Zambrano finally got his first Opening Day victory on his fifth attempt, pitching six innings of one-run ball before handing it over to the Cubs 'pen. Kevin Gregg allowed a run in the ninth, but the Cubs took the opener 4-2 over the Astros.
The season started off with a bang when Soriano deposited the second pitch he saw over the left field fence for the leadoffiest of leadoff home runs. Soriano was just the fourth Cub to leadoff the season with a homer, and the first since Tuffy Rhodes did so in 1994. My mom and I were at that game when I was 12, and Tuffy Rhodes didn't just hit a leadoff home run--he hit two more after that. Rhodes, though, tallied just 13 total home runs as a major leaguer, but has had a successful career in Japan, belting 442 dingers there.
Perhaps the only low moment for the Cubs was when Milton Bradley pulled an Adam Dunn, tripping over himself as he let a soft liner bounce off his glove. In fairness, he was not charged with an error on the play, but in fairness, it looked like an error to me.
Notes
- Fukudome, Lee and Bradley were a combined 0-11
- The Cubs turned two double plays, one on an outfield assist by Milton Bradley
- Fontenot had three of the Cubs' nine hits
Cards bullpen struggles out of the gate
It's only one game, but Cardinals fans can't feel good about the fact that their supposed weakness--the bullpen--cost them a win in their opener against the Pirates. They actually managed to blow two saves in their opener, putting them on a solid pace to exceed last year's league-leading 31 blown saves. In fact, the Cardinals had twice as many blown saves Monday as all of the other Major League teams combined.
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