Major leagues
Ian Happ had three hits, including a tiebreaking two-run double in the seventh inning, and the Chicago Cubs beat the Milwaukee Brewers 5-4 Thursday on opening day.
Nico Hoerner hit the majors’ first homer of 2022 and Kyle Hendricks pitched neatly into the sixth, leading Chicago to the victory on a chilly, overcast afternoon at Wrigley Field. Japanese outfielder Seiya Suzuki reached three times and scored in his first big league game.
On a day stuffed full of firsts and debuts, Milwaukee ace Corbin Burnes and catcher Omar Narváez became the first battery to use baseball’s new electronic pitch-calling system in a regular-season game. The 2021 NL Cy Young Award winner allowed three runs and four hits in five innings.
American League
Kansas City 3, Cleveland 1: Bobby Witt Jr. capped his highly anticipated big league debut with his first hit, a go-ahead double with two outs in the eighth inning, sending the Kansas City Royals to a 3-1 victory over the rechristened Cleveland Guardians on Thursday.
Andrew Benintendi drove in Witt after his clutch hit, giving Royals reliever Scott Barlow (1-0) a cushion. And after a perfect eighth, Barlow struck out Myles Straw with runners on the corners in the ninth to end it.
In a matchup of former Cy Young Award winners, Cleveland ace Shane Bieber and erstwhile Royals star Zach Greinke dueled to a 1-all stalemate before turning the game over to the bullpens on a cold day at Kauffman Stadium.
It remained tied until the eighth, when the Royals’ Michael Taylor worked a walk off Triston McKenzie (0-1) and then took second on Nicky Lopez’s sacrifice bunt. McKenzie struck out Whit Merrifield before Witt, regarded by many as the No. 1 prospect in the game, roped a double down the left-field line to give Kansas City its first lead.
Zimmer traded: Bradley Zimmer ran out of chances and time with the Guardians.
Cleveland traded the oft-injured outfielder to the Toronto Blue Jays for reliever Anthony Castro.
The teams announced the deal shortly after Cleveland lost its season opener – and first game as the Guardians – 3-1 at Kansas City.
Zimmer has been a tantalizing talent since coming up with the Guardians in 2017. However, the 6-5 Zimmer hasn’t been able to stay healthy since showing so much promise early in his career.