Opening Day
Opening Day should be a national holiday. Let’s jump right into it.
There have been 10 games so far this year, two in Japan, one in Miami, and the rest last night. We’ve already seen two extra inning games, one game won in the bottom of the 9th, and another lead change in the top of the 9th. Exciting baseball indeed.
Ranking the games by EGI, here are the results:
| Teams | Date | EGI Score |
| BOS @ DET | 5-Apr | 52.00 |
| TOR @ CLE | 5-Apr | 51.97 |
| WSH @ CHC | 5-Apr | 51.49 |
| SEA @ OAK | 28-Mar | 44.36 |
| ATL @ NYM | 5-Apr | 37.65 |
| SEA @ OAK | 29-Mar | 35.84 |
| PHI @ PIT | 5-Apr | 34.18 |
| MIA @ CIN | 5-Apr | 29.55 |
| LAD @ SDP | 5-Apr | 26.00 |
| STL @ MIA | 4-Apr | 21.59 |
The Tigers and Red Sox top this list with a thriller that was neck and neck until the Tigers broke through in the 7th against Jon Lester and added insurance in the 8th. The Red Sox forced a blown save from Jose Valverde in the top of the 9th with two of their own. The Tigers came back with one in the bottom of the 9th to walk off with the win. The biggest play here was the Ryan Sweeney triple in the top of the 9th with 2 outs which scored the Red Sox second run and tied the game.
There were also two other notable games, including a 16 inning opener from the Blue Jays and the Indians, featuring an 3-run top of the 9th by the Blue Jays. The biggest play here was a 1 out double in the 9th by Juan Encarnacion which tied the game. This was followed closely by the game winning homerun by Jack Hannahan in the top of the 16th.
The Cubs also gave away a late lead, allowing the Nationals to score one in the 8th to tie it 1-1. With 2 outs in the 9th, Carlos Marmol gave up a hit to Ian Desmond which allowed the Nationals to take a 2-1 lead. Also notable here was Brad Lidge inducing a ground ball with a runner on third and 1 out in the bottom of the 9th. Jeff Baker grounded to third base and Ryan Zimmerman threw out Joe Mather at home.
Look for another update next Thursday, and we’ll see if these games hold up against week 2.