Conventional wisdom says that pitchers are usually ahead of the hitters at the beginning of a baseball season. That didn't apply on Friday, as six starting pitchers gave up five runs or more. And these weren't just any bums out there pitching batting practice. These were opening day starters, presumably the team's aces. Apparently, the memo didn't get to everyone.
Someone else who didn't get a memo: The fan with Brett Favre's name on the back of his Cubs jersey. I'm not even a Chicago guy but could tell you that's wrong on at least a dozen levels. But we're here to talk about who had a rough opening day, Part 2, on the field.
Daniel Bard gets tarred: After a David Ortiz home run tied the game at 5-5, the Boston Red Sox reliever gave up the game to the Texas Rangers. Bard took the mound in the eighth inning, the role he's expected to pitch in this season, and got Nelson Cruz to fly out for the first out. But it was all downhill from there. The next three Rangers hitters reached base, highlighted by David Murphy's pinpoint two-run double that caught chalk on the left-field line. Bard came back to strike out Ian Kinsler, but then served up two straight doubles, driving in another two runs.
Jon Lester and April don't mix: Even more frustrating for the Red Sox is that they led for most of the game despite their starting pitcher struggling. Lester allowed solo home runs in each of his first two innings, and later gave up a three-run shot to Mike Napoli that gave Texas a 5-4 lead. With a five-run day, Lester's April ERA is 4.95.
Brandon Lyon can't stop Phillies stampede: The Houston Astros were probably feeling pretty good about themselves after taking a 4-0 lead on the NL East champs. But after Brett Myers pitched seven strong innings, his bullpen let him down. The biggest culprit was Lyon, who allowed singles by five of the first six hitters he faced and blew the save. Then he blew the game by giving up one last single to John Mayberry, driving in the game-winning run for the Phillies.
White Sox steamroll Carmona: It's been a rough year for Cleveland sports fans, and the Tribe won't provide much relief. Will they call what happened to Fausto Carmona "Friday, Bloody Friday" or "The Opening Day Massacre" in years to come? Carmona was a batting practice machine for the White Sox, allowing 10 runs on 11 hits in just three innings of work. In the fourth inning, he couldn't retire a single batter, putting the first four hitters on base, before he was mercifully taken out of the game.
Pavano gets pounded by Blue Jays: Carl Pavano led the Twins' pitching staff in wins last year with 17, and signed a two-year, $16.5 million contract over the winter. So maybe he is the team's best pitcher. But he sure didn't look like it on Friday. Shaky infield defense (especially by newcomer Tsuyoshi Nishioka) didn't help Pavano's cause, but he wasn't fooling Toronto hitters, either. In four innings, he gave up eight runs (seven earned) with three home runs.
Big bats fail for Orioles and Rays: Didn't any batters have a bad day on Friday? Yes, and most of them were in the same game. The Rays managed only four hits, as Jeremy Guthrie shut them down. Johnny Damon, Evan Longoria and Manny Ramirez hit a combined 0 for 12. On the other side, Derrek Lee, Adam Jones and Luke Scott also went 0 for 12. Elsewhere in Florida, Jose Reyes and David Wright hit 0 for 8.
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