What We Learned on Opening Day - The New York Times
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The Royals win a wild 14-10 game against the Rangers.
The teams combined for 10 runs in the first inning and just kept scoring.
The Dodgers’ title defense begins with an 8-5 loss to Colorado.
The largest crowd of the day saw its hometown Rockies triumph over the 2020 World Series winners.
St. Louis opens up its offense in an 11-6 win over Cincinnati.
Paul Goldschmidt had four hits and scored three runs for the Cardinals in their easy victory.
April 1, 2021, 7:54 p.m. ET
Saul Martinez for The New York Times
There wasn’t much scoring to speak of, but the Tampa Bay Rays and the Miami Marlins can each walk away happy with their pitching after a 1-0 victory by the Rays. The day’s lone run came on a solo homer by Austin Meadows in the top of the eighth inning, sending the announced crowd of 7,062 in Miami home a bit frustrated, but likely still happy to have live baseball back in their lives.
Jasen Vinlove/USA Today Sports, via Reuters
Saul Martinez for The New York TimesSaul Martinez for The New York TimesSaul Martinez for The New York Times
San Diego comes back to beat Arizona, 8-7.
The Diamondbacks took a lead with a six-run fifth inning, but the Padres battled back.
Tampa Bay, the defending A.L. champion, tops Miami, 1-0.
Austin Meadows hit a solo home run in the top of the eighth off Miami reliever Yimi Garcia.
April 1, 2021, 7:16 p.m. ET
Doug Mills/The New York Times
Doug Mills/The New York Times
Doug Mills/The New York Times
Baseball was able to start its 2021 season in earnest on Thursday — with fans in the stands of every game that took place — but a few teams will have to wait. The Mets and the Nationals had their opener postponed after the Nationals had at least one player test for the coronavirus, leading to a series of shutdown protocols. The Mets could be seen practicing at the empty stadium in Washington. A few hours north, the Boston Red Sox and the Baltimore Orioles had their opener delayed for a more traditional reason: rain.
The photos below show the prep work for Boston’s home opener from earlier this week.
Kathryn Riley/Getty Images
Kathryn Riley/Getty Images
Kathryn Riley/Getty Images
Final/10 innings
Philadelphia gets the extra-innings win over Atlanta, 3-2.
The Phillies get the walk-off as Jean Segura hits a grounder over the third baseman’s head in the 10th.
Final/10 innings
Milwaukee mounts a late comeback and beats Minnesota, 6-5.
The Brewers scored three runs in the bottom of the ninth. Lorenzo Cain beat the tag at home in the 10th.
Pittsburgh surprises with an opening day win over the Cubs, 5-3.
Ke’Bryan Hayes got the Pirates off to a good start with a two-run homer in the top of the first.
April 1, 2021, 6:03 p.m. ET
Team-themed face coverings have been on full display. Check out the latest fan fashions:
New York YankeesAmr Alfiky/The New York Times
Los Angeles DodgersDavid Zalubowski/Associated Press
Chicago CubsLucy Hewett for The New York Times
Miami MarlinsSaul Martinez for The New York Times
Philadelphia PhilliesBill Streicher/USA Today Sports, via Reuters
San Diego PadresDenis Poroy/Associated Press
April 1, 2021, 5:26 p.m. ET
It has been a relatively quiet day offensively, with a pair of 3-2 final scores and the majority of teams scoring four or fewer runs thus far, but the St. Louis Cardinals didn’t get the memo and are leading the Cincinnati Reds, 7-3, through three innings. Three of the runs came on a first-inning homer by outfielder Dylan Carlson.
April 1, 2021, 5:16 p.m. ET
The San Diego Padres are leading the Arizona Diamondbacks, 2-1, in the third, and it was a newcomer that put them ahead. Victor Caratini, a catcher acquired in the Yu Darvish trade, hit a two-run single in the bottom of the second inning off Madison Bumgarner.
April 1, 2021, 5:09 p.m. ET
Matt Slocum/Associated Press
Bill Streicher/USA Today Sports, via Reuters
Matt Slocum/Associated Press
Fans sat in pods and they sat on lawns. They wore fun outfits and they bundled up. And even if they weren’t there in large numbers, they cheered as if they were. But most important is the fact that there were fans.
Among the games currently in action, the Phillies are leading the Atlanta Braves, 2-0, at the end of the fifth; the Pittsburgh Pirates are leading the Chicago Cubs, 4-2, in the sixth; and the Minnesota Twins are leading the Milwaukee Brewers, 3-2, in the sixth.
Paul Beaty/Associated Press
Lucy Hewett for The New York Times
Lucy Hewett for the New York Times
Stacy Revere/Getty Images
Justin Edmonds/Getty Images
Charlie Riedel/Associated Press
Final/10 innings
Toronto beats the Yankees, 3-2, with help from M.L.B.’s rules.
The automatic runner on second base to start the 10th came around to score on a leadoff double.
Miguel Cabrera powers the Tigers to a 3-2 win over Cleveland.
The slugger hit his 488th career homer (in the snow!) and drove in two of Detroit’s three runs.
April 1, 2021, 4:35 p.m. ET
The Yankees got a runner to third base with only one out in the bottom of the ninth thanks to a pair of stolen bases by pinch-runner Mike Tauchman, but they couldn’t eke out a run. As a result, the game is going to extra innings, with the Yankees and Blue Jays still tied, 2-2.
April 1, 2021, 4:44 p.m. ET
Nick Nelson had the odds stacked against him. The Yankees reliever came in to start the top of the 10th with an automatic runner on second base — as per M.L.B. rules in extra innings — and he proceeded to give up a double to deep right that went over Aaron Judge’s head, giving Jonathan Davis plenty of time to score. The Blue Jays are now leading, 3-2.
April 1, 2021, 4:11 p.m. ET
Amr Alfiky/The New York Times
It’s knotted at 2-2 in the top of the ninth inning of a tense game between the Yankees and the Toronto Blue Jays. The game was expected to be a duel between aces, with Gerrit Cole on the mound for the Yankees and Hyun-jin Ryu for the Blue Jays, and while both pitchers looked sharp, they were also both out before the end of the sixth inning. It is now up to the bullpens, with a chance at some free baseball in the Bronx.
April 1, 2021, 3:18 p.m. ET
Lucy Hewett for The New York Times
Lucy Hewett for The New York Times
Lucy Hewett for The New York Times
The Chicago Cubs allowed around 10,000 fans to attend today’s opening day game against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Wrigley Field. It was a chilly day in Chicago, with temperatures in the 30s, but the sun was shining and Wrigley was open after a year when the seats went empty. “You’d see spider webs on the seats where fans hadn’t sat for months and months and months,” Cubs Manager David Ross told Tyler Kepner when discussing the 2020 season.
Lucy Hewett for The New York Times
Lucy Hewett for The New York Times
Lucy Hewett for The New York Times
April 1, 2021, 3:02 p.m. ET
With one out in the sixth inning, Teoscar Hernandez of the Blue Jays hit a solo homer off Gerrit Cole of the Yankees that tied the game at 2-2. Cole followed that with a walk of Vladimir Guerrero Jr., and with that his day was done. Cole struck out eight in five and one-third innings and will receive a no-decision for the game.
April 1, 2021, 2:33 p.m. ET
Ke’Bryan Hayes, the son of longtime major leaguer Charlie Hayes, picked up right where he left off last September, hitting a two-run homer in his first at-bat of the year for the Pittsburgh Pirates. Hayes hit .376 in a 24-game callup last year.
April 1, 2021, 2:32 p.m. ET
Miguel Cabrera of the Detroit Tigers celebrated his first-inning two-run homer as snow fell in Detroit.Gregory Shamus/Getty Images
The weather on opening day is never predictable, but Detroit outdid itself by briefly having snow during the game between the Tigers and Cleveland. Rain postponed Boston’s game against the Baltimore Orioles, and it was chilly in the early action of the East Coast games. Over in Anaheim, Calif., it is expected to be 78 degrees at the start of the Angels’ game against the Chicago White Sox at 10:05 p.m. Eastern.
Fans bundled up for the Yankees and Phillies games, with temperatures in the 40s.Amr Alfiky/The New York Times
Matt Slocum/Associated Press
April 1, 2021, 2:15 p.m. ET
Amr Alfiky/The New York Times
Amr Alfiky/The New York Times
Amr Alfiky/The New York Times
The Yankees are leading the Toronto Blue Jays, 2-1, after three innings thanks to a two-run homer by Gary Sanchez, who is badly hoping to erase his poor 2020 season. The fans in Yankee Stadium have been enthusiastic, even if their numbers are relatively small, and the sun is out after a chilly and rainy morning.
Brad Penner/USA Today Sports, via ReutersAl Bello/Getty ImagesAl Bello/Getty Images
April 1, 2021, 2:06 p.m. ET
Miguel Cabrera of the Detroit Tigers set a personal goal of reaching 500 career home runs this season, and he is 1/13th of the way there after belting a 349-foot opposite-field shot off Cleveland’s Shane Bieber in the first inning of their game at Comerica Park.
April 1, 2021, 1:41 p.m. ET
Lucas Luetge hasn’t appeared in the majors since 2015, but he made the Yankees’ opening day roster.Kim Klement/USA Today Sports, via Reuters
For some players, coaches, executives and fans, Thursday is just one of many opening days. But for one particular player, Lucas Luetge, this opening day is special even though it isn’t his first. It’s certainly his most memorable. And hearing the left-handed reliever talk about it before Thursday’s game between the Yankees and Toronto Blue Jays served as a reminder of his appreciation.
Luetge, 34, last pitched in the major leagues in 2015 with the Seattle Mariners. After a long, winding road, and many stops throughout the minor leagues, Luetge made the Yankees’ opening day roster. He signed a minor-league deal with them in the off-season with no promise of cracking the major league roster, but he impressed officials with his pitching and attitude. He struck out 18 in nine spring training games.
The Yankees gave him the good news earlier this week.
“By the end of the day, I had a headache and my jaw was hurting from smiling,” he said. “Everything I had been hoping for the last five, six years finally came through and you just feel that sense of joy again.”
Luetge said he tried staying calm on the way to Yankee Stadium on Thursday morning, even though he did not yet know if he would appear in the game. This day was anything but normal for him.
“I’m going to take it all in,” he said. “When you’re out of the game or the big leagues for so long, you know how quick it can go from you. While you’re up here, it seems like you’re going to be here forever. So I kind of have that appreciation to take it all in, look around the stadium, enjoy it, instead of trying to look cool and act like you don’t care.”
We could all be a little more like Luetge.
— James Wagner
April 1, 2021, 1:16 p.m. ET
The 2021 M.L.B. season officially began with a ball from Yankees ace Gerrit Cole to Blue Jays second baseman Marcus Semien. There were postponements elsewhere because of rain and coronavirus protocols, but it was play ball in the Bronx with a 1-2-3 top of the first.
April 1, 2021, 1:24 p.m. ET
Although Yankee Stadium is not a packed house because of capacity restrictions, the crowd feels loud after the 2020 season was played without fans. In the top of the first inning, a tradition returned: the roll call of Yankees players from the fans in the stands.
April 1, 2021, 12:59 p.m. ET
Amr Alfiky/The New York Times
Brad Penner/USA Today Sports, via Reuters
Amr Alfiky/The New York Times
Fans were in good spirits at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx for the Yankees’ opening day game against the Toronto Blue Jays. The process for entry is more complicated than it was in the past, with temperature checks for fans and a requirement that anyone attending have proof of a recent negative coronavirus test or of vaccination. But a crowd of just under 11,000 people — 20 percent of the stadium’s capacity — is expected on a chilly day in New York.
Chris Pedota/USA Today Sports, via ReutersBrad Penner/USA Today Sports, via ReutersKathy Willens/Associated PressAmr Alfiky/The New York TimesKathy Willens/Associated Press
April 1, 2021, 12:26 p.m. ET
Mets fans won’t see Francisco Lindor, their new superstar shortstop who just agreed to a 10-year, $341 million contract extension, in action on Thursday.Jeff Roberson/Associated Press
WASHINGTON — Major League Baseball sailed through roughly six weeks of spring training without any major coronavirus disruptions, but just hours before first pitches were set to be thrown across the country, the problem lurched up again.
The Mets’ season-opening game against the Washington Nationals was postponed on Thursday because of at least three positive coronavirus tests among the Nationals players and because several other players were determined to have been close contacts with the initial individual who tested positive, which requires them to be isolated as well.
M.L.B. issued a statement Thursday saying that the game was postponed “because of ongoing contact tracing involving members of the Nationals organization. Out of an abundance of caution, the game will not be made up on Friday.”
The delay means the Mets and their fans will have to wait at least a few more days to see Francisco Lindor, their new superstar shortstop who just agreed to a 10-year, $341 million contract extension, make his Mets debut.
Mets Manager Luis Rojas said he was “pretty optimistic” the game would be played Saturday.
“This is not a surprise,” Rojas said. “We have been in situations like this last year. Health is still the No. 1 thing in the world. We are taking care of ourselves and everyone is still wearing their masks everywhere and we are doing what we need to do to make sure that we are protecting each other.”
Jacob deGrom of the Mets had been slated to start Thursday’s game against Max Scherzer of the Nationals in a matchup of Cy Young Award winners. They will likely keep those assignments for whenever the game ends up being played.
On Wednesday, Mike Rizzo, Washington’s general manager, said that five players and one staff member were already ruled out of Thursday’s game. On Thursday, Rizzo confirmed that there were at least three positive tests and one other that is likely to end up as a positive.
The original positive test came from a round of testing done on Monday, the last day of spring training for the Nationals. Following that game, the team flew back to Washington. Rizzo said he was alerted to the positive test after 1 a.m. on Wednesday.
Last year, dozens of games were postponed after outbreaks on various teams, resulting in complicated rescheduling plans, with many teams playing multiple doubleheaders across the sport. This year, M.L.B. had wanted to postpone the season a month to allow more time for players and staff members to get vaccinated and for virus infection rates to drop around the country, but were unable to gain approval of the plan from the players’ union.
M.L.B. has offered to relax coronavirus restrictions on teams once 85 percent of players and staff members are fully vaccinated.
— David Waldstein
April 1, 2021, 12:10 p.m. ET
April 1, 2021, 11:46 a.m. ET
Ian Desmond has partnered with the Boys & Girls Club to create a community program in his hometown, Sarasota, Fla. Michael Adno for The New York Times
Ian Desmond’s emotional Instagram post about his reasons for opting out of the 2020 baseball season struck a chord with many, but he has largely stayed away from media coverage since. His decision to opt out of the 2021 season as well — or the beginning of it at the very least — was somewhat surprising to outsiders, but less so to people who know Desmond well.
Anna Katherine Clemmons talked to Desmond about his life outside of the game, his family and how being biracial influenced so many of his views and decisions. One thing he is definitely not doing is standing still.
“Ian is a person who is always outside, always doing something,” Chelsey Desmond said of her husband. “He doesn’t do well with idle time.”
Desmond helping the kids in his program warm up before a game of kickball.Michael Adno for The New York Times
April 1, 2021, 11:00 a.m. ET
Many teams finally got to play in front of fans again. Here’s what it looked like.
New York MetsSaul Martinez for The New York Times
Texas RangersJonathan Zizzo for The New York Times
Los Angeles DodgersAshley Landis/Associated Press
Los Angeles AngelsMark Abramson for The New York Times
New York YankeesEve Edelheit for The New York Times
Colorado RockiesAbbie Parr/Getty Images
Chicago CubsAshley Landis/Associated Press
New York MetsSaul Martinez for The New York Times
April 1, 2021, 8:30 a.m. ET
The Atlanta Braves played the Miami Marlins at home in October. Major League Baseball is facing calls to move the All-Star Game out of Atlanta over Georgia’s new law that restricts access to voting.Todd Kirkland/Getty Images
President Biden said on Wednesday that he would “strongly support” Major League Baseball moving its All-Star Game from Atlanta after the executive director of the players’ union said he was open to discussing such a move after Georgia Republicans passed a law last week to restrict voting access in the state.
“The very people who are victimized the most are the people who are the leaders in these various sports,” Mr. Biden said in an interview on ESPN’s “SportsCenter” the night before Opening Day. “And it’s just not right.”
His comments came on the same day that major companies like Delta Air Lines, Georgia’s largest employer, sharply criticized the legislation in the face of mounting pressure from activists, customers and Black executives. The law introduced stricter voter identification requirements for absentee balloting and limited drop boxes in predominantly Black neighborhoods, and it expanded the legislature’s power over elections.
In the interview, the president also encouraged baseball fans to wear masks and abide by social-distancing protocols. While spectators are required to wear masks at every ballpark, policies have differed depending on the guidelines of each city or state. The Texas Rangers plan to open their stadium, in Arlington, to full capacity, allowing about 40,300 fans to fill in.
“I think it’s a mistake. They should listen to Dr. Fauci and the scientists and the experts,” Mr. Biden said, referring to Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, the government’s top infectious disease expert. “But I think it’s not responsible.”
On Monday, Mr. Biden called for governors and mayors to reinstate mask mandates. The administration has also been working to combat vaccine hesitancy in minority communities as well as among conservatives in rural areas, with an advertising campaign and by relying on community leaders to promote the benefits of the coronavirus vaccine.
Asked what he would say to athletes who are hesitant to be vaccinated, Mr. Biden said: “I’m president of the United States. I got vaccinated.”
“Would I take the vaccination, the vaccine, if I thought it was going to hurt me?” he added.
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