With a hasty windup followed by a pitch that sailed above a generous strike zone, President George W. Bush opened the Washington Nationals' inaugural home game and ended the city's major league baseball drought of more than three decades on Thursday.
Bush emerged from the dugout in a red Nationals jacket to mostly cheers, some boos, and lots of camera flashes. Waving to the crowd, he walked straight to the mound and promptly threw a high pitch toward home plate. Nationals catcher Brian Schneider reached up and snatched the ball cleanly, sparking more cheers.
Joe Grzenda, the last pitcher in the Washington Senators' final home game in 1971, provided the ball he had used in that final game.
The president walked back across the diamond to another round of cheers from fans packed into 46,000-seat RFK Stadium. He waved and smiled before disappearing into the dugout.
Bush watched the game from a box behind home plate with MLB commissioner Bud Selig, first lady Laura Bush, daughter Jenna and others. He left the ballpark after watching five innings of the Nationals' 5-3 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Under a blue sky and mild temperatures, Bush executed the ceremonial first toss with the skill of a guy who knows baseball. He was a part-owner of the Texas Rangers before running for governor of Texas.
According to White House spokesman Scott McClellan, Bush practiced his windup before traveling to Rome last week, and most recently on Wednesday. He and Schneider had a private warm-up session at the stadium on Thursday.
Earlier Thursday, Bush told a newspaper editors meeting in Washington: "I've got a decision to make today. Do I go with a fastball or a slider?"
Bush's pitch came 95 years to the day that President William Howard Taft did the same at a game between the Senators and Athletics, the beginning of a tradition.
The Senators left for Texas in 1972, but the major leagues returned to the nation's capital with the Montreal Expos' move to Washington in the offseason.
Vinny Castilla had three hits and four RBIs, Livan Hernandez was nearly flawless until the ninth, and the first-place Nationals beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 5-3 Thursday in Washington's first regular-season baseball game since Sept. 30, 1971.
Castilla, who sat out the past two games with a sore right shoulder, went 3-for-3 with a double in the second, a two-run triple in the fourth and a two-run homer in the sixth -- all off Arizona starter Javier Vazquez (0-2).
Hernandez (1-1) gave up just one hit before the ninth. After a walk and a single, Hernandez allowed Chad Tracy's three-run homer with one out. Chad Cordero got the last two outs for his second save.
"It was amazing to see. Honestly, it was more than I expected. They lived and died with every pitch," left fielder Brad Wilkerson said. "You know it's going to be a great place to play."
The baseball-starved fans cheered everything.
"Us, as players, we're excited not to be playing in Montreal," Arizona outfielder Luis Gonzalez said. "We had what -- 40,000 or 50,000 people tonight? If we had been there, they'd have had 2,000."
Mets 4, Astros 3
In New York, Jose Reyes' speed keyed a three-run seventh inning and New York rallied past Houston for its fourth straight victory.
New York was trailing 3-1 against Brandon Backe when David Wright walked to open the seventh, and Victor Diaz doubled a batter later.
Wright scored on a grounder and Reyes hit an infield single against ex-Met John Franco (0-1) , scoring Diaz with the tying run.
Reyes stole second and scored when third baseman Mike Lamb booted Miguel Cairo's grounder for an error.
Mike Matthews (1-0) pitched a scoreless seventh to earn the win and Braden Looper pitched the ninth for his first save.
Jason Varitek had a homer and a two-run triple to lead the Boston Red Sox past the New York Yankees 8-5 in a game marred when fans scuffled with Gary Sheffield in right field.
Sheffield was fielding Varitek's triple along the right-field fence in the eighth inning when a fan swung a short uppercut in his direction, appearing to graze the side of the slugger's face with his right arm.
"I just felt something hit me in the mouth," Sheffield said. "I don't know if he hit me or not, it felt like it. I thought my lip was busted."
After Sheffield picked up the ball, he shoved the fan before throwing the ball back into the infield. Another fan tossed a beer at Sheffield, who whirled around with a cocked fist but restrained himself and began shouting in the first man's face.
The fan was ejected from the ballpark but not arrested.
"It's just a baseball game," Sheffield said. "To get punched in the mouth, you don't expect that in a baseball game."
Varitek, Jay Payton and Edgar Renteria homered off Yankees starter Randy Johnson, who allowed five runs in seven innings. Tom Gordon (0-1) gave up three runs in two-thirds of an inning, including Renteria's go-ahead double.
Keith Foulke (1-1) pitched two innings to help Boston take two of three from its rival and even the season series at three games apiece.
Blue Jays 2, Rangers 1
In Arlington, Texas, Roy Halladay pitched a five-hitter for his 16th career complete game, and pinch-hitter Russ Adams drove in the go-ahead run with a groundout to lead Toronto over Texas.
Halladay (2-0) started the night with a 9.20 ERA in six career appearances at the Rangers' hitter-friendly ballpark, but he was in control as he struck out nine and walked one in his third start of the season.
Mariners 10, Royals 2
In Kansas City, Missouri, Richie Sexson and Jeremy Reed had three RBIs apiece to help Seattle beat the punchless Kansas City for a three-game sweep.
Jamie Moyer (2-0) went seven innings for his 12th victory in 20 career decisions against the Royals.
Reed's three-run double keyed a six-run fourth inning against rookie right-hander Denny Bautista (0-1). Sexson had an RBI double in the fourth and a two-run home run off reliever Mike Wood in the sixth.
Bautista, making his seventh major league start, went 3 1-3 innings and was charged with six runs on four hits.
Devil Rays 12, Orioles 7
In St. Petersburg, Florida, Carl Crawford hit a three-run homer and Travis Lee and Josh Phelps also drove in three runs apiece as Tampa Bay downed Baltimore.
The Devil Rays snapped a three-game losing streak with a season-high 14 hits in support of right-hander Rob Bell (1-0), who allowed nine hits and four earned runs in six innings, including a two-run homer to Melvin Mora.
Crawford's second homer of the season was the big blow in a seven-run fourth inning against Sidney Ponson (1-1).
Mora went 3-for-5 and had three RBI's for the Orioles, and Sammy Sosa drove in a run for the third straight game.
Alex Sanchez had two hits for Tampa Bay.
Twins 10, Tigers 4
In Minneapolis, Brad Radke pitched six strong innings as Minnesota broke the game open with a big sixth inning to complete a three-game sweep of Detroit.
Radke (1-2) retired 11 straight at one point and left after allowing three runs on six hits.
Lew Ford's three-run homer off reliever Kyle Farnsworth highlighted a four-run sixth inning for the Twins, who won their fourth straight. Jacque Jones went 3-for-4 with a triple and two RBIs.
Nate Robertson (0-1) gave up six runs, walked five and hit two batters in five innings for the Tigers, who lost their fourth straight.
Alex Rodriguez saved an 8-year-old boy from serious injury when he prevented the youngster from getting hit by a truck.
The New York Yankees star said Thursday he was standing in a crosswalk on Newbury Street near downtown Boston at about 3:30pm local time Tuesday when he saw the boy starting to run across the street into the path of an onrushing truck.
Rodriguez reached out and grabbed the boy, pulling him back and preventing a serious accident.
"The kid was going to get run over. I just kind of put my arm out and stopped him," he said.
It turns out the boy, named Patrick McCarthy, was already a fan of A-Rod.
"This guy just put his hand in front of me and stopped me. ... He said `Whoa, watch out, buddy,'" McCarthy said in a television interview Thursday.
"I was like, Wow! Like I was shocked, because he's my favorite player on the Yankees."
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