Texas Rangers left fielder Choo Shin-soo runs to third base after hitting a triple in the third inning on Monday. The Korean went 2 for 4. (USA Today-Yonhap)
NEW YORK (AP) ― Feted by fans and celebrated by teammates throughout his final opening day in the Bronx, Derek Jeter hardly felt as if he was starting his 20th big league season at home.
Jeter gave Yangervis Solarte some assistance with Yankee Stadium tradition, then the rookie helped make the captain a winner Monday as New York beat the Baltimore Orioles 4-2.
“I don’t want to jinx anything but it felt really good,” Jeter said. “It felt like maybe my first home opener. It was a fun time for me.”
Missing from the win was new Yankees closer David Robertson. He strained his groin and will be placed on the 15-day disabled list.
Jeter doubled high off the left-field wall, nearly getting thrown out at second after he started out in a home run trot before turning up the speed, and scored on Jacoby Ellsbury’s first hit in pinstripes in the fifth.
Hiroki Kuroda (1-1) pitched 6 1-3 sharp innings in the Yankees’ 112th opener in New York.
Teammates in the dugout teased Jeter for his near blunder.
“For Derek, at 40, we’re going to let it slide,” said injured first baseman Mark Teixeira, pushing Jeter’s 40th birthday up a couple of months from June.
In what manager Joe Girardi said would be a season-long lovefest for Jeter, the shortstop was cheered every step of the way by an adoring crowd of 48, 142 ― even when his double-play grounder back to Orioles starter Ubaldo Jimenez (0-2) scored rookie Solarte in the third inning for the first run.
Solarte, a career minor leaguer and non-roster invitee to spring training, continued a torrid start as the suspended Alex Rodriguez’s replacement at third base with a go-ahead RBI single in the fourth inning.
Red Sox down Rangers 5-1
BOSTON (AP) ― Veteran right-hander John Lackey and rookie outfielder Jackie Bradley Jr. teamed up to give the Red Sox their first win at home.
Lackey provided the pitching, Bradley contributed hitting and fielding, and Boston stopped a three-game slide with a 5-1 victory over the Texas Rangers on Monday night.
“I definitely want to pound the strike zone,” Lackey said. “I want people to know I’m going to throw strikes. If you’re going to get me you better get me quick because I’m coming after you.”
He did, throwing mostly fastballs with plenty of movement.
“They certainly weren’t straight,” Texas manager Ron Washington said. “We had some opportunities against Lackey, but he showed why he’s one of the best pitchers in the American League.”
Bradley singled in Boston’s first two runs and made two outstanding catches in the first three innings. He battled the lights to grab Donnie Murphy’s liner in the second, then raced back to the warning track in right field for a one-handed grab against J.P. Arencibia in the third.
Which did he enjoy more, his hits or his catches?
“I’ll take both,” Bradley said. “Whatever helps the team.”
The Red Sox never lost more than three straight last year when they won the World Series. By winning Monday night, they avoided dropping their first four home games for the first time since 1984.
Lackey (2-0) allowed an unearned run and five hits in seven innings five days after giving up two runs over six innings in a 6-2 win at Baltimore. Chris Capuano pitched the eighth and Koji Uehara escaped a second-and-third jam in the ninth in a non-save situation.
Tanner Scheppers (0-1) allowed Bradley’s run-scoring hits in the second and fourth, and Boston added three runs in the eighth.
Oakland 8, Minnesota 3
LA Angels 9, Houston 1
St. Louis 5, Cincinnati 3
Kansas City 4, Tampa Bay 2
Colorado 8, Chicago White Sox 1
San Diego at Cleveland ppd.
Milwaukee at Philadelphia ppd.