Opening Day is always special. But sometimes, it simply leaves you breathless after an exciting and eventful Day 1 of the MLB regular season. Thursday’s season openers did just that, with history being made, a thrilling comeback and a walk-off victory, just to name some of the highlights as the 2024 campaign got under way.
Here’s a look at 13 fascinating facts and stats from Opening Day 2024:
D-backs drub Rockies with historic offensive outburst
D-backs 16, Rockies 1
Entering the bottom of the third inning at Chase Field, the defending NL champion D-backs held a 2-1 lead over the Rockies. Then came an outburst of historic proportions by Arizona — the D-backs scored 14 runs on 13 hits, sending 18 men to the plate. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the 14 runs are the most scored in a single inning on Opening Day in the Modern Era (since 1900), and the fourth-most scored in a single inning of any game over that span.
That third-inning barrage also rewrote the franchise record books for Arizona. The 14 runs represent the largest single inning in D-backs history, eclipsing a 13-run fourth inning in a 15-6 victory over the Pirates at Chase Field on April 11, 2010.
Overall, Arizona’s 16 runs on Opening Day tied for the fifth-most since 1900. Lourdes Gurriel Jr. had three hits in the contest, including a homer. His five RBIs set a franchise record for Opening Day, surpassing Jake Lamb’s four driven in on March 29, 2018, also against the Rockies.
On the flip side, the 14 runs the Rockies surrendered in the third inning on Thursday set a franchise record. The 16 total runs allowed in the contest is also an Opening Day record for Colorado, surpassing the 12 runs the Rockies gave up against the Phillies on April 4, 1994.
Yanks complete largest Opening Day comeback win since 1950
Yankees 5, Astros 4
The first few innings of the Yankees’ season did not go smoothly. Nestor Cortes coughed up four runs in the first two frames against an Astros team that has had the Yankees’ number in recent years. The Yanks were resilient, though, and scored five unanswered runs while not allowing a run the rest of the game. Juan Soto made his much-anticipated Yankees debut, delivering an RBI single and throwing out the potential tying run at the plate in the ninth inning. By erasing a four-run deficit, the Yankees completed their largest comeback win on Opening Day since they overcame a nine-run deficit against the Red Sox in 1950.
O’Neill muscles up, again
Red Sox 6, Mariners 4
Each season from 2020-23, Tyler O’Neill homered on Opening Day for the Cardinals. St. Louis traded him to Boston over the offseason, but even in a different uniform, O’Neill maintained the tradition. His opposite-field solo shot in the eighth inning at Seattle not only extended the Red Sox’s lead to two runs but also set a Major League record for O’Neill. Per Elias, O’Neill is the first player to go deep in five straight season openers, breaking a tie with Hall of Famers Yogi Berra (1955-58) and Gary Carter (1977-80) as well as Todd Hundley (1994-97).
Dodgers’ Big Three come up big
Dodgers 7, Cardinals 1
This wasn’t Opening Day for the Dodgers — who went 1-1 against the Padres in last week’s Seoul Series — but it was the regular-season Dodger Stadium debut for the team’s Big Three of Mookie Betts, Shohei Ohtani and Freddie Freeman. The trio of MVP Award winners, batting first, second and third in the lineup, did not disappoint.
Each of the three reached base safely three times in a romp against St. Louis, going a combined 5-for-8 with four walks. There were just two games in all of 2023 that the Dodgers’ 1-2-3 spots produced at least nine times on base, six runs scored, two homers and four RBIs — thresholds Betts, Ohtani and Freeman combined to reach in just their third game together.
Mr. Burnes’ excellent O’s debut
Orioles 11, Angels 3
Corbin Burnes struck out 11 hitters in his Orioles debut on Opening Day. That is tied with…
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