head came right back out.

So, whose idea was it to celebrate home runs in 2025 with a helmet-sized version of Wally, and how did it get in the dugout? It turns out Duran was the mastermind, with help from Red Sox assistant general manager Raquel Ferreira.

“She told me [not to get my hopes up],” Duran said after Boston’s 13-9 win, via MLB.com. “And then yesterday, Wally actually presented it to me. So it was kind of a cool thing to happen.

“… I knew we had the Masa dumbbells and then we had the Boston Marathon medal. And it was just kind of like, ‘Man, what are we gonna do this year?’ At first, I was gonna use Wally’s head. I’m like, ‘There’s no way we’d be able to fit that in the dugout.’

“So I just asked Raquel, ‘Is there way we can get, like, a miniature Wally head?’ And she made it happen. So praise to her.”

The Red Sox actually posted a video of the moment when Wally and the team’s female mascot, Tessie, presented the furry helmet to Duran inside the Green Monster.

The Red Sox didn’t hit any more homers after the first inning, but they had no problem scoring, mashing their way to 13 runs on 16 hits to secure the victory in their home opener.

Boston clubbed 194 home runs last season (ninth-most in Major League Baseball) and should have an even more potent offense this season, so expect to see plenty more of the Wally head in 2025 — with manager Alex Cora’s blessing.

“I was like, ‘Oh my God, no way,'” Cora said, via MLB.com. “But it’s all fun. We’re in in the entertainment business, and people like it. So if they want to do it, they’ve got the green light.”