NATIONAL LEAGUE

Molina’s home run difference for Cardinals

CINCINNATI - Yadier Molina got the loudest boos during pregame introductions. The five-time All-Star catcher got booed again as he rounded the bases for his game-turning homer.

On opening day, he was driving them batty in Cincinnati again.

Molina broke a seventh-inning tie with a home run off Johnny Cueto and made two slick defensive plays on Monday, leading the defending National League champion St. Louis Cardinals to a 1-0 victory over the Reds.

Everyone knew the star of this one.

“Matt Holliday said it best when we were coming in shaking hands: ‘Yadi wins,’ ” starter Adam Wainwright said.

It wasn’t all Molina. The Cardinals’ impeccable pitching was in top form, too.

The Reds were blanked on opening day for the first time since 1953, ending the second-longest streak of scoring in at least one run in season openers in major league history. The Phillies went 62 years without being blanked in an opener in 1911-1972.

Wainwright allowed 3 hits in 7 innings, striking out 9.

PIRATES 1, CUBS 0, 10 INN. Neil Walker homered off Carlos Villanueva leading off the 10th inning, and host Pittsburgh beat Chicago. The Pittsburgh native turned on a Villanueva changeup and sent it sailing over the Clemente Wall in right field for the first game-winning home run of his career. NATIONALS 9, METS 7, 10 INN. Anthony Rendon hit a three-run home run in the 10th inning and had a career-best four RBI, twice rallying visiting Washington. Denard Span hit a tying double with two outs in the ninth off closer Bobby Parnell, and Ian Desmond put the Nationals in front for the first time with a sacrifice fly in the 10th. Rendon homered two batters later against former Washington pitcher John Lannan, securing a victory for Matt Williams in his managerial debut.

BREWERS 2, BRAVES 0 Ryan Braun went 1 for 4 and stole a base that helped set up a two-run first inning for host Milwaukee. The former NL MVP was returning from suspension for the final 65 games last year in the Biogenesis doping scandal. It was Braun’s first game in right field.Yovani Gallardo (1-0) pitched six shutout innings for the victory.

MARLINS 10, ROCKIES 1 Jose Fernandez struck out 9 and allowed 1 run in 6 innings, Casey McGehee drove in four runs with two doubles and host Miami routed Jorge De La Rosa and Colorado. De La Rosa allowed five runs in 4 1/3 innings in his first opening day start for the Rockies.

AMERICAN LEAGUE ORIOLES 2. RED SOX 1 Nelson Cruz celebrated his Baltimore debut by hitting a tie-breaking home run in the seventh inning off Jon Lester (0-1), sending visiting Boston to an opening loss. Signed as a free agent in February, Cruz hit 27 home runs last year with Texas during a season marred by a 50-game suspension stemming from an investigation of performance-enhancing drugs.

TIGERS 4, ROYALS 3 Alex Gonzalez drove in the winning run, lining a single to left off Greg Holland in the ninth to lead host Detroit past Kansas City. Gonzalez made a costly error in Kansas City’s three-run fourth but made up for that with a tying triple in the seventh. He then singled with men on first and third in the ninth.

RAYS 9, BLUE JAYS 2 David Price (1-0) allowed 2 runs and 6 hits over 7 1/3 innings to beatR.A. Dickey in a matchup of 2012 Cy Young Award winners. Matt Joyce drove in three runs for host Tampa Bay with a sacrifice fly and two-run double off Dickey (0-1), who yielded six two-out runs in five innings.

WHITE SOX 5, TWINS 3 Alejandro De Aza hit two home runs, and Jose Abreu had two hits in his major league debut for host Chicago.

INTERLEAGUE PHILLIES 14, RANGERS 10 Jimmy Rollins hit a grand slam and pinch-hitter John Mayberry Jr. had a two-run double that put visiting Philadelphia ahead to stay in a wild victory over Texas. Marlon Byrd and Cody Asche also homered for the Phillies, who scored their most runs in an opener since beating the Boston Beaneaters 19-17 in 1900. Cliff Lee (Benton, Arknasas Razorbacks) matched his career high by allowing eight runs and struck out only one in five innings. Tanner Scheppers, the first pitcher since Fernando Valenzuela for the 1981 Los Angeles Dodgers in 1981 to make his first big league start on opening day, gave up seven runs over four innings, including a grand slam by Rollins that made it 6-0 in the second. Mayberry had his tiebreaking hit in the fifth off Pedro Figueroa (0-1) for a 9-7 lead.

Monday’s games NATIONAL LEAGUE Pittsburgh 1, Chicago Cubs 0, 10 inn. Washington 9, NY Mets 7, 10 inn.

Milwaukee 2, Atlanta 0 St. Louis 1, Cincinnati 0 Miami 10, Colorado 1 San Francisco at Arizona, (n) AMERICAN LEAGUE Detroit 4, Kansas City 3 Baltimore 2, Boston 1 Chicago White Sox 5, Minnesota 3 Tampa Bay 9, Toronto 2 Cleveland at Oakland, (n) Seattle at LA Angels, (n) INTERLEAGUE Philadelphia 14, Texas 10

Sports, Pages 20 on 04/01/2014

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