Opening day III: Bonds goes deep, Bush throws out first pitch
President Bush threw out the first pitch in St. Louis, and Barry Bonds homered in Houston.
For the third time in a week, it was opening day in baseball.
This one finally felt right.
Bonds' 659th home run highlighted nine major league openers Monday and moved him within one of Willie Mays for third place on the career list.
”The Say Hey Kid” was even in attendance to see Bonds and the San Francisco Giants rally for a 5-4 victory over the Astros.
When Bonds hits No. 661, Mays will present his godson with the diamond-augmented Olympic torch he carried for the 2002 Olympics.
”It was great to have a game like this early,” said Bonds, who went 3-for-3 with two doubles and a walk. ”I just wanted to hit the ball hard like Willie told me to do and not to think about it.”
Earlier in the day, Bush was at Busch Stadium for the Cardinals' opener against the Milwaukee Brewers.
Greeted by a mixture of cheers and boos on a crisp afternoon, he threw an inside strike to St. Louis catcher Mike Matheny.
”It just goes to show you a guy can get lucky occasionally,” said Bush, wearing a Cards warmup jacket.
Of course, the season actually started last week in Japan, where the New York Yankees and Tampa Bay Devil Rays split two games — part of baseball's effort to market the sport around the world. But most fans were sleeping when the first pitch was thrown. Then on Sunday night, the Baltimore Orioles beat Pedro Martinez and the Boston Red Sox 7-2.
But opening day means DAY baseball, with an April chill in the air.
On Monday, it arrived. At last.
The Reds opened in Cincinnati with a tribute to former owner Marge Schott, a ceremonial first pitch by Vice President Dick Cheney and a 7-4 loss to Sammy Sosa and the Chicago Cubs.
Schott died last month at age 75, ending a tumultuous chapter for baseball's first professional team. Instead of Schott sounding the siren to start the annual opening day parade in Cincinnati, an elephant did it using its trunk.
Meanwhile, Cheney got a loud ovation when he walked onto the field. Standing in the grass in front of the mound, he threw a right-handed strike to crouching Reds catcher Jason LaRue.
”It turns out we don't need a radar gun on him, either,” Bush joked.
Hometown hero Ken Griffey Jr. was out of Cincinnati's lineup, reluctantly taking a few more days to rest a strained calf. The injury-prone outfielder paced in the dugout with a bat in each hand.
Other stars missing on opening day: Nomar Garciaparra, Mark Prior, Jason Schmidt and Larry Walker.
But not Bonds, who was dogged by questions about steroids all spring. He hit a three-run shot off Roy Oswalt in the eighth inning, pulling the Giants into a 4-4 tie.
”I feel very proud because I had him at 5 years old in my locker many times, and on the field,” Mays said before the game. ”Who else could I pick to pass me?”
At Dodger Stadium, Don Newcombe, winner of the first Cy Young Award in 1956, presented Los Angeles reliever Eric Gagne with his plaque for earning last year's honor. New center fielder Milton Bradley, acquired from Cleveland on Sunday, singled in his first two at-bats.
Detroit looked like a different team, roughing up American League Cy Young Award winner Roy Halladay in a 7-0 win in Toronto.
The Tigers, who started 0-9 last season and set an AL record with 119 losses, got home runs from newcomers Ivan Rodriguez and Rondell White. Jason Johnson, also signed in the offseason, pitched six impressive innings for the win.
”We're 1-0. At no time last year were we over .500,” Detroit manager Alan Trammell said. ”Play it up. It's an excellent start for us. It gives us a little momentum.”
The biggest opening day crowd in Kansas City history (41,575) packed Kauffman Stadium, where fans are fired up because the small-market Royals could challenge for the AL Central crown.
They stood five rows deep around the lower concourse and rocked the ballpark with applause as Challenger the eagle flew in from center field at the end of the national anthem.
Then, the Royals really gave their fans something to get excited about, rallying for six runs in the ninth and beating the Chicago White Sox 9-7 on Carlos Beltran's game-winning homer.
”This I'm going to remember for the rest of my life,” Beltran gushed. ”It doesn't get any better than this.”
The Minnesota Twins also had a big comeback, defeating Cleveland 7-4 on Shannon Stewart's three-run homer in the 11th.
Eight more teams will open Tuesday, when Vladimir Guerrero and the Anaheim Angels are in Seattle, and World Series MVP Josh Beckett pitches for the Florida Marlins as they begin defense of their surprising championship.