Opening Day (Inning One)

I'll be live blogging the O's-Rays game (with commentary about other games). Here we go.

Top of the First Inning:
[The Milwaukee Brewers line-up is shown, and pitcher Ben Sheets is indeed hitting 8th. I hope they stick with it all year. It may only mean 5-10 runs, but then one win may mean the difference between a play-off birth and a trip home.]

[Come on Royals. It looked like Justin Verlander was rolling - his change-up looked very good - and that 3 runs would be more than enough, but KC has made a nice comeback.]

And the O's game starts.
*One out. Good fastball by Guthrie on the outside corner to get a slow roller back to the mound.
*Crawford lines the pitch into center field - he may look to run.
*Quality change-up to Pena - got him a little out in front. Man, that was scary. But Jones is there at the wall and makes the catch. Two outs.
*Line drive by Upton, but right to Markakis.
*Good first inning for Guthrie: gives up a single but gets quick outs.

[KC does indeed tie the game at 3 on a single by John Buck off of Jason Grilli. And then takes the lead. Go KC!]

Bottom of the first:
*Roberts works Shields for a lead-off walk. Great job by B-Rob to take some close pitches.
*Mora up next. Shields starts him off with a couple of balls. Ball three. Kakes with a first inning three-run home run? Roberts is hopping around at first base and the announcers are making a much bigger deal of it than it should be. Mora flies out to left.
*KAKES! Bloop single for Markakis - a little anti-climactic, but I'll take it. Two on with one out for Millar.
*Double steal! Great job by both runners. Maybe Nick will steal 20. Wow, and Millar drives one deep to left that goes off of Crawford's glove. Two run double for Millar, and the O's take a 2-0 lead.
*And Aubrey Huff strides to the plate to a chorus of boo's. Bad swing by Huff an a good change-up away.

[Kosuke Fukudome has his first hit in MLB.]

Huff flies out, to more boo's.
*The O's are really making Shields work in this inning. Ramon flies out to left to end the inning.