Cubs Win, Cardinals Lose On Opening Day

MLB Opening Day's Kick Off Season

Monday was Opening Day for 24 of Major League Baseball's 30 teams. In New York, the Red Sox beat the Yankees 8-2 while the Mets pounded the Padres, 11-2. In D.C., the Nationals blanked the Marlins, 2-0. Today, the four teams yet to start the season will get underway. The Orioles play at the Rays and the Indians meet the Blue Jays in Toronto.

Chicago Cubs 3, Pittsburgh 1

Jeff Samardzija looked like an Opening Day veteran, not first-timer. Anthony Rizzo, who didn't hit a home run in any Cactus League games, launched the first pitch he saw in the regular season out of PNC Park for a two-run blast. And Carlos Marmol was pulled in the ninth and Japanese right-hander Kyuji Fujikawa got the save.

The end result: The Cubs held on for a 3-1 win Monday over the Pirates in the season opener and manager Dale Sveum did his best to downplay any closer controversy.

First, Samardzija. After the first three Pirates batters reached, the right-hander settled down and retired 23 of the next 25 batters he faced. He struck out nine over eight scoreless innings.

"That was probably as good a game as he's pitched starting his career," Sveum said.

"I'd say 'pitched' is a key word there," Samardzija said. "I thought it was the best pitched game. I didn't have the best stuff, but I worked both sides of the plate, up and down, and really attacked their hitters with the game plan me and [catcher Welington Castillo] had from the beginning. It was nice to have that confidence."

Confidence. That's a key word for Marmol, too. Marmol struck out the first batter he faced in the ninth. But then he hit Andrew McCutchen, who stole second and scored on Pedro Alvarez's single to center. After Marmol walked Gaby Sanchez, Sveum turned to James Russell, who induced Neil Walker to pop up to to right field. Fujikawa, making his Major League debut, came on to get Russell Martin to fly out to center to earn the save.

Arizona 6, St. Louis 2

Kennedy gave up two runs on five hits and struck out eight in seven innings during the Arizona Diamondbacks' 6-2 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals in the opener at Chase Field.

"That's kind of the old Ian we saw a couple of years ago," Arizona manager Kirk Gibson said of Kennedy, who finished fourth in the 2011 NL Cy Young balloting after going 21-4. Kennedy went 15-12 last year.

"Awesome. I don't know how else to explain. He really got rolling. Had everything working. Fastball spotted well, pumped up to 94 (mph). Changeup was good. He had it all working for him."

A.J. Pollock had three hits and two RBI in his first Opening Day start, and the D-backs collected 15 hits. Pollock's two-run double to center capped a three-run fourth inning for a 3-1 lead off St. Louis right-hander Adam Wainwright, and Pollock added two singles.

"We were patient. It is all about hitting mistakes, and we were patient," said Pollock, in the lineup because projected outfield starters Adam Eaton and Cody Ross opened the season on the disabled list.

Chicago White Sox 1, Kansas City 0

Tyler Flowers homered in the fifth inning for the game's only run as the White Sox edged the Royals 1-0 at U.S. Cellular Field. Chris Sale struck out seven while allowing seven hits and one walk over 7 2/3 innings for his first save.

Alex Rios and Alexei Ramirez each had two hits in the win. New ace James Shields fanned six while allowing eight hits and one run in six frames to take the tough-luck loss for KC. Jeff Francoeur and Alcides Escobar each had two hits for the Royals.

Monday, April 1 Scoreboard

MLB AL

Boston Red Sox 8, New York Yankees 2

Detroit Tigers 4, Minnesota Twins 2

Chicago White Sox 1, Kansas City Royals 0

Seattle Mariners 2, Oakland Athletics 0

MLB NL

Washington Nationals 2, Miami Marlins 0

New York Mets 11, San Diego Padres 2

Chicago Cubs 3, Pittsburgh Pirates 1

Milwaukee Brewers 5, Colorado Rockies 4 (10 inn)

Los Angeles Dodgers 4, San Francisco Giants 0

Atlanta Braves 7, Philadelphia Phillies 5

Arizona Diamondbacks 6, St. Louis Cardinals 2

MLB Interleague

Los Angeles Angels 3, Cincinnati Reds 1 (13 inn)

Tuesday, April 2 Schedule (All times Central)

Tuesday, April 1 Schedule

MLB AL

2:10 p.m. - Baltimore Orioles at Tampa Bay Rays

6:07 p.m. - Cleveland Indians at Toronto Blue Jays

7:10 p.m. - Texas Rangers at Houston Astros

9:07 p.m. - Seattle Mariners at Oakland Athletics

MLB NL

7:10 p.m. - Colorado Rockies at Milwaukee Brewers

8:40 p.m. - St. Louis Cardinals at Arizona Diamondbacks

9:10 p.m. - San Francisco Giants at Los Angeles Dodgers

MLB Interleague

No Games Scheduled