New York Yankees starting pitcher CC Sabathia wipes his brow between pitches during the fifth inning in Baltimore on Monday. He didn't make it out of the inning.
BALTIMORE – CC Sabathia and Mark Teixeira won’t soon forget their debut with the New York Yankees – no matter how hard they try.
Sabathia failed to get out of the fifth inning Monday in a 10-5 loss to the Baltimore Orioles, and Mark couldn’t buy a hit with that $180 million the Yankees heaped upon him during the offseason.
“I was terrible. I battled from the first inning on,” said Sabathia, who signed a $161 million, seven-year contract in December. “At some point I’m usually able to find it. Today was just one of those days where I didn’t. When I have one of those days, this is the result you get.”
Sabathia (0-1) gave up six runs and eight hits in 4 1/3 innings, walked five, threw two wild pitches and did not record a strikeout for the first time since July 25, 2005, at Oakland. The six runs were the most he had allowed in 32 starts since last April, when he pitched for Cleveland.
“I just try to go out and help the team win as best as possible. Today I didn’t do that,” Sabathia said.
His angst matched that of Teixeira, booed throughout the afternoon by Baltimore fans who were angered that the first baseman opted to sign with the Yankees instead of his hometown Orioles.
Teixeira went 0-for-4 with a walk and stranded five runners, including two in the eighth after the Yankees had cut a five-run deficit to 6-5.
“I didn’t get it done there,” he said, referring to his groundout with runners at the corners and two outs.
Mariners 6, Twins 1: At Minneapolis, Ken Griffey Jr. got off to a great second start with Seattle, hitting an opening-night home run to back Felix Hernandez.
Rangers 9, Indians 1: At Arlington, Texas, Hank Blalock hit a three-run homer off Cliff Lee and Kevin Millwood pitched seven sharp innings to lead Texas to the win.
Blue Jays 12, Tigers 5: At Toronto, Adam Lind homered and drove in six runs, Roy Halladay coasted with a big lead and Toronto beat Detroit in an opener delayed when fans littered the field.
Angels 3, Athletics 0: At Anaheim, Calif., Joe Saunders pitched into the seventh inning and Howie Kendrick homered and singled in another run.
NL: Mets top Reds
CINCINNATI – One game in, that new Mets bullpen sure looks good.
Francisco Rodriguez and his fellow relievers protected a slim lead for Johan Santana, and New York held on Monday for a 2-1 victory over the Cincinnati Reds in their season opener.
Daniel Murphy drove in both Mets runs with a homer off Aaron Harang (0-1) and a groundout. And on a raw, cold afternoon, New York’s rebuilt bullpen was nearly perfect.
Dodgers 4, Padres 1: At San Diego, Hiroki Kuroda outpitched Padres ace Jake Peavy, leading the defending NL West champions past San Diego without a hit from Manny Ramirez.
Cubs 4, Astros 2: At Houston, Carlos Zambrano pitched into the seventh inning for his first opening-day win in five chances, leading Chicago over Roy Oswalt and Houston.
Marlins 12, Nationals 6: At Miami, Emilio Bonifacio became a crowd favorite in his Marlins debut, hitting the majors’ first inside-the-park homer on opening day since 1968 and going 4-for-5 against his former team.
Pirates 6, Cardinals 4: At St. Louis, with the Pirates down to their last strike, Jack Wilson hit a three-run double to cap a four-run ninth inning off rookie closer Jason Motte, leading Pittsburgh over St. Louis.