Clayton Kershaw was brilliant on opening day, holding San Diego to one hit in seven innings and striking out nine to lead the Los Angeles Dodgers to a record 15-0 victory against the Padres on Monday.
It was the most lopsided opening day shutout in MLB history. The previous mark was a 14-0 win by the Pittsburgh Pirates over the Cincinnati Reds in 1911, according to STATS.
Kershaw (1-0) allowed Jon Jay’s single with two outs in the third and then retired his last 13 batters.
Photo: AFP
It was the worst opening day loss in the Padres’ 48-year history.
“Opening day is special. No one wants to come out and lay an egg on opening day and get beat 15-0, but it is one of 162. Everybody gets smoked like this during the season. It is not a big deal in the long run,” San Diego coach Andy Green said.
Trevor Story became the first player to hit two home runs in his MLB debut on opening day as Colorado spoiled Zack Greinke’s initial start for Arizona with a 10-5 win in Phoenix.
Greinke (0-1), who signed a US$206.5 million six-year contract with the Diamondbacks, had his worst outing in nearly four years, giving up seven runs — six in one inning. He allowed three homers in a game for the first time since Aug. 19, 2009.
Story became the first National League player to hit multiple home runs in his first game. Four have done it in the American League.
“It is unbelievable,” Story said. “It is something you do not even dream of, or something that I never dreamed of. It is a really, really special moment.”
Jake Arrieta yielded two hits over seven innings, while Miguel Montero homered and drove in three runs as the Chicago Cubs opened a season of high expectations with an easy 9-0 victory over the Los Angeles Angels.
The Angels managed just three hits while getting shut out on opening day for the first time since 2002 — the year of their only World Series championship. They had never lost an opener by more than seven runs.
“I think we set the tone pretty nicely for ourselves,” Arrieta said. “We have prepared for this for a long time.”
Daniel Murphy was a huge hit in his Washington debut, with a home run and a go-ahead double in the 10th inning, as the Washington Nationals rallied past the Atlanta Braves 4-3 and National League Most Valuable Player Bryce Harper homered in his first plate appearance of the season.
Denard Span homered and drove in five runs in his San Francisco debut as the Giants beat the Milwaukee Brewers 12-3, despite a sluggish start from under-the-weather ace Madison Bumgarner.
Cole Hamels handed Seattle ace Felix Hernandez his first opening day defeat as the Texas Rangers beat the Mariners 3-2 with just one hit.
Matt Wieters singled home the winning run with two outs in the ninth inning as the Baltimore Orioles withstood two long rain delays in a 3-2 victory over Minnesota, while the Cincinnati Reds beat Philadelphia 6-2 in a match between the majors’ two worst teams from last season.
The Toronto Blue Jays defeated Tampa Bay 5-3, while the Chicago White Sox defeated Oakland 4-3.
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