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MLB Daily: April 1

By Beth Davies-Stofka
April 2, 2011 - 18:46

April 1 was the second day of the regular season, kind of an Opening Day Part 2 with eleven games on the schedule. Four teams came back for the second day, while eight rested.

In the day’s most notable games, all season openers, the Minnesota Twins lost badly to the Toronto Blue Jays, the Boston Red Sox were beat up by the Texas Rangers, and “King” Felix Hernandez led the Seattle Mariners to victory over the Oakland A’s.

Twins 3, Blue Jays 13
Minnesota’s offense really struggled against Toronto’s pitching. In the first six innings, Toronto ace Ricky Romero treated the home crowd to three 3-up 3-down innings, holding the Twins to four hits and no runs. Romero got wild in the seventh, when Minnesota scored all three of its runs. Toronto’s bullpen finished the game, again frustrating Minnesota and keeping the Twins scoreless.

Rajai Davis slides back into first ahead of Carl Pavano's tag. Photo by Reuters/Postmedia News.

The Twins’ pitching didn’t fare nearly as well. Twins ace Carl Pavano appeared to settle down after a giving up four runs in the first, but the Jays knocked him out in the fifth. Twins manager Ron Gardenhire tried five pitchers, and they gave up thirteen runs on twelve hits.

What conclusions do we draw here? We might worry about Twins pitching, but I think it’s too soon. The real point is the Blue Jays are a really good team. They have a formidable lineup. Leadoff man Rajai Davis showed off speed and cunning. Jose Bautista, Adam Lind and J.P. Arencibia showed off power and production. All three hit home runs, and Bautista and Arencibia both went 3 for 4, Arencibia posting five RBIs. Whoa! The Jays are ready to play.

Jose Bautista receives his Silver Slugger award. Photo by The Associated Press.

On a side note, congratulations to Jose Bautista, who received his 2010 Silver Slugger award before the game and then hit a 456-foot home run in the bottom of the fifth.

It’s worth noting that the spectacle of a strong Toronto offense would be something less than spectacular without Ricky Romero’s 1.42 ERA. Compare this to the White Sox’ victory over the Indians. Sure, the White Sox offense drew a lot of attention yesterday by posting 15 runs on 18 hits. But White Sox pitching also gave up 17 hits to the Indians. I like those south-siders.  This is not a good sign.

Rangers 9, Red Sox 5
Meanwhile, the Texas Rangers announced loud and clear that last year was no fluke.  While hosting the “best team in baseball,” (in the eyes of adoring pundits everywhere), the Rangers put up nine runs on ten hits while holding the Red Sox to five runs on seven hits. There were a lot of exciting plays in this game, but the real drama occurred in the bottom of the eighth, when the Rangers broke Red Sox Nation’s collective heart and posted four runs to win off Red Sox reliever Daniel Bard.

There’s every reason to believe that the Red Sox really are the best team in baseball. But this season opener was a great reminder that no matter how good you look, you still have to actually play the game. And you have to win more than anyone else. It will be an exciting season for Red Sox Nation, and for every other “nation” that longs to beat them.  

Mariners 6, A’s 2

King Felix loves to play baseball, and why not? He's really good at it!

Seattle and Oakland are going to be worth watching this year. Oakland has some arms. Seattle might have some arms too, but after last night, will anyone notice? Mariners ace “King” Felix Hernandez was on the mound, and the man is a scene-stealer. After giving up a two-run homer to the A’s Josh Willingham in the first inning, King Felix needed only 95 more pitches to finish the game. He threw 73 of his 108 total pitches for strikes.  

Opening Day complete games aren’t that rare, but the last one happened in 2007. Leave it to King Felix to do something special. He was the 2010 Cy Young winner, and while it’s a little early to predict a repeat, it’s a sure thing that he’ll be worth watching all season long.  

On Saturday, April 2nd, the routines of summer will begin with a full slate of games.  At last, after a long winter, all’s right with the world.

Last Updated: November 29, 2025 - 16:51