And away we go!
With all the aces opening the season for their respective teams, it's not surprising we have several noteworthy starting pitching performances today:
Charlie Morton leads Rolla to a 7-2 win over New York with 6.1 innings of 4 hit, 1 run ball.
Madison Bumgarner throws 7 innings of shutout ball, scattering 7 hits leading Motor City to a 3-1 win over Hawaiian.
Marco Gonzalez (7 IP, 3 H, 1 run) outduels Stephen Strasburg (7.2 IP, 2 runs, 9 K's) to lead the Rattlers to a 2-1 victory over the Rum Runners.
Brooklyn's Jacob deGrom (7 IP, 3 H, 1 run, 9 K's) outduels Ann Arbor's Chris Paddack (5.2 IP, 4 H, 1 run, 8 K's), but after 4.1 innings of 2 hit shutout relief from Yusmerio Petit the Landlubbers defeat deGrom and the Kraken, 2-1 in 11 innings.
But the highlight of today's ace vs. ace matchups takes place in Bako where Moonstruck's Clayton Kershaw and Bako's Zack Greinke oppose each other. Kershaw goes 8 inning allowing just 3 hits, 1 walk, 1 run while striking out seven, but Greinke throws a complete, 10 inning game allowing 5 hits, 1 walk, 1 run while striking out 10 to lead the Bums to an extra inning 2-1 win.
Sounds like a homer announcer here lol
Homer or not, I'll take the Blues and Bums exhausting their starting pitching against each other. Makes it easier for me to win the Scully!
As impressive as the performance was, I am more than a little concerned about the wisdom of pitching Greinke 10 innings on opening day . . . especially considering the Bums bullpen is among the very best in the league and boasts the likes of Hader, Osuna, and Pomeranz.
Gotta love DMB...
Wow! What a pitching day!