OPENING DAY BEGINS!

TULOWITZKI'S SECOND BLAST CLINCHES OPENER!

TULOWITZKI'S SECOND BLAST CLINCHES OPENER!

St. Francis---Brooklyn SS Troy Tulowitzki drove in three runs with a pair of home runs on Opening Day, the second with a man aboard in the top of the 10th to lift last year's wild card winner to a 9-6 win over the host Friars in St. Francis that also saw rookie reliever Neftali Feliz (1-0, 3.00) go from the outhouse to the penthouse with one swing.

Feliz fanned six in three innings of relief, but with a 6-5 lead allowed a solo HR to pinch-hitter Felipe Lopez leading off the bottom of the eighth, forcing extra innings. Pinch-hitter Mark Teahen led off the frame with a single after 1B Ryan Howard was shaken up falling into the dugout in the bottom of the 9th. Howard was taken out as a precautionary measure, and Teahen followed his hit with his first stolen base of the year. Frank Francisco (0-1, 13.50) then hung an 0-2 slider that 'Tulo' launched three rows back into left-center.

Feliz then came up batting sixth in the order after a double-switch, and he punished Francisco as well, pulling the first pitch he saw UP and out, just fair over the LF foul pole, the first pitcher of the year to go deep. Pat Neshek, who did not appear in BARB last season, completed his comeback in the bottom of the 10th. The fourth reliever in the game for the Moabs, Neshek would work a 1-2-3 frame to preserve the 9-6 score, and his first BARB save since 2008.

IN OTHER OPENING DAY ACTION:

POTTSYLVANIA 6, FROSTBITE FALLS 5

WP: Chris Carpenter (1-0, 3.86)
LP: Tim Lincecum (0-1, 5.87)
SV: Broxton (1)

Carlos Pena drew a bases-loaded walk off former teammate Tim Lincecum as part of a four-run first inning, and Chris Carpenter killed three rallies with double-play balls to help the defending Central champion Creepers edge the visiting Squirrels. Exciting young slugger Adam Lind hit his first home run of the year in the fourth against Carpenter, a solo shot.

WORCESTER 8, CASSELTON 5 (12 innings)

WP: Philip Hughes (1-0, 0.00)
LP: Brad Ziegler (0-1, 81.00)

Mark Teixeira hit a go-ahead single and Jason Bay clubbed one of his team's three HR as part of a three-run 12th to outslug the host Horned Toads. Philip Hughes, the third Eliminator pitcher to come out of the pen, worked two scoreless frames for the win. On the other side of the ball, new Casselton SS Rafael Furcal had a horrible debut: the veteran not only went 0-for-6, but blew a double-play ball and threw one away for an error.


OAKLAND 8, LOS ANGELES 5

WP: Josh Beckett (1-0, 5.40)
LP: Edwin Jackson (0-1, 13.50)
SV: Hoffman (1)

Josh Beckett fanned nine and took a shutout into the seventh before needing some help, but the PF Flyers was not enough after spotting the newly-christened United a 6-0 lead after six frames. One bright spot for Los Angeles: 1B Luke Scott had three hits and triggered a four-run rally against Beckett with his first double of the season, getting a start due to the season-opening injury of off-season signee Lance Berkman.



BLACK MESA 6, DARWIN 3

WP: Wandy Rodriguez (1-0, 3.60)
LP: Clayton Kershaw (0-1, 6.00)
SV: Papelbon (1)

Young Clayton Kershaw would fan nine, but along the way wildness caused him to blow a 3-0 lead after four innings as the visiting Anomalies struck for three runs in the fifth to tie, and then another to go ahead in the sixth on Raul Ibanez's first dong of the season, a solo shot. Veteran Chipper Jones, dropped to fifth in the order, had three hits to lead the Finches as the 'Unnatural Selections' (the defending West champs) continued to have the same problems they saw in last year's playoffs---an inability to score runs.

YUMA 8, MADTOWN 7 (12 innings)

WP: Matt Thornton (1-0, 1.00)
LP: Matt Lindstrom (0-1, 7.71)

The defending world champs won a wild see-saw affair that saw both clubs score in the 10th after a two-run Firebirds rally forced extra frames. In the 12th, it was Nick Markakis, whose third hit of the ballgame gave his team their first lead in a game that saw Jared Weaver outpitch Yuma ace Roy Halladay (7.2 IP, 6 runs). Denard Span had a pair of doubles and his first HR of the year to lead Yuma's attack, while new CF Nate McLouth homered in his first game with the Murlocs.