Eric Bruntlett hit a sacrifice fly that scored Craig Biggio in the 12th inning on Monday and lifted the Houston Astros to a 5-4 win over the Washington Nationals.
Biggio led off the inning with a double off the left-field wall and advanced on Willy Taveras' bunt. Mike Stanton (0-1) intentionally walked Lance Berkman and Morgan Ensberg, who had homered off Chad Cordero in the 10th to tie the game at 4-4.
Bruntlett pinch hit for reliever Chad Qualls, hit a high fly to center fielder Brandon Watson, and Biggio crouched at third as he awaited the catch.
PHOTO: AP
Watson's throw home was high and late, and Biggio easily slid in with the winning run.
Houston took three out of four from the Nationals, who were to play their home opener yesterday against the New York Mets.
Dodgers 8, Pirates 3
In Pittsburgh, Jason Repko homered and tripled to drive in four runs in the first two innings and Los Angeles beat former manager Jim Tracy and Pittsburgh.
Odalis Perez (1-0) limited the Pirates, losers of seven of their first eight games, to one run and five hits over 5 1-3 innings after giving up seven runs and nine hits in three innings in his first start.
Tracy was allowed to leave by the Dodgers following a 91-loss season a year ago that was one of their worst since relocating from New York City's borough of Brooklyn in 1958.
He became the first former Dodgers manager to oppose the club since Leo Durocher managed the Astros in 1973.
Cardinals 6, Brewers 4
In St. Louis, Mark Mulder threw eight strong innings and hit his first career home run to help St. Louis beat Milwaukee in the first MLB game at the Cardinals new US$365 million Busch Stadium.
Scott Rolen's two-run double in the fourth off Tomo Ohka (0-1) gave the Cardinals' the lead for good and Albert Pujols hit his fourth homer.
Mulder allowed seven hits in eight innings, struck out five and walked one.
He was also 2-for-3 with a double on a hop off the center-field wall and a walk.
Braves 5, Phillies 3
In Atlanta, Marcus Giles hit a tiebreaking homer in the seventh inning, and Andruw Jones also homered in the Braves' home opener.
The Braves, coming off a 3-4 West Coast trip to start the season, made their Turner Field debut before a sellout crowd of 47,332 that included former President Carter.
Giles' first homer and RBI of the season came in the seventh off Ryan Franklin (0-1) after the Phillies rallied from a 3-1 deficit against the Braves' bullpen.
That cost starter John Thomson a win, but it didn't diminish what he did to boost Atlanta's beleaguered rotation. He went five strong innings in his first start of the season, limiting the Phillies to an unearned run. He also produced at the plate with two hits, including a two-run double in the fourth that broke up a scoreless game.
Oscar Villareal (3-0) was the winner.
Jim Thome and Joe Crede hit two-run homers and Paul Konerko added a solo shot, leading the Chicago White Sox to a 5-3 victory on Monday over Detroit in the Tigers' home opener.
The last time the White Sox played at Comerica Park on Sept. 29, they clinched Major League Baseball's AL Central Division title en route to their first World Series crown since 1917.
Freddy Garcia (1-1) gave up three runs and five hits over six innings for the White Sox, who have won two straight after losing four in a row.
Jeremy Bonderman (1-1) allowed four runs and six hits in seven innings for the Tigers.
Detroit has lost two straight following a 5-0 start under new manager Jim Leyland.
Orioles 6, Devil Rays 3
At St. Petersburg, Florida, Erik Bedard (2-0) scattered four hits over seven scoreless innings for Baltimore in Tampa Bay's home debut under new principal owner Stuart Sternberg. The Devil Rays drew 40,199, just the fourth sellout in the perennial last-place team's nine-season history.
Jay Gibbons kept up his hot hitting against Tampa Bay with a solo homer and bases-loaded infield single off Seth McClung (0-2), who also lost to Bedard and the Orioles last Wednesday in Baltimore. Gibbons is 6-for-13 with two homers and seven RBIs in three games against Tampa Bay this season.
Toby Hall had two of the four hits off Bedard, then hit a two-run homer off Tim Byrdak to trim Baltimore's lead to 6-3 in the ninth. Right-hander Chris Ray got three outs for his second save.
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