ST. LOUIS – Adam Wainwright (1-0) played six scoreless innings, Tyler O’Neill hit a three-run homer and drove five, and the St. Louis Cardinals celebrated the return of Albert Pujols with an opening 9-0 season win over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Thursday.
Yadier Molina threw a runner in the second game of his final Big League season trying to steal a runner, and Nolan Arenado and Tommy Edman also became cardinals, winning the managerial debut of 35-year-old Oliver Marble. Paul Goldsmith drew four walks in a row, the first player since Manny Ramirez in 2002 to do so on the first day.
The Pirates hit just six hits and lost in the first inning to rising star K’Brian Hayes in a left-handed concussion – just hours after news broke that Hayes had agreed to a $ 70 million, eight-year deal. Jetty Brubakar (0-1) gave up four runs in three innings.
In his first at-bat, in the first inning, fans stood and cheered Pujol for almost a full minute before the flyout on the left. Pujoles, who signed a one-year deal with St. Louis last month, is 0 for 5.
Royals 3, Guardians 1
Kansas City, Md. – Bobby Witt Jr. captures his highly anticipated big league debut with his first injury, a double with two outs in the eighth inning, sending Kansas City to the top of the renamed Cleveland.
Andrew Benitendy drove to the wicket after injuring his clutch, giving Royals reliever Scott Burlow (1-0) a cushion. After a perfect eighth, Barlow hit Miles Stroke with the runners in the ninth corner to finish it.
In a matchup of former Tsai Young Award winners, Cleveland star Shane Bieber and former Royals star Jack Greenk faced a 1-all stalemate before turning the game into a bullpen on a cold day at Kaufman Stadium.
It was a tie until the eighth, when Michael Taylor of the Royals worked to walk away from Tristan Mackenzie (0-1) and then finished second in Nicky Lopez’s Bali Bunt. Before Mackenzie Whitt, Whitt outscored Maryfield, who is considered by many to be the number one prospect in the game, giving Kansas City a double rope in the left-field line to take the first lead.
CUBS 5, brewers 4
CHICAGO – Ian Happ had three hits, including a tie-breaking two-run double in the seventh inning, and Chicago beat Milwaukee.
Nico Horner hit the Majors first homer of 2022 and Kyle Hendricks climbed to sixth beautifully, leading Chicago to victory on a cool, cloudy afternoon at Wrigley Field. Japanese outfielder Seiya Suzuki has reached three times and scored in his first major league game. Chris Martin (1-0) got two outs to win his Cubs debut.
Filled with first and debut days, Milwaukee star Corbin Burns and catcher Omar Norvez became the first batteries to use baseball’s new electronic pitch-calling system in a regular-season game. The 2021 NL Sai Young Award winner allowed three runs and four hits in five innings.
For Milwaukee, Andrew McCachchen, Willie Adams and Rudy Talez each hit two hits and Lorenzo Kane scored two. Haran Ashby (0-1).