Rockies win in debuts of Black, Holland, beat Brewers 7-5

Rockies manager Bud Black exchanged high-fives with his players as they streamed off the field and stopped Greg Holland for a few extra seconds to offer encouraging words and a pat on the back.

It was quite the successful Colorado debut for Black and the team's new closer.

Holland picked up a save for the first time since coming back from Tommy John surgery, Mark Reynolds homered and had three RBIs, and the Rockies beat the Milwaukee Brewers 7-5 in Monday's opener.

Black's 650th win as a major league manager was his first with the Rockies.

"We checked off a lot of boxes in that baby. That was a little bit of everything," said Black, who also spent eight-plus seasons managing San Diego.

Holland got Ryan Braun to bounce into a game-ending, 5-4-3 double play that started after third baseman Nolan Arenado dove to his left and threw to second while on his right knee. The out at first was confirmed on a video review, giving Holland his first save since Sept. 17, 2015, for Kansas City against Cleveland.

His previous major league appearance was the following day against Detroit. The right-hander missed the 2016 season because of the elbow injury.

"This guy is a two-time All-Star. This guy is pitched in the postseason. And he's healthy," Black said. "We'll continue to watch all relievers but it was good to see Greg get a save."

The Brewers lost a key pitcher when Junior Guerra left his first opening-day start in the big leagues after three innings with a strained right calf. He grimaced as he broke out of the batter's box after laying down a bunt.

Manager Craig Counsell said that Guerra will go on the disabled list, with more tests due on Tuesday. It was the first time Guerra could recall every hurting a leg.

"That's why I turned around and look at the catcher because I thought maybe he hit me, because it just felt like I got hit," Guerra said.

TURNING POINT

Tony Wolters scored from third with two outs in the seventh to give Colorado a 6-5 lead after Jett Bandy threw to second trying to catch Charlie Blackmon stealing. The ball short-hopped second baseman Jonathan Villar and trickled away on the infield dirt, allowing Wolters to go home.

Manager Craig Counsell said the Brewers missed a sign on the play.

Reliever Jhan Marinez (0-1) took the loss after having allowed Wolters to reach on a single. Carlos Estevez (1-0) pitched a hitless sixth.

BREWERS DEBUTS

Colorado added two more runs in the fourth before the Brewers rallied for five in the fifth behind new acquisitions Eric Thames and Travis Shaw, who each had RBI doubles. The left-handed hitters were brought in this offseason by general manager David Stearns to balance what had been a predominantly right-handed lineup.

"We put together a great inning in the fifth but there were some defensive plays we could have made and we had some at-bats where contact would have helped us," Counsell said.

JUST JARED

Pinch-hitter Alexi Amarista added an RBI double in the eighth off Jared Hughes, who signed with the Brewers on Monday. Hughes' deal calls for a $950,000 salary in the majors and $150,000 in the minors. He can earn $250,000 in performance bonuses based on games pitched: $25,000 each for 50 and 55, $50,000 apiece for 60 and 65 and $100,000 for 70.

TRAINER'S ROOM

Rockies: OF David Dahl (rib) and IF Ian Desmond (left hand) were among six players placed on the 10-day disabled list Sunday, retroactive to March 30. The other players were: RHPs Jairo Diaz (elbow) and Chad Qualls (forearm), LHP Chris Rusin (oblique) and C Tom Murphy (right forearm).

Brewers: Minor league C Rene Garcia is out of a hospital and after sustaining a concussion in a play at the plate during Saturday's exhibition against the Chicago White Sox. General manager David Stearns said Garcia was doing well.

UP NEXT

Rockies: LHP Tyler Anderson (5-6, 3.54 ERA in 2016) makes his debut after compiling a 4.08 ERA in six spring training starts. Anderson had a career-high 10 strikeouts in his only start against the Brewers, on Aug. 24.

Brewers: RHP Zach Davies made his first opening-day roster after a solid 2016. Davies went 11-7 with a 3.98 ERA in 28 starts last year, his first full season in the majors.

Benintendi lifts Red Sox over Pirates 5-3 in post-Ortiz era

Rookie Andrew Benintendi hit a three-run homer that capped a five-run fifth inning, and the Boston Red Sox began their post-David Ortiz era by beating the Pittsburgh Pirates 5-3 in Monday's opener.

Reigning AL Cy Young Award winner Rick Porcello (1-0) gave up three runs and six hits in 6 1/3 innings while striking out five. Craig Kimbrel retired Starling Marte on a game-ending popup with two on for the save.

Playing the team it beat in the first World Series in 1903, Boston opened against a National League opponent for just the second time.

Gerrit Cole (0-1), the first overall pick in the 2011 amateur draft, gave up five runs and seven hits in five innings.

Ortiz retired after last season after helping the Red Sox win three Series titles, their first since 1918.

Even without Ortiz, there was still plenty of pageantry at Fenway Park.

The ceremonial first pitch was attended a quintet of members Super Bowl champion New England Patriots headlined by MVP quarterback Tom Brady, who made the toss. They were joined by owner Robert Kraft and all five of the franchise's Lombardi trophies.

It may have brought the hometown team some good luck.

Boston had only two hits before Jackie Bradley Jr.'s two-out triple to right in the fifth. He scored the first run after Pablo Sandoval beat out a sharp grounder to shortstop Jordy Mercer.

Sandy Leon bunted his way on, Sandoval scored on Dustin Pedroia's line-drive single up the middle and Benintendi homered.

Porcello allowed only three hits through six innings. Josh Harrison had an RBI single in the seventh, and the Pirates added two runs off Matt Barnes before before Andrew McCutchen struck out for the third time.

TRAINERS ROOM

Red Sox: LHP David Price (left elbow) is still working on increasing his throwing distances and is set to throw again Tuesday. ,,, Manager John Farrell said RHP Tyler Thornburg (right shoulder) is still isn't throwing.

UP NEXT

Pirates: RHP Jameson Taillon has a 5-4 record and 3.38 ERA in 18 starts with the Pirates.

Red Sox: LHP Chris Sale makes his Boston debut after being acquired in an offseason trade with the White Sox.

Syndergaard, Cabrera lead Mets past Braves 6-0 in opener

Noah Syndergaard pitched six sharp innings before leaving with a blister, Asdrubal Cabrera snapped a seventh-inning tie with a single and the New York Mets broke through following a pivotal replay reversal to beat the Atlanta Braves 6-0 in their season opener Monday.

Syndergaard struck out seven in his first opening day start for New York, the only blemish a blister on the top of his right middle finger that ended his outing.

Atlanta starter Julio Teheran throttled the Mets as usual, throwing six scoreless innings before a sellout crowd of 44,384 at Citi Field. But once he was lifted after 96 pitches, New York took advantage of five walks by a shaky Braves bullpen in a six-run bottom of the seventh that lasted 35 minutes.

Curtis Granderson had a sacrifice fly and Lucas Duda busted the game open with a three-run double off ineffective reliever Eric O'Flaherty.

The Mets stopped a six-game home losing streak to Atlanta - the last-place Braves swept their final two series in Queens last year - and improved baseball's best record on opening day to 36-20.

New York, which lost its first eight openers in the 1960s, has won 21 of its past 24 season openers at home.

Rene Rivera led off the seventh with a single against Ian Krol (0-1). One out later, Jose Reyes walked and Cabrera singled to center field for his third hit. Gold Glove winner Ender Inciarte made a strong throw home, and Wilmer Flores initially was called out.

But replays showed catcher Tyler Flowers was in poor position when he took the throw behind the plate, allowing Flores to touch the front corner with his foot before getting tagged.

From there, the Mets stayed patient in the batter's box and opened a comfortable lead.

Hansel Robles (1-0) worked a perfect inning for the win.

Freddie Freeman had three hits for the Braves, including a one-out triple in the fourth. Syndergaard struck out the other three batters in the inning, and pitched out of trouble against the middle of the lineup again in the sixth.

BRINGING SEXY BACK

With fans still filing in, Braves pitcher Bartolo Colon received a standing ovation during pregame introductions as he waved and tipped his cap to the crowd. Big Sexy, who turns 44 in May, won 44 games for the Mets over the past three seasons. He signed a $12.5 million, one-year contract with Atlanta in November. "This guy gave us quality inning after quality inning. He was a force with our young Latin players," Mets manager Terry Collins said. "I think he taught `em how to be major league pitchers, how to go about things, how to take the good with the bad. And we're going to miss that. ... Bartolo had a huge effect on this team."

TRAINER'S ROOM

Braves: Injured reliever Mauricio Cabrera, who features a fastball clocked at over 100 mph, is expected to begin throwing soon. "Everything's pointing good now. I mean, it's very positive coming from him," manager Brian Snitker said. "He'll need to build back, but you know, he won't have been off that long." Cabrera is on the 10-day disabled list, retroactive to March 30, with a right elbow strain.

Mets: In their comments to reporters, RHP Seth Lugo seemed optimistic about a fairly quick return from the DL, while it appears LHP Steven Matz will be sidelined for some time. Both are out with elbow injuries. ... 3B David Wright (neck surgery) took batting practice with the team on the field. He was in uniform for pregame introductions and was given a warm hand. Wright started the previous 12 season openers at third base.

UP NEXT

Braves: Colon will make his Atlanta debut when he starts the second game of the series Wednesday night against his former teammates. "Some of these guys don't know Major League Baseball without him in it," Snitker said.

Mets: RHP Jacob deGrom returns to the mound from Sept. 21 surgery to reposition the ulnar nerve in his right elbow. The 2014 NL Rookie of the Year is 3-3 with a 1.90 ERA in eight career outings against Atlanta.

Harper, Lind homer, Nationals top Marlins 4-2 in opener

Adam Lind's first swing as a member of the Nationals resulted in a pinch-hit, go-ahead, two-run homer in the seventh inning, and Bryce Harper went deep on opening day for the fifth time in his young career, leading Washington past the Miami Marlins 4-2 on Monday.

Stephen Strasburg (1-0) earned the win, allowing two runs and six hits in seven innings, pitching out of the stretch the whole way. It was his return to action after missing last September and the playoffs with a right elbow injury.

Otherwise, it was a good showing by some of the reigning NL East champion's new pieces.

Catcher Matt Wieters singled off a soft liner ahead of Lind's drive into the first row in right-center off reliever David Phelps (0-1) that made it 3-2.

Center fielder Adam Eaton doubled, walked twice, stole a base and scored a run. Wieters and Lind were free-agent signings; Eaton came over from the Chicago White Sox in a much-debated trade.

Plus, Blake Treinen, a holdover but a closer for the first time, pitched the ninth for a save - only his second in the majors.

Treinen took on the 4-5-6 hitters for Miami, getting Giancarlo Stanton to pop out in foul territory, struck out Justin Bour swinging, then Marcell Ozuna looking.

The Nationals trailed 2-0 before Harper put them on the board in the sixth with a no-doubt solo shot off a 95 mph pitch from Phelps, who came in after Miami starter Edinson Volquez went five scoreless innings.

Harper, the 2015 NL MVP coming off a down year, added to his opening-day collection of homers: two in 2013, one each in 2015 and 2016.

Lind turned on a 2-0 fastball, then was coaxed out of the dugout for a curtain call by the loud sellout crowd of 42,744 on a cloudy afternoon.

REMEMBERING NO. 16

Michael Hill, the Marlins' president of baseball operations, wore a black lapel pin with the number "16," the jersey worn by Jose Fernandez, the charismatic ace who died when his boat crashed late last season. "He's gone, and that's something that we all have to come to grips with and accept," Hill said. "But his memory will always be a bond for this team and for me as well."

Said manager Don Mattingly: "I actually thought about him this morning, just that you miss this guy."

TRAINER'S ROOM

Nationals: 3B Anthony Rendon was out of the lineup after fouling a ball off his calf during spring training. Manager Dusty Baker said it was his decision for Rendon to sit, noting that the player wanted to start. "He could've played if I'd had wanted to push him," Baker said, "but I decided not to."

UP NEXT

After an off-day Tuesday, Washington sends RHP Tanner Roark to the mound against Miami newcomer Dan Straily for Game 2 on Wednesday. Roark's final spring training tuneup was rained out, but he threw a bullpen session of about 85 pitches to try to stay on track for the beginning of the season.

Grichuk, Cardinals top Cubs 4-3 in wild opener

 Randal Grichuk hit a two-run homer in the eighth inning and a game-ending RBI single in the ninth, helping the St. Louis Cardinals top the Chicago Cubs 4-3 in a wild prime-time opener on Sunday night.

Jose Martinez sparked the winning rally with a pinch-hit double against Mike Montgomery, who closed out Chicago's World Series championship in November. Yadier Molina then was awarded the first no-pitch intentional walk in major league history, part of baseball's offseason rule changes designed to speed up the game.

With two outs and the bases loaded, Grichuk lined a 1-2 pitch into the gap in left-center for his second career game-ending hit. He was mobbed as he rounded first in the rain, and what was left of a sellout crowd of 47,566 cheered wildly.

The Cardinals appeared set for a tidy 3-0 win before the Cubs rallied in the ninth. Ben Zobrist was hit by a pitch from Seung-hwan Oh and Jason Heyward singled before Willson Contreras hit a drive to left for a tying homer.

Before the dramatic finish, the night belonged to St. Louis right-hander Carlos Martinez, who retired 12 in a row and 18 of 19 over one stretch against the defending champions. The ace right-hander struck out 10 and walked none in 7 1/3 innings in his first start on opening day.

Jon Lester kept Chicago in the game with five effective innings despite not having his best stuff. Kyle Schwarber reached three times in his first game as the leadoff hitter since Dexter Fowler left the Cubs for an $82.5 million, five-year contract with the Cardinals.

Martinez departed with runners on first and second and the Cardinals clinging to a 1-0 lead. He was saluted with a standing ovation.

Oh then came in and hit Schwarber with a pitch, loading the bases as it started to rain. But Oh retired NL MVP Kris Bryant and Anthony Rizzo on two fly balls to right, ending the inning.

St. Louis went 86-76 last year and missed the playoffs for the first time since 2010, but the winter additions of Fowler and reliever Brett Cecil ramped up the optimism for this season. The Cardinals got another positive jolt when they announced a new contract for Molina earlier in the day that runs through the 2020 season.

The sellout crowd at Busch Stadium roared its approval when Molina was introduced before the game, prompting the catcher to doff his cap twice as the cheers continued.

He got another standing ovation when he came to the plate for the first time in the second inning, and there were chants of "Ya-di! Ya-di!" before he grounded a single back up the middle.

Fowler also heard all cheers all night long, and he used his legs to get St. Louis on the board in the third. He reached on an infield single, scampered over to third on Aledmys Diaz's single to center and scored on Matt Carpenter's fly ball to right.

MORE ON MOLINA

Molina made his 13th consecutive start on opening day, third most in franchise history behind Stan Musial (18) and Lou Brock (15), according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

TRAINER'S ROOM

Cubs: LHP Brian Duensing was placed on the 10-day disabled list with lower back spasms. The move was made retroactive to Thursday.

UP NEXT

Following a day off, right-handers Jake Arrieta of the Cubs and Adam Wainwright of the Cardinals get the ball on Tuesday night. Arrieta went 18-8 with a 3.10 ERA in 31 starts last year. Wainwright is looking to bounce back after going 13-9 with a 4.62 ERA last season.

New closer, same result: Giants blow lead, lose to D-backs

Two big swings from Madison Bumgarner were undone by another bullpen meltdown in a wild opener for the San Francisco Giants that looked an awful lot like last season.

Chris Owings singled home the winning run and the Arizona Diamondbacks scored twice with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning off new San Francisco closer Mark Melancon for a 6-5 victory Sunday.

Derailed by a dreadful relief corps last year, the Giants started this season the same way - even after trying to fix the problem by bringing in Melancon on a $62 million, four-year contract.

Bumgarner retired his first 16 batters and became the first pitcher to hit two home runs on opening day. He struck out 11 with no walks in seven innings - all for naught.

Arizona got a double by Jeff Mathis and three singles after Melancon (0-1) retired his first two batters in the ninth. A.J. Pollock singled in the tying run, and Owings dumped a base hit into right field to end it.

"We never expect anything negative to happen with Mark out there," Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. "It happened. You are not going to be perfect. We had our chances to put the game away a couple of times and couldn't do it."

The Giants had 32 blown saves last season, including nine in September. In their final playoff game, Bochy went through five relievers in the ninth inning against the Chicago Cubs, and San Francisco was eliminated from its NL Division Series after allowing four runs for a 6-5 defeat.

That led to an offseason overhaul in the bullpen, headlined by the arrival of Melancon as a free agent. He saved 98 games over the past two seasons, most in the majors.'

"You never really want to start it off this way, especially after a heck of a performance by Madison," Melancon said. "This was one of the more impressive games I have seen by anybody. I really wanted to cap off a good start by him. Obviously, it didn't go that way."

New Diamondbacks closer Fernando Rodney (1-0) gave up a run but escaped a bases-loaded, one-out situation to get the victory.

It was an emotional debut for new Arizona manager Torey Lovullo, the former Boston bench coach who had many family members in the crowd and thought often of his father, television producer Sam Lovullo (Hee Haw), who died earlier this year.

"It couldn't have been scripted any better," Lovullo said. "The walk that we've been walking, the concepts that we've laid on these guys, they went out there an earned every part of that victory."

The Diamondbacks lost 93 games last season.

San Francisco took a 5-4 lead when Joe Panik led off the ninth with a triple and scored on pinch-hitter Conor Gillaspie's sacrifice fly.

Bumgarner's line-drive homer off Zack Greinke put the Giants ahead 2-0 in the fifth. The pitcher's second solo shot, off lefty Andrew Chafin, broke a 3-all tie in the seventh.

"That is obviously pretty special, having the chance to do that and for that to happen," Bumgarner said, "but my job is out there on the mound. That is where my concern is at."

Bumgarner has 17 career home runs, three last season.

Mathis broke up Bumgarner's perfect-game bid with a one-out triple into the left-field corner in the sixth. Mathis scored on Nick Ahmed's pinch-hit single, and Pollock - who missed virtually all of last season with a broken elbow - followed with a two-run homer just over the left-field fence that tied it at 3.

Greinke was limited to five innings due to a high pitch count. He allowed two runs on four hits, striking out four and throwing 92 pitches.

PERFECT START

No pitcher has thrown a perfect game on opening day. Only one has tossed a no-hitter, Hall of Famer Bob Feller for Cleveland in 1940.

TRAINER'S ROOM

Giants: Utilityman Trevor Brown (sprained right ankle) and OF Mac Williamson (strained left quad) opened the season on the 10-day disabled list. Both moves were retroactive to May 30.

Diamondbacks: RHP Jake Barrett, who could be the setup man in the bullpen, opened on the 10-day DL due to right shoulder inflammation. Lovullo said Barrett was making good progress and would throw a bullpen Sunday. LHP Steve Hathaway (left shoulder inflammation) also opened on the 10-day DL.

UP NEXT

Giants: RHP Johnny Cueto starts Tuesday after an outstanding first season with the Giants, when he went 18-5 with a 2.79 ERA.

Diamondbacks: After an off day Monday, the series resumes with LHP Patrick Corbin (5-13, 5.15) starting for Arizona. He finished last season in the bullpen.

Archer outpitches Tanaka, Rays top Yankees 7-3 in MLB opener

Pitch by pitch, Chris Archer set the tone for what he and the Tampa Bay Rays hope will be a bounce-back year.

Not such a good start for Masahiro Tanaka and the New York Yankees.

Archer pitched seven solid innings, and the Rays roughed up Tanaka on the way to beating New York 7-3 in the first game of the new Major League Baseball season Sunday.

"We didn't play perfect, but we played well enough to win," Archer said. "We scored a lot of runs and made some nice defensive plays. It's all about winning, and we did that."

And what the Rays didn't do a lot of last season, when they sank to the bottom of the AL East with their worst finish (68-94) since 2007.

New York lost on opening day for the sixth consecutive year, with Tanaka matching the shortest start ever by a Yankees pitcher in an opener.

"It happens. He's human," Yankees pitching coach Larry Rothschild said. "He just didn't command anything. ... He usually self corrects real well. But today, he tried a few things and it just didn't work."

Evan Longoria and Logan Morrison homered and drove in three runs apiece before a sellout crowd of 31,042 at Tropicana Field. Tanaka, who had baseball's lowest ERA in spring training, was tagged for a career-worst seven earned runs in 2 2/3 innings.

A first-time All-Star in 2015 who lost an AL-leading 19 times last season, Archer (1-0) limited New York to two runs and seven hits. He narrowly escaped a bases-loaded jam in the seventh to turn a five-run lead over to a revamped bullpen.

Rays manager Kevin Cash said it was important to give his ace an opportunity to get through the seventh.

"I'm really happy he did, not only for my sake but the other guys on the staff, too," Archer said. " I want them to know when stuff gets hairy, you need to strap it on and go right after them. We don't need to be bailed out, we need to get out of the inning."

There were three games around in the majors on the first day, and the Rays got off to a quick start.

Leadoff man Corey Dickerson singled in the Tampa Bay first for the first hit of the season and later scored on Longoria's sacrifice fly as part of a three-run inning. Longoria connected for a two-run drive in the second.

Aaron Judge had a RBI double, while Starlin Castro and Chase Headley each had three hits for the Yankees.

Tanaka (0-1) made his third consecutive opening day start for the Yankees, and had been 6-0 with a 2.82 ERA in eight career starts against Tampa Bay. He gave up eight hits and two walks.

Longoria connected for his fourth homer on opening day. Morrison, who didn't drive in a run until May 17 last season, added a solo drive in the third.

"Obviously, you just have to accept it. I can't take it back," Tanaka said through a translator. "So, the main thing is, I really need to move forward from today. Make the necessary adjustments."

UNCHARACTERISTIC

Tanaka, who tied Hideo Nomo for the most opening day starts by a Japanese-born pitcher, had a seven-game winning streak stopped. He went 7-0 with a 2.28 ERA over his final nine starts of last season. ... Tanaka had won all three of his previous career starts at Tropicana Field, limiting the Rays to four earned runs in 20 innings for a 1.80 ERA. He led the AL with a 2.36 road ERA in 2016, trailing only the Mets' Noah Syndergaard (2.29) for the major league lead.

It was the second-shortest start of Tanka's career. He tied the Yankees shortest on opening day, joining Ron Guidry (1983) and Mel Stottlemyre (1973).

LEADING OFF

Dickerson, who hit 24 home runs last year, was 1 for 5 in his debut as Tampa Bay's leadoff hitter against right-handed pitching. Cash is considering moving right-handed batting Steven Souza Jr. to the top of the order against left-handers, beginning Tuesday against CC Sabathia.

TRAINER'S ROOM

Yankees: SS Didi Gregorius (right shoulder strain) expects to start limited baseball activities the middle of this week. He is out until some time in May. ... INF-OF Tyler Austin (broken left ankle) was placed on the 60-day disabled list.

Rays: Longoria, who sat out Tampa Bay's final spring training game due to a stiff neck, made his club-record ninth consecutive start on opening day. ... Seven players, including C Wilson Ramos, OF Colby Rasmus and SS Matt Duffy, begin the season on the disabled list.

UP NEXT

Yankees: LHP CC Sabathia, 3-7 in 14 starts at Tropicana Field since joining New York in 2009, is Tuesday night's scheduled starter. He's 2-0 against the Rays in three road starts over the last two seasons.

Rays: RHP Jake Odorizzi is set to work the second game of the series, which resumes after a day off. He went 7-1 with a 2.71 ERA in 14 outings after the All-Star break last year. He was the only Tampa Bay starter with a winning record, at 10-6, in 2016.