Imagine the biggest opening-day crowd in a city's baseball history. Pump it full of excitement and energy and a simmering hope of ending a 19-year playoff drought.
Then, have the home team rally for six runs in the ninth to win it, sending the crowd into a frenzy.
PHOTO: AFP
That was the scene at Kauffman Stadium on Monday when the final score flashed: the Kansas City Royals 9, the Chicago White Sox 7.
Mendy Lopez tied the game with a three-run homer and Carlos Beltran won it with a two-run shot in front of 41,575 fans.
"This I'm going to remember for the rest of my life," Beltran gushed. "Opening day. A walkoff home run. It doesn't get any better than this."
As improbable as the victory seemed, Tony Pena insisted it was nothing surprising to a team whose 21-game turnaround the year before produced its first winning season in a non-strike year since 1993.
"Our ballclub is never, never going to be out of a ballgame," said Pena, who was the AL manager of the year after leading the Royals to an 83-79 record in 2003.
"We have the type of offensive ballclub where we can come back any time. We showed that today. It's good it happened on the first day of the season because now our players know we view our ballclub differently than a lot of people view our ballclub."
Trailing all day after the White Sox scored four runs in the second, the Royals started their ninth-inning rally modestly. Joe Randa and Ken Harvey drew leadoff walks from Cliff Politte.
Billy Koch came in and gave up a run-scoring double to Benito Santiago, who had three RBIs in his Royals debut.
With one out, Marte came in and Lopez, who had only five major league home runs in 384 at-bats, made it six in 385.
"I never hit a ball that far in my life," Lopez said. "Opening day. It's the biggest thing I ever did in my life in baseball."
Marte seemed to take the loss philosophically.
"I felt good," Marte said. "I just missed my spots. It happens. It's never happened to me before on opening day, so it's a surprise. But I have to take it."
After Angel Berroa singled, Beltran hit Marte's 2-2 pitch over the wall in left-center, thrilling Kansas City's largest opening-day crowd since becoming a major league town with the arrival of the Athletics in 1955.
"I will never forget that feeling as I ran around the bases," Beltran said.
The Royals got off to a 9-0 start last year and won 16 of their first 19 in their first winning season in a non-strike year since 1993. They've spent the offseason basking in renewed hope among their fans, who are certain to be even more fired up.
Tigers 7, Blue Jays 0
At Toronto, Ivan Rodriguez and Rondell White homered in their Detroit debuts to back the pitching of Jason Johnson, another new addition, in the Tigers' victory.
Twins 7, Indians 4
At Minneapolis, Shannon Stewart hit a three-run homer with two outs in the 11th inning, giving Minnesota a comeback victory over Cleveland.
Cleveland got 17 hits and blew a 4-0 eighth-inning lead against the two-time defending AL Central champions.
Athletics 5, Rangers 4
At Oakland, pinch-hitter Eric Byrnes hit a two-run double with two outs in the eighth and the Athletics rallied for a victory in their season opener.
Chad Bradford finished the eighth for the win, and new closer Arthur Rhodes pitched the ninth for his first save.
American League
AP, Houston, Texas
Barry Bonds has always been close to Willie Mays.
He's never been closer to his godfather on baseball's career home run list than he is now.
Bonds hit his 659th home run Monday night -- one behind Mays for third all time -- in helping the San Francisco Giants begin the season with a 5-4 comeback victory over the Houston Astros.
Bonds said he feels no pressure as he bears down on his beloved godfather.
"I don't understand the word `pressure,'" Bonds said. "How can you have pressure when you're doing something you love?"
If Bonds can perform through the pressure of losing his father Bobby last year and dealing with an offseason filled with questions about steroids, catching Mays should be a piece of cake.
Bonds went 3-for-3 with a homer and two doubles against one of the NL's top pitchers in Roy Oswalt. His sixth opening day homer came in the eighth inning with two on and the Giants down 4-1.
Oswalt, chosen over ex-Yankees Roger Clemens and Andy Pettitte to start the Astros' first game, stayed in after assuring manager Jimy Williams he was fine.
One low-and-away fastball later, Bonds was trotting and Oswalt was leaving.
"It was just a dumb pitch," Oswalt said. "You can't get beat that late in the game when you're a starter."
None of the Astros were down on Oswalt after the game. After all, many of them have seen this before.
The eventual loser was closer Octavio Dotel, who started the ninth inning of the 4-4 game and gave up the decisive run on a hit batsman, a bunt, a wild pitch and a sacrifice fly.
Once Bonds, 39, passes Mays, only Babe Ruth (714) and Hank Aaron (755) will be ahead of him on the hallowed homer list.
Brewers 8, Cardinals 6
At St. Louis, Scott Podsednik drove in four runs and Milwaukee opened the season by beating the Cardinals, with President Bush watching from a box above home plate.
It's the first time the Brewers have been over .500 in two years.
Ben Grieve hit a two-run homer and Podsednik had a tiebreaking, three-run shot off Matt Morris in the sixth inning for the Brewers, who began last season with six straight losses and never recovered in a 68-94 season.
Bush threw out the ceremonial first pitch.
Cubs 7, Reds 4
At Cincinnati, Corey Patterson homered and Moises Alou doubled with the bases loaded, leading the defending NL Central champions over the Reds.
The Reds had another disappointing debut in Great American Ball Park, where 42,122 fans sat and watched their team stumble out of the gate once again.
Pirates 2, Phillies 1
At Pittsburgh, Kip Wells often was overpowering in working out of two big jams and outdueling Kevin Millwood, and the Pirates rode Craig Wilson's homer and Tike Redman's tiebreaking double to a victory over Philadelphia.
Padres 8, Dodgers 2
At Los Angeles, Brian Lawrence allowed one run in five innings, and Phil Nevin hit a grand slam as revamped San Diego opened the season by beating the Dodgers.
A sellout-crowd of 53,850 -- the largest opening-day attendance in Dodger Stadium history -- booed the home team on several occasions, most vocally after the Padres broke it open against loser Hideo Nomo with six runs in the fifth.
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