Casey Blake hit a two-out grand slam, Travis Hafner homered twice and Paul Byrd pitched long enough to win a start he had waited 15 years for, helping the Cleveland Indians roll to an 11-6 home-opening win over Minnesota on Friday.
Back at sold out Jacobs Field for the first time since their final-week collapse in 2005, the Indians began to erase some of the bitter memories of a 1-6 record down the stretch that cost them a playoff spot despite 93 wins.
Blake connected off Kyle Lohse (0-1) in the fifth inning when the Indians scored five runs to open a 9-3 lead. Hafner went 4-for-4 with four runs, Victor Martinez added two RBIs and Grady Sizemore had three hits and made a tough catch for Cleveland, which has won three straight since dropping the season opener against the Chicago White Sox. Byrd's career came full circle as the right-hander, who was drafted by Cleveland in 1991 and traded three years later, made his first start at the Jake in an Indians uniform. Byrd (1-0) allowed five runs and six hits in six innings, a typical outing for 35-year-old being counted on to help replace Kevin Millwood.
Justin Morneau homered twice and Joe Mauer had two RBIs for the Twins.
RED SOX 14, ORIOLES 8: At Baltimore, Daniel Cabrera walked six batters in the first inning, and Boston got 16 hits to back an efficient pitching performance by Matt Clement in a victory over Baltimore. Trot Nixon homered and drove in four runs for the Red Sox, who led 11-0 before the Orioles finally got a runner past first base in the seventh inning.
Boston received 14 walks and had two hit batsmen. Manny Ramirez, who came in batting .100, went 3-for-4 with a walk and his first two RBIs of the season. Kevin Youkilis went 3-for-3 with two walks and two RBIs.
Clement (1-0) allowed four runs and nine hits in seven innings.
Boston set the tone in the top of the first, scoring four times despite getting only one hit — a leadoff bunt single by Coco Crisp. Cabrera (0-1) then walked the bases loaded and forced in three runs with walks before Youkilis hit a sacrifice fly.
Cabrera yielded seven runs, seven walks and three hits in 1 1-3 innings. He threw 60 pitches, only 22 of them strikes.
DEVIL RAYS 9, BLUE JAYS 8: At Toronto, Jonny Gomes hit a tiebreaking, two-run homer in the seventh inning and Tampa Bay rallied from a six-run deficit to beat Toronto. Ty Wigginton, Travis Lee and Damon Hollins also homered for the Devil Rays.
Toronto's Reed Johnson tied a major league record by getting hit by a pitch three times. Gomes was the last big leaguer to get hit three times on Aug. 15 against the New York Yankees.
Johnson also was plunked three times on April 16, 2005, at Texas.
Vernon Wells homered twice, and Troy Glaus and Alex Rios also connected for the Blue Jays. Despite all the big offseason additions to Toronto's roster, attendance was just 15,631.
Wigginton hit a tying, three-run homer off Vinnie Chulk in the sixth and Gomes had a two-run drive off Pete Walker (0-1) in the seventh, giving Tampa Bay an 8-6 lead.
Scott Dunn (1-0) pitched 1 1-3 innings for his first major league win, and Dan Miceli got four outs for his first save.
TIGERS 5, RANGERS 2: At Arlington, Texas, Chris Shelton pushed his major league-leading home run total to five with a two-run drive and Detroit remained the AL's only unbeaten team with a victory over Texas. Tigers starter Mike Maroth (1-0) gave up one run and eight hits in 5 1/3 innings. Relievers Jason Grilli, Joel Zumaya and Fernando Rodney combined to allow one run and three hits over the final 3 2/3 innings. Rodney worked the ninth for his second save.
The Tigers have won their first four games and are off to their best start since 2004. They lead the majors with 16 homers.
Michael Young homered for the Rangers, who have dropped four of five to begin the season.
John Koronka (0-1) allowed four runs and six hits over five innings in his Rangers debut.
ROYALS 11, WHITE SOX 7: At Kansas City, Mo., Doug Mientkiewicz, Angel Berroa and John Buck had two RBIs apiece, and Kansas City made up a six-run deficit to beat Chicago. The first five White Sox batters scored against Jeremy Affeldt. But Jon Garland (0-1), who is coming off an 18-win season and was 11-4 lifetime against the Royals, gave up 10 hits and nine runs in 5 1/3 innings. The loss snapped an 11-game road winning streak for White Sox, who are off to a 1-3 start in defense of their World Series title. Trailing 6-0 after three, the Royals scored five in the fourth and two in the fifth and then took their first lead of the year when Buck's RBI double off Garland made it 8-7 in the sixth.
David DeJesus doubled off Matt Thornton to make it 9-7 and Mark Teahen added an RBI single in the seventh. Mark Grudzielanek scored three times.
Mike Wood (1-0) allowed one run in two innings for the win.
ATHLETICS 5, MARINERS 0: At Seattle, Joe Blanton outpitched young phenom Felix Hernandez, allowing two hits in eight sharp innings to lead Oakland over Seattle.
Blanton (1-0) allowed only a ground single by Jeremy Reed in the third and an infield hit by Raul Ibanez in the fourth. The right-hander struck out six, walked one and did not allow a runner to reach second.
Justin Duchscherer struck out two in a hitless ninth to finish the shutout.
Mark Kotsay's RBI double in the fifth was the only hit Hernandez (0-1) allowed after the first inning on his final night as a teenager. Marco Scutaro hit a two-run triple in the eighth off reliever Julio Mateo. Kotsay then singled home Scutaro.
Oakland managed just five hits but took advantage of 11 walks, six by Mateo.
ANGELS 4, YANKEES 1: At Anaheim, Calif., Orlando Cabrera hit a two-run homer, Kelvim Escobar stifled most of New York's big hitters and Los Angeles beat the Yankees in its home opener.
The Angels kept up their mastery of the Yankees, eliminated from the postseason by the Angels in 2002 and again last year. New York lost its third in a row and fell to 1-3 on its season-opening road trip.
Escobar (1-0) allowed one run and six hits in six innings. The right-hander fanned Jason Giambi in the sixth for his 1,000th career strikeout, earning a standing ovation from the regular-season record crowd of 44,221.
With the bases loaded in the seventh, Scot Shields got Gary Sheffield to ground into an inning-ending double play.
Francisco Rodriguez pitched a perfect ninth for his second save. He also tied a club mark by converting his 20th straight opportunity.
Shawn Chacon (0-1) allowed four runs and eight hits in 4 2/3 innings.