What we saw on the opening day of MLB: Ohtani Delivery, Mets Swoon, Tyler O’Neill strikes again

Jackson Chourio adjusted the jokes as he walked towards the plate at the Yankee Stadium. The 21 -year -old Milwaukee Brewers left the defender tightened his hand at the Catcher of New York Yankees Austin Wells, then he bent and touched the earth. He used the right foot in the battle box and the left foot followed. Wrapped the club and waited.

Thursday at 15:13 et, Chourio oscillated the first opening shot. It was a quick ball of 96 miles per hour for the strike from the left -handed Yankees Carlos Rodón. A quick ball and a cursor later, Rodón had the first strikeout of the day. Wells hit the first race at home after that.

And suddenly the baseball had returned.

There was an late event in San Diego, a rain delay in St. Louis and a Slugfest of seven houses in Toronto. A 765 million dollar free agent chose his first AT-BAT in New York and a Shorttop made a little launch in Chicago. In Los Angeles, a hero of the World Series launched a first ceremonial shot to another. Kirk Gibson in Freddie Freeman. The 1988 legend at Marvel in 2024. Ice Cube led the World Series trophy on the field at the Dodger and Shohei Ohtani stadium paid tribute to her fourth AT-BAT. The Dodgers resisted to win from a race.

This is what the world of baseball was waiting to see. Five months after the World Series, there were baseball games – significant games of the regular season – which were played from Costa to Costa.

Dodgers Shohei Ohtani greets the manager Dave Roberts before their opening of the house. (Harry How / Getty Images)

The phenomena of the Pittsburgh Pirates Paul Skenes was good, but he was not the best young launcher of the day. The prize for the free agent Juan Soto was successful in his first AT-BAT with the New York Mets, but hit the ninth and lost mets of two. The Chicago White Sox, leaving the worst season of modern baseball history, won in an outburst to finish the day in a tie for first place. For that moment, they were as good as anyone else, and Miguel Vargas was a .500 batter.

It was game 1 of 162. A drop in the bucket, but pushes the thirst for a winter.

The opening day, technically, it was not the beginning of the baseball season. The Tokyo series between Dodgers and Chicago Cubs has opened the regular season a week ago. Yoshinbu Yamamoto and Shota Immanaga launched well in a matchup of Game 1 All-Gapan. Ohtani was omitted in game 2. The fanatics announced $ 40 million in sales of goods. The Tokyo series was a success and a show, but it was also one -off. It was global but not universal.

The opening day is singular but common. It is a day for dreamers and believers, the main Leagues and the Corey Seagers veteran. It is an empty list for the White Sox, a triumphant return for the Dodgers, a restoration for the Philadelphia Phillies and a new start for the Boston Red Sox.

And it is the best day of the year for Tyler O’Neill, the defender of Baltimore Orioles who Hormuto for the sixth opening day below. The Guardians of Cleveland had another opening defender on the right each of the last 14 seasons, while O’Neill continues to go deep.

Tyler O’Neill continues to hit the opening victims. (Vaughn Ridley / Getty Images)

Baseball appreciates that type of consistency. It is a game of tradition and history. There are stamina between the stands and the gigantic American flags on the field. The afternoon broadcast of Espn on Thursday was opened with an ode to the broadcaster of the late Brewers Bob Uecker and the Toronto Blue Jays field ceremony celebrated the life of the noisy King Base Rickey Henderson. Trevor Hoffman, Andy Pettte and Chris Sabo launched the first ceremonial shots in San Diego, New York and Cincinnati. Ichiro Suzuki, the recent 51 -year -old Hall of Famer, just coined, shot an 84 mph of the first shot that seemed too fierce to be ceremonial. Josh Groban sang the national anthem of Los Angeles (just as he did last year before Dodgers won everything).

And tradition claims that there is nothing better than a great initial pitcher.

Skenes, leaving his dominant debut of the season of the year, hit two in Thursday’s first inning. The ace of Philadelphia Phillies Zack Wheeler had five strikeouts in the first two inning. Reds Hunter Greene’s firefighter had seven Strikeout through three. Everyone was overcome by the antipastic of Washington Nationals Mackenzie Gore, who made his first day of opening and hit 13. He and Hall of Famer Bob Gibson are the only launchers who ever hit that many without taking a walk or a race in the first game of the season.

Not that it matters in the end. The Phillies gathered in the seventh inning of that game, then made an advantage in the eighth and finally beat the citizens in the tenth. The Guardians also won in Extra inning after leaving a rescue. The Boston Red Sox defender of the second year Wilyer Abreu and the veteran of the giants of San Francisco Dh Wilmer Flores hit each one with three shots of three shots, ninth in the house. Gavin’s sheets hit a race at home hit by Pizzico in the seventh for the San Diego Padas. The pirates and Miami Marlins – whose launch matchup between Skenes and the former winner of Cy Young Sandy Alcantara was the most awaited of the day – decided their game a long time after their axes had hit the showers. The Marlin, another of the worst baseball teams last year, got a ninth walk to win it.

In Texas, Wilyer Abreu gave the Red Sox an advantage that they would not give up. (Richard Rodriguez / Getty Images)

Despite the burst of Orioles 12-2 of the Toronto Blue Jays, it was a day of opening of close dance fields (and of the general directors who wanted to have done more to improve their bullpens).

There were two very different waiting moments (Apart from a short but frustrating interruption of MLB.TV streaming). The first was beyond baseball as a presenter of the Blue Jays audience, in the midst of a tariff war, supplicated with Toronto fans “Being respectful” during the American national anthem. (There were some whistles, but not as in other recent sporting events.) The second arrived when the Los Angeles Angeles Angels Mike Tout was hit in his first appearance in the plate from another season lost due to an injury. Trout remained at stake to take a walk later, A was a small silver lining (especially for a losing team that brought Nicky Lopez Nicky Lopez out), but one hopes.

The opening day is built for that type of optimism full of the middle. It is a day to rethink with affection and hope with reckless abandonment. The 34 -year -old icon of Houston Astros, Jose Altuve, played on the left for the first time, and he played it in the same game in which his 22 -year -old teammate Cam Smith made his debut in a great league and achieved his first success. A career pivot for each of them, together, with all of us who look.

Tension and possibilities. Win and lose. The opening day is the judge of Aaron who approaches the dish, Elly de la Cruz got an advantage to the first base, Tarik Skubal put himself on the mound and Bobby Witt Jr. took his first step towards a ball on the ground in the hole. It is the thrill of anticipation. Baseball is eventually.

And after the sun has set itself for a long time on the eastern coast, the last games of Thursday’s West Coast began in Arizona and Seattle. Diamonds against puppies. The Mariners vs. The (Non Oakland) to’s. Zac Gallen would have faced Kyle Tucker and Logan Gilbert who went against Lawrence Butler.

It was the opening day and at that moment, everything was remembered and everything was possible.

(Photo above: Richard Rodriguez / Getty Images)