MLB Opening Series Recap: Who’s Hot, Who’s Not?

It was an action-packed four days full of baseball. Adley Rutschman reached base safely in his first 7 at-bats. Trayce Thompson hit 3 homeruns against the D-Backs. The Red Sox scored 27 runs in three games. The Rangers swept the 2022 NL Champion Philadelphia Phillies. Here I will recap all 15 series from the Opening Weekend.

Braves-Nationals: Braves take 2/3

The Braves were dominant in the first two games of the series, putting up 7 runs in both games. In the third game, the Nationals won 4-1. A concern for Atlanta is the injury to Max Fried. Fried injured his hamstring and will be placed on the IL. A good sign for the Nationals is that MacKenzie Gore didn’t look too bad in their win on Sunday.

Giants-Yankees: Yankees take 2/3

On Opening Day, the Yankees shut out the Giants. Aaron Judge hit a homerun in his first at-bat of the new season. The Giants held on in game two despite an almost catastrophe from Camilo Doval. In game three, the Yanks once again shut out San Fran. Giancarlo Stanton absolutely obliterated a ball 485 feet to dead center which is his second longest homer ever. The Giants will need to step up offensively.

Orioles-Red Sox: Red Sox take 2/3

If you love great pitching, this series was not the one to watch. The Red Sox scored 9 runs in each game and somehow lost one. The reason they lost one is because of Adley Rutschman. He reached base safely 6 times on Opening Day and drove in 4 runs. In game two, O’s LF Ryan McKenna had a horrible 9th inning error which gave Adam Duvall a chance to hit a walk-off homer. That’s exactly what he did. He hit for a .571 average with 2 homeruns and 8 RBI in this series. He was named AL Player of the Week. We clearly saw what will hold these teams back this season. Pitching.

Brewers-Cubs: Brewers take 2/3

The Cubs got a great Opening Day win in which they scored four runs on 2021 Cy Young winner Corbin Burnes. In the last two games, the Brewers starters were great. Brandon Woodruff and Eric Lauer both went at least five innings and combined for 14 Ks. Milwaukee scored nine runs in the final game so that’s great news for Brewers fans.

Tigers-Rays: Rays sweep

The Rays pitching was lights out. They only allowed four runs in the entire series. At the plate, Wander Franco went 7/11 with four extra-base hits and four RBI.

Twins-Royals: Twins sweep

The Twins pitching was also lights out. The offense didn’t need to do anything. In the first two games, the Twins shut out the Royals 2-0. In the final game, new acquisition Joey Gallo hit two moonshots in a 7-4 win. I thought the Royals offense would be better.

Mets-Marlins: Mets take 3/4

I don’t think anyone is really surprised at this outcome. Both teams pitched very well and the Mets just hit a little better. The good news for the Marlins is that Luis Arraez is continuing to look like one of the best hitters in baseball.

Pirates-Reds: Reds take 2/3

Here we are: The Battle of the Bottom. I bet some fans of these teams didn’t even bother to watch. Both teams really couldn’t hit, even against bad pitching. The one highlight of this series was watching Hunter Greene and Nick Lodolo pitch for Cincy. Oh, and Oneil Cruz’s moonshot from Opening Day.

Blue Jays-Cardinals: Cardinals take 2/3

The Opening Day game between these two teams was amazing to watch as a baseball fan. So much offense and six lead changes. Unfortunately for the Jays, this was the only game they could get. They had many chances in the 2nd game, but couldn’t come through. Jack Flaherty walked seven batters and gave up no runs. In the final game, Nolan Gorman hit two homers, including one that went 446 feet.

Phillies-Rangers: Rangers sweep

In the first two games, the Rangers scored 27 runs. It seemed like whoever was on the mound for the Phillies, it wasn’t going to end well. In the first game, the Phillies got off to a 5-0 lead, but then Texas scored nine runs in ONE INNING. That was pretty much it after that. In the 2nd game, the Rangers got a lead and never looked back. Mitch Garver crushed two 3-run homeruns in the 16-3 victory. After those two low scoring games, the Rangers took the final game 2-1. Philly had many opportunities in that one.

White Sox-Astros: Split

Bold take: These teams meet in the ALCS. Both teams pitched great in this series. All the games could have went either way. Andrew Vaughn played hero on Opening Day for Chicago. In game two, the Stros put up six runs in two innings to win. Houston once again took the lead late in game three. In the finale, Mike Clevinger pitched very well in a game where the Sox had the lead the whole way. I am excited to see what both teams can do this season.

Rockies-Padres: Split

Surprisingly, the Rockies dominated the Padres in the first two games. C.J. Cron got a hit or a walk in seven of his first nine plate appearances. He took home the NL Player of the Week award. In the final two games, it was the Xander show. He homered in each of the last two games to help his team split the series.

Angels-Athletics: Angels take 2/3

The A’s won a game in which Shohei Ohtani was the opposing starting pitcher. Wow. After that, it was all Angels. LA had an 11 run third inning on Saturday. What is with all these huge innings. The Angels outscored the A’s 19-1 in the final two games of the series.

Diamondbacks-Dodgers: Split

The D-Backs couldn’t really score. They scored seven runs in four games. They won two of them. On Saturday, Trayce Thompson hit three homeruns and drove in 8 runs in the Dodgers 10-1 win. That was not on my bingo card for the 2023 MLB season. This series sums up the beauty of baseball. Anybody can beat anybody and anybody can make it into the record books.

Guardians-Mariners: Guardians take 3/4

Many Mariners fans got their hopes up after taking game one. The Guardians dimmed those hopes, taking the last three games. Each of those games were won in different ways. It was a Mike Zunino revenge game in the finale as he went 3-3 with three extra-base hits and 3 RBI. For the Mariners, Robbie Ray needs to get healthy. He went on the 15-Day IL with a Grade 1 flexor strain. Luckily, Seattle is stacked with arms.