Opening Day Thoughts: SF v LAD and BOS v NYY

After Houston's upset opening night victory against the Rangers, baseball kicked off for 24 teams yesterday on Opening Day. I watched the opening five or six innings of the Red Sox v Yankees game and almost all of the Giants v Dodgers game, so here are my thoughts:

Red Sox v Yankees

I thought Jon Lester looked very solid indeed, working five innings of two-run ball with seven strikeouts. The fastball looked sharp, up as high as 97, and the cutter kept right-handed hitters off balance. He did struggle a little with command, throwing 96 pitches in the game, and will be disappointed to have allowed a two-run single to Cervelli on a 1-2 count. But on the basis of yesterday's game, Lester should put his disappointing 2012 campaign behind him.

The other left-hander on the mound, C.C. Sabathia laboured through his five innings of work, uncharacteristically walking four batters and giving up four runs. The one thing that stuck out to me was his inability to rear back and throw his fastball at 95 as he has been able to in the past. The two-run single he gave up to Victorino was on a pitch that he simply didn't throw as hard (or far enough inside) as he wanted to. He's traditionally struggled on opening day, and the change-up was fooling right-handed hitters regularly, but it wasn't the start he would have wanted.

Jackie Bradley Jr. had a fine debut out in left field for the Red Sox, drawing three walks and making a spectacular run saving catch to rob Cano of extra bases. Whilst plate discipline is a key part of his game, and his second inning walk in particular was impressive, it's worth bearing in mind that with Jose Iglesias hitting behind him he is almost filling the same role as the 8th hitter in an NL line-up. Sabathia seemed to find a hole in his swing when going down and in, so that may be an area pitchers look to exploit.

Kevin Youkilis got a mixed reception each time he walked to the plate, but he hit two hard balls in his first two plate appearances. One was hauled in by Victorino whilst one put Youkilis on second and led to the Yankees only runs of the game. There will be some pressure on Youk to be a big performer for this depleted Yankee line-up, and whilst some of his skills have depreciated, I like him to have a decent year.

Giants v Dodgers

The star of the show was undisputably Clayton Kershaw, who delivered the go-ahead home-run on his way to a complete-game shutout as he crushed the Giants. He gave up just four hits in the game, two on infield hits that could possibly have been outs and two to Pablo Sandoval. His fastball was located well, sitting in the low nineties, and his curveball was as sharp as ever, giving left-handed hitters fits. He was my pick for Cy Young (him or Cliff Lee) and last night's performance was Cy Young calibre.

I couldn't help but notice how big Pablo Sandoval looked. He's never been a small guy, but he is in no type of athletic shape at the moment, as far as I can see. He roped a couple of hits in the game, and getting bat on ball has never been an issue for him, but I can't help but think he'd be a much more complete player if he shed 40 pounds. His lateral mobility at third base is approximately equal to that of a small minibus, and the final play of the game would have been an infield hit or a bang-bang play for most hitters - Sandoval was out by a couple of steps. He'd also be a more durable hitter if he shed some weight, and as the announcers pointed out, he'd probably earn himself a more handsome contract extension too. Food for thought (not for consumption) for the Kung Fu Panda.

I was a little surprised that Matt Cain was pulled from a 0-0 game after 6 innings, I felt on 93 pitches he could have gone another inning. Whilst Kontos looked good in the seventh inning, I was surprised he stayed out there to start the eighth, when he isn't really a premier reliever in a bullpen that is fresher than it'll ever be. You can never expect to surrender a home run to a pitcher, but Kontos stuck a fastball down the middle and Kershaw put a good swing on it. He was then left out there without a mound visit and immediately gave up an opposite field double to Crawford. The key play came next when Ellis popped up the bunt and Posey dropped a potential double play diving out in front of the plate. It was a tough out, but you'd expect Posey to make it. After that, the 'pen collapsed as Casilla unnecessarily walked Kemp, Affeldt plunked Adrian Gonzalez and two productive outs suddenly made it 4-0.

Other Thoughts

Bryce Harper showed off his flair for the dramatic, crushing two mistake breaking balls for home runs as Strasburg was able to subdue Stanton and a bunch of minor leaguers for seven innings. Justin Upton homered in his first game as a Brave, as they defeated the Phillies despite Chase Utley falling a double shy of the cycle. John Axford blew another save, giving up a game tying homer to Dexter Fowler, but he was bailed out by his hitters as the Brewers won in 10 innings. And the hero for the Angels was... Chris Iannetta who had all three RBI as they defeated the Reds in an opening day interleague match-up.

Tonight's Slate

David Price makes his first start against the Orioles at the Trop and R.A. Dickey makes his first start as a Blue Jay against the Indians. The pick of the games is probably the Giants-Dodgers match-up, as Madison Bumgarner will do battle with debutant Hyun-Jin Ryu.

Play of the Day

Yesterday's play of the day goes to Pedro Florimon of the Minnesota Twins, who made this fine play to retire Miguel Cabrera.