Jimmy Rollins hit a grand slam and pinch-hitter John Mayberry Jr had a two-run double in the Philadelphia Phillies’ wild 14-10 victory over the Texas Rangers in the only interleague game of the Major League Baseball opening day.
Marlon Byrd and Cody Asche also homered for the Phillies, who scored their most runs in an opener since beating the Boston Beaneaters 19-17 in 1900.
Cliff Lee (1-0) matched his career high by allowing eight runs and struck out only one, but the left-hander made it through five innings.
Photo: AFP
Tanner Scheppers, the first pitcher since Fernando Valenzuela for the 1981 Los Angeles Dodgers to make his first big-league start on opening day, gave up seven runs over four innings, including the slam by Rollins that made it 6-0 in the second. Mayberry had a tiebreaking hit in the fifth off Pedro Figueroa (0-1) for a 9-7 lead.
The World Series champions Boston Red Sox opened with a 2-1 loss as Nelson Cruz celebrated his Baltimore Orioles debut by hitting a tiebreaking homer in the seventh off Jon Lester (0-1) in the American League (AL).
Signed as a free agent in February, Cruz hit 27 homers last year with Texas during a season marred by a 50-game suspension stemming from an investigation of performance-enhancing drugs.
After missing two seasons recovering from knee surgery, Boston center fielder Grady Sizemore marked his return from a 922-day absence with a second-inning single for his first hit since September 2011. The three-time All-Star for Cleveland later hit his first home run since July 15, 2011, also at Camden Yards.
In the National League (NL), Milwaukee star Ryan Braun drew a standing ovation in his return from a drug suspension, then was ruled out in the first call overturned under baseball’s expanded replay system as the Brewers beat the Atlanta Braves 2-0.
Braun went one-for-four and stole a base in the fourth inning that helped set up a two-run double by Aramis Ramirez.
At Cincinnati, Yadier Molina’s homer broke a seventh-inning tie, leading the St Louis Cardinals to a 1-0 victory over the Reds.
Adam Wainwright (1-0) used his refined sinker to finally get the best of the Reds, who have hit him like no other team. Wainwright allowed three hits in seven innings, fanning nine.
In other NL games, the Pittsburgh Pirates blanked the Chicago Cubs 1-0, the Florida Marlins trounced the Colorado Rockies 10-1, the San Francisco Giants beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 9-8 and the Washington Nationals beat the New York Mets 9-7.
In the AL, the Detroit Tigers edged the Kansas City Royals 4-3, the Tamps Bay Rays downed the Toronto Blue Jays 9-2, the Chicago White Sox defeated the Minnesota Twins 5-3, the Seattle Mariners thumped the Los Angeles Angels 10-3 and the Cleveland Indians shut the Oakland Athletics out 2-0.
Additional reporting by staff writer
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