(SI.com) D-backs’ Biggest Weakness Exposed by Dodgers in Ugly Opening Day Loss
It began with Zac Gallen. Gallen had been working efficiently and effectively through four innings, getting swing-and-miss on his secondary pitches and showcasing a 94.1 MPH average fastball velocity. Things looked to be going well.
But Gallen ran into a blowup inning in the fifth — a type of inning that was somewhat frequent during his rough 2025 season. A pair of ground balls became singles, and a poor location to Andy Pages became a three-run homer, flipping the score to 3-2 in favor of L.A.
Andy Pages hit a go-ahead, three-run homer in the fifth inning, and the Los Angeles Dodgers rallied past the Arizona Diamondbacks 8-2 on Thursday, opening the season with a victory in pursuit of their third consecutive World Series championship.
Three of the Dodgers’ first four hits in the fifth off Zac Gallen came with two strikes. Max Muncy singled, Teoscar Hernández reached on an infield single to Gallen, Pages’ homer traveled 400 feet and Miguel Rojas singled. Shohei Ohtani drew a walk to chase Gallen, who began the game with four shutout innings and a 2-0 lead.
(Arizona Sports) Diamondbacks crushed by Dodgers on Opening Day. What went wrong?
The fifth inning got off to an unfortunate start, as a Max Muncy hard grounder got past second baseman Ketel Marte for a single and Teoscar Hernandez reached on a dribbler. With the table set, Andy Pages delivered the go-ahead, three-run home run on a curveball that did not quite get below the zone.
Gallen stayed in for two more hitters, who reached base on a hit and a walk before manager Torey Lovullo pulled his starter.
(SI.com) Diamondbacks DH Scratched From Lineup vs Dodgers
Arizona Diamondbacks DH Pavin Smith was scratched from the opening day lineup against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Thursday with left elbow soreness, according to multiple reports. Infield/outfield utility Tim Tawa will take over the DH slot and bat ninth for Arizona.
Following the Diamondbacks’ ugly 8-2 blowout loss on opening night, Smith told reporters that he will undergo imaging on his elbow on Friday to determine severity
(Yahoo! Sports) Automated Ball-Strike System sees 61.3% success rate in first games
Francona saw a walk by Eugenio Suárez on a full count overturned to a strikeout in the fourth inning while Connor Phillips’ ninth-inning strikeout of Boston’s Roman Anthony — also on a full count — overturned to a walk.
“I think our pitchers are going to have to get used to thinking the inning might be over, and it’s not,” Francona said. “It’s almost like when a guy comes out and you say, ‘Hey, way to go. Can you get one more?’ So you’re going to have to stay dialed in.”
(ESPN) Pirates ace Paul Skenes pulled in 1st inning of season opener
It was a stunning scene at Citi Field on Thursday afternoon: Paul Skenes, untouchable in his first two major league seasons, walking off the field to the sarcastic cheers from the sellout crowd after failing to survive the first inning on Opening Day.
Skenes, still just 23 years old, had never struggled to this extent over his first 55 career starts for the Pittsburgh Pirates. He was as dominant as his 1.96 career ERA suggested.
But Skenes recorded just two outs against the New York Mets on Thursday, giving up five runs on four hits, two walks and a hit batter in the Pirates’ 11-7 loss. It was not how anyone envisioned Skenes launching his Cy Young Award defense. But he’s not pressed.
Major League Baseball’s Opening Day has arrived. The 2026 regular season kicked off in earnest Thursday with 11 games and plenty of appetizing pitching matchups. The Yankees shut out the Giants in the lone game on Wednesday’s schedule before the Mets and Pirates kicked off Thursday’s action in Queens before a bevy of mid-afternoon games got underway. There were pitchers’ duels, blowouts, tight games, and home runs. Lots and lots of home runs.
Here now are some early winners and losers from the Opening Day action.
(MLB.com) Top 10 moments from a thrilling Opening Day
Opening Day never seems to disappoint, not after we spend the offseason waiting for a day like Thursday — one full of packed ballparks, clutch hits and nasty pitches.
In case you missed any of the action, or simply want to relive the day that was, here’s a look back at the top 10 moments from Opening Day.