MLB Week One Regular Season Recap: April 5th- April 10th

I will be highlighting specific games and player performances from the weekly period.

Monday April 5th:

Twins vs. Tigers:

Twins Nelson Cruz hit two home runs, including a Grand Slam.

Twins Jorge Polanco went 2-5 with one RBI and one run.

Tigers rookie Akil Baddoo went 2-4 with four RBI and one run scored.

Mets vs. Phillies:

The Mets officially began their season on the road in Philadelphia.

Jacob deGrom pitched six scoreless innings and struck out seven. He also went 2-3 at the plate with two singles, but like always received a no-decision because the Mets bullpen gave up five runs in the 8th.

Mets Michael Conforto went 2-5 with an RBI.

Phillies Rhys Hoskins went 2-4 with a run.

Blue Jays vs. Rangers

Blue Jays Cavan Biggio hit a home run.

Marcus Semien hit a two-run home run, going 2-5.

Vladimir Guerrero went 1-3 with an RBI and a a run scored.

Blue Jays Steven Matz pitched 6.1 excellent innings, only giving up one run and securing the win.

Rangers Nate Lowe went 1-4 with an RBI.

Isiah-Kiner Falefa went 2-4 with a run scored.

Dodgers vs. A's

Dodgers Will Smith homered.

Corey Seager had three RBI.

Justin Turner had two RBI, including a solo home run.

Other Notable Player Performances From Monday's Games:

Yankees Giancarlo Stanton hit a grand slam.

Whit Merrifield homered, going 2-3.

Red Sox Alex Verdugo went 2-4 with two RBI.

Mike Trout hit a home run.

Cubs Willson Contreras hit a two-run home run.

Cubs Javier Baez hit a solo home run.

Fernando Tatis Jr. left with a side injury.

Tuesday April 6th

Braves vs. Nationals

The Nationals began their season at home against Atlanta.

Max Scherzer made his first start of the 2021 season, giving up four runs over six innings.

Ronald Acuna Jr. homered on the first pitch and homered twice in the game.

Freddie Freeman hit a home run.

Nationals Juan Soto hit a walk-off single to win the game.

Mets vs. Phillies

Phillies Didi Gregorius homered.

Mets Pete Alonso hit a two-run home run.

Rhys Hoskins went 2-2 as a pinch hitter driving in one.

D-Backs vs. Rockies

Rockies Ryan McMahon homered three times.

D-Backs Christian Walker hit a two-run home run.

Ketel Marte went 3-7 driving in two.

Rockies German Marquez pitched six innings, giving up three runs.

Other Notable Player Performances From Tuesday's Games:

Mike Trout hit his second home run of the season.

Yankees Gerrit Cole fired seven scoreless innings, striking out 13.

Reds Tyler Naquin homered twice and drove in a total of seven RBI.

Marlins Sandy Alcantara tossed 6.1 innings while striking out 10. He received the loss against the Cardinals.

Blue Jays Bo Bichette homered twice.

Rangers Nate Lowe homered twice.

Dodgers Clayton Kershaw pitched seven masterful innings of one run ball.

Padres Yu Darvish pitched six innings of one run ball.

White Sox Jose Abreu hit a grand slam.

Wednesday April 7th

Braves vs. Nationals- Game One

Nationals Trea Turner hit a two-run home run.

Braves Ronald Acuna Jr. went 3-4 driving in one.

Nationals Starlin Castro went 3-4 with three RBI.

Braves pitcher Max Fried had to leave the game in the third inning because of a comebacker off his leg.

Pirates vs. Reds

Reds Luis Castillo bounced back after his awful start against the Cardinals on Opening Day. He pitched seven scoreless innings and secured the win.

Reds Tyler Naquin hit his fourth home run of the season.

Aristides Aquino hit a solo home run.

Nick Castellanos hit a home run.

Pirates Erik Gonzalez hit a grand slam in the ninth inning off Reds closer Amir Garrett.

Rays vs. Red Sox

Red Sox Nathan Eovaldi pitched a gem on Wednesday. He pitched seven innings of one-run ball, struck out seven, and secured the win.

Red Sox Christian Vazquez hit a two-run home run, going 2-4 with a total of three RBI.

Red Sox Xander Bogaerts went 3-3, scoring twice and driving in one.

J.D. Martinez drove in two.

Dodgers vs. A's

Trevor Bauer pitched 6.2 innings giving up two runs and striking out 10. There was a sticky substance on the baseballs he used and were submitted for further testing.

A's Jesus Luzardo pitched 5.1 innings giving up two runs.

A's Matt Chapman hit a solo home run.

Cardinals vs. Marlins

A pitching duel was on full display in Miami on Wednesday.

Cardinals Jack Flaherty pitched six scoreless innings striking out six.

Marlins Pablo Lopez pitched 6.2 innings giving up two runs.

Yadier Molina's two-run home run in the seventh inning was the only blemish to Lopez's line.

Dylan Carlson hit his first career grand slam.

Other Notable Player Performances From Wednesday's Games:

Cleveland's Shane Bieber pitched 6.1 innings striking out 12 and giving up two runs.

Twins Kenta Maeda pitched six innings giving up two runs and getting the win.

Blue Jays Marcus Semien homered.

Cubs Kyle Hendricks pitched six scoreless innings striking out six.

Phillies Rhys Hoskins, J.T. Realmuto, and Alec Bohm all homered in a winning effort against the Mets.

Padres Blake Snell pitched five innings giving up two runs and striking out eight.

Rockies Garrett Hampson went 2-3 driving in one and scoring three runs.

Thursday April 8th

Red Sox vs. Orioles

Rafael Devers hit a two-run home run, going 2-3 with three RBI.

J.D. Martinez went 2-5 with one RBI and one run scored.

Christian Vazquez went 3-5 with one run scored.

Orioles Ryan Mountcastle hit a two-run home run.

Brewers vs. Cardinals

The Cardinals had their usual Opening Day ceremony which is always a neat ceremony to watch.

Brewers Corbin Burnes struck out nine over six innings, only allowing one hit.

Adam Wainwright pitched five innings only giving up one run.

Nolan Arenado hit a two-run home run in the eighth inning propelling the Cardinals to a 3-1 victory.

Angels vs. Blue Jays

Blue Jays Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hit a two-run home run going 2-4 and driving in three runs.

Cavan Biggio hit a solo home run.

Mike Trout hit a solo home run going 3-5.

Other Notable Player Performances From Thursday's Games:

Cubs Kris Bryant, Javier Baez, and Anthony Rizzo all homered against the Pirates.

Cubs Jake Arrieta pitched six innings allowing two runs and receiving the win.

Rockies Trevor Story went 2-4 with two RBI and one run scored.

Rockies Charlie Blackmon went 2-4 with two RBI.

Rockies Jon Gray had a no-hit bid through six innings. He ended up going 6.1 IP giving up one run on four hits and getting the win.

Twins Jose Berrios pitched 5.2 innings giving up two runs while striking out eight and getting the victory.

White Sox Lance Lynn pitched a complete game shutout against the Royals. All of Lynn's pitches were working in this one as he struck out 11 and only scattered five hits.

Astros Carlos Correa hit a solo home run, going 2-3 with two RBI.

Yordan Alvarez went 2-4 with a home run and two runs scored.

Friday April 9th

Tigers vs. Cleveland

Cleveland's Franmil Reyes homered twice.

Zach Plesac pitched seven scoreless innings getting the win.

Other Notable Player Performances From Friday's Games:

Yankees DJ LeMahieu homered going 2-4 with two runs scored.

Dodgers Walker Buehler pitched six scoreless innings securing the 1-0 victory.

Giants Johnny Cueto pitched 8.2 innings while striking out seven.

Angels Shohei Ohtani homered.

Ronald Acuna Jr. and Freddie Freeman both homered against the Phillies.

Joe Musgrove pitched the first no-hitter in San Diego Padres history.

A's Matt Olson homered.

Saturday April 10th

Mariners vs. Twins

Mariners Taylor Trammell homered.

Mitch Haniger went 1-4 with a home run and two RBI.

Twins Nelson Cruz hit a two-run home run.

A's vs. Astros

A's Ramon Laureano hit a two-run home run.

A's Frankie Montas pitched six innings of one run ball, striking out five.

Astros Kyle Tucker hit a solo home run.

Astros Jose Altuve went 2-4 with one RBI and one run.

Red Sox vs. Orioles

Red Sox Rafael Devers went 2-5 with a home run. two RBI, and one run.

Orioles Trey Mancini hit his first home run of the season.

Anthony Santander homered.

Phillies vs. Braves

Bryce Harper homered.

Andrew McCutchen homered.

Freddie Freeman homered and drove in three total runs.

Other Notable Player Performances From Saturday's Games:

Mets Jacob deGrom pitched eight innings of one run ball. deGrom struck out 13 and only gave up a solo home run to Jazz Chisholm Jr. in the second inning. deGrom received the loss, as Marlins Trevor Rogers pitched six scoreless innings,

Rays Austin Meadows and Randy Arozarena both hit home runs against the Yankees securing a 4-0 win.

Brewers Avisail Garcia went 2-4 with a home run and five RBI vs. the Cardinals.

Cleveland's Aaron Civale pitched seven scoreless innings and getting the win.

Padres Trent Grisham, Eric Hosmer, and Ha-Seong Kim homered.

Angels Anthony Rendon homered.

Reds Eugenio Suarez homered.

Nationals Juan Soto homered twice driving in three.

Final Thoughts: I really enjoyed making this week one recap. Baseball has returned in a big way and the season is only getting started!

See you at the Ballpark!

Adam