⚾ Welcome to First Pitch - Today is Tuesday, March 31st

Editor’s Note

WE HAVE LIFE!! The Giants finally get their first win of the season, and that also means Tony Vitello picks up his first win as an MLB manager. Congrats all around.

Landen Roupp looked fantastic and really set the tone early. We’ll try not to overreact after a rough opening weekend against the Yankees, but this definitely feels like a step in the right direction.

Thank you for reading First Pitch, I hope you all have a great Tuesday!

Enjoying First Pitch?
Buy us a drink 🍺

For the best experience, view this newsletter in your browser by clicking “Read Online” in the top right.

Today’s Edition

☝️👇 3 Up, 3 Down
Raleigh walks it off, Soroka shoves with 10 K’s, Royals honor Gore.

🚀 Guardians 4, Dodgers 2 — Big seventh lifts Cleveland

🌉 Giants 3, Padres 2 — Bader sparks first win

🔥 Astros 8, Red Sox 1 — Altuve goes nuclear

Extra Innings

☝️👇 3 Up, 3 Down

Our top 3 Moments of the Day

⚡ Raleigh Comes Through Late with Walk-Off Knock vs. Yankees

Raleigh snapped out of a slow start with a walk-off single, scoring Leo Rivas to secure the 2-1 victory.

🎯 Soroka Dominates in Home Debut with 10 K’s and Immaculate Inning

Michael Soroka struck out 10 over five innings and delivered an immaculate inning in his Diamondbacks debut, setting a franchise record for strikeouts in a debut.

🙏 Royals Honor Terrance Gore with Emotional Tribute Ahead of Home Opener

Kansas City held a moment of silence and welcomed Gore’s family onto the field, where his son Zane threw out the first pitch to Alex Gordon in a powerful pregame moment. Why are my eyes watering so bad…

📊 Final Scores

🔁 Around the Horn

Top games from around the league

Guardians 4, Dodgers 2 — Big seventh lifts Guardians past Dodgers

The Guardians picked up a solid win in LA, and it was a special night for Austin Hedges, who hit the 10-year service mark and backed it up with a big performance.

Cleveland chipped away early with a run from Steven Kwan, then created separation in the seventh. Rhys Hoskins worked an RBI walk before Daniel Schneemann delivered the big swing with a two-run double to break things open.

On the mound, Parker Messick set the tone. He tossed six scoreless innings and kept the Dodgers lineup in check all night, giving the bullpen a clean path to close it out.

Los Angeles made a late push with a couple runs, but couldn’t complete the comeback.

📊 Key Stats

Guardians

  • Austin Hedges: 2-4, 2 R

  • Steven Kwan: 3-5, RBI, R, SB

  • Daniel Schneemann: 1-4, 2 RBI

  • Angel Martínez: 2-3, R, SB

  • Rhys Hoskins: 1 RBI, BB

  • Parker Messick: 6.0 IP, 0 ER, 5 K

Dodgers

  • Andy Pages: 2-4

  • Mookie Betts: 1-4, RBI, R

  • Kyle Tucker: 1-4, R

  • Shohei Ohtani: 1-4

Giants 3, Padres 2 — Bader gets Giants on the board as San Francisco holds on late

The Giants finally got things going and picked up their first win of the season behind a strong all-around performance.

Harrison Bader set the tone with a solo shot in the third, giving San Francisco its first home run of the year and its first lead of the season. From there, they added on with RBI singles from Patrick Bailey and Casey Schmitt to build a three-run cushion.

On the mound, Landen Roupp was locked in. He went six scoreless innings, allowing just two hits while striking out seven and keeping the Padres lineup quiet all night.

It got a little tense late after Jackson Merrill launched a two-run homer in the ninth, but Ryan Walker was able to finish it off and secure the win.

📊 Key Stats

Giants

  • Landen Roupp: 6.0 IP, 0 ER, 7 K

  • Harrison Bader: 1-4, HR, RBI, R

  • Casey Schmitt: 2-3, RBI, SB

  • Patrick Bailey: 1-4, RBI

  • Matt Chapman: 1-4, R

Padres

  • Jackson Merrill: 1-4, HR, 2 RBI, R

  • Xander Bogaerts: 1-4

  • Fernando Tatis Jr.: 1-3, BB

Astros 8, Red Sox 1 — McCullers dominates as Astros bats stay hot

The Astros rolled again and this one was never really close.

Lance McCullers Jr. set the tone early, going seven strong innings while allowing just one run and striking out nine. He was in complete control all night and gave Houston exactly what it needed.

At the plate, it was a power show. Yordan Alvarez got things going with a two-run shot, Brice Matthews added another, and then Jose Altuve took over late with two home runs to put the game completely out of reach.

The Red Sox never found much offensively, managing just four hits while striking out 12 times as Houston cruised to another win.

📊 Key Stats

Astros

  • Lance McCullers Jr.: 7.0 IP, 1 ER, 9 K

  • Jose Altuve: 4-4, 2 HR, 2 RBI, 4 R, BB

  • Yordan Alvarez: 2-5, HR, 2 RBI, 1 R

  • Brice Matthews: 1-4, HR, RBI, R

  • Carlos Correa: 1-4, 1 R

Red Sox

  • Wilyer Abreu: 2-3, RBI

  • Trevor Story: 1-4

  • Carlos Narváez: 1-3

  • Jarren Duran: 0-3, R, BB

Like this newsletter? Help us keep the content free by sharing our newsletter and supporting our sponsors.

Help support our team by donating or buying us a drink below:
Buy us a drink 🍺

Thanks for reading!

Keep Reading