MLB Roundup: Cardinals welcome back Pujols with opening rout of Pirates

ST. LOUIS — Adam Wainwright (1-0) pitched six scoreless innings, Tyler O’Neill hit a three-run homer and drove in five, and the St. Louis Cardinals celebrated Albert Pujols’ return with a 9-0 season-opening win over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Thursday.

Yadier Molina threw out a runner trying to steal second in the first game of his final big league season, and Nolan Arenado and Tommy Edman also homered for the Cardinals, who won the managerial debut of 35-year-old Oliver Marmol. Paul Goldschmidt drew four straight walks, the first player to do that on opening day since Manny Ramírez in 2002.

The Pirates had just six hits and lost budding star Ke’Bryan Hayes to left forearm spasms in the first inning — just hours after news began to spread that Hayes had agreed to a $70 million, eight-year deal. JT Brubaker (0-1) allowed four runs over three innings.

Fans stood and cheered Pujols for nearly a full minute prior to his first at-bat, a flyout to left in the first inning. Pujols, who signed a one-year deal with St. Louis last month, was 0 for 5.

ROYALS 3, GUARDIANS 1

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Bobby Witt Jr. capped his highly anticipated big league debut with his first hit, a go-ahead double with two outs in the eighth inning, sending Kansas City over rechristened Cleveland.

Andrew Benintendi drove in Witt after his clutch hit, giving Royals reliever Scott Barlow (1-0) a cushion. After a perfect eighth, Barlow struck out Myles Straw with runners on the corners in the ninth to end it.

In a matchup of former Cy Young Award winners, Cleveland ace Shane Bieber and erstwhile Royals star Zach Greinke duelled to a 1-all stalemate before turning the game over to the bullpens on a cold day at Kauffman Stadium.

It remained tied until the eighth, when the Royals’ Michael Taylor worked a walk off Triston McKenzie (0-1) and then took second on Nicky Lopez’s sacrifice bunt. McKenzie struck out Whit Merrifield before Witt, regarded by many as the No. 1 prospect in the game, roped a double down the left-field line to give Kansas City its first lead.

CUBS 5, BREWERS 4

CHICAGO — Ian Happ had three hits, including a tie-breaking two-run double in the seventh inning, and Chicago beat Milwaukee.

Nico Hoerner hit the majors’ first homer of 2022 and Kyle Hendricks pitched neatly into the sixth, leading Chicago to the victory on a chilly, overcast afternoon at Wrigley Field. Japanese outfielder Seiya Suzuki reached three times and scored in his first big league game. Chris Martin (1-0) got two outs for the win in his Cubs debut.

On a day stuffed full of firsts and debuts, Milwaukee ace Corbin Burnes and catcher Omar Narváez became the first battery to use baseball’s new electronic pitch-calling system in a regular-season game. The 2021 NL Cy Young Award winner allowed three runs and four hits in five innings.

Andrew McCutchen, Willy Adames and Rowdy Tellez each had two hits for Milwaukee, and Lorenzo Cain drove in two runs. Aaron Ashby (0-1) got the loss.

MLB Roundup: Cardinals welcome back Pujols with opening rout of Pirates
Source: Healthy Lifestyle

Canadians Abroad Roundup: Will Laryea be next Canadian in Premier League?

January was a transformative month for the Canadian men’s national team. Wins in Honduras and at home to the U.S. – coupled with the El Salvador road victory on Feb. 2 – all but guaranteed its qualification for the 2022 World Cup. Fans could start monitoring flights to Doha with relative comfort. An arguably superior development transpired that month, too. Nine Canadian-eligible players secured loans or permanent transfers to new clubs in the transfer window. Many of those moves were steps up in terms of the quality and size of the respective teams. For instance, Stephen Eustaquio joined Porto on loan with an option to buy from Pacos de Ferreira. Now he’s transitioned from mid-table obscurity to a league title and into the Champions League, provided reports are correct and he joins the Dragoes permanently. Ike Ugbo was loaned to Troyes in Ligue 1 from Genk, an admittedly big club in Belgium with a rich history. But moving to a top-five European league, especially to a club under t...

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Duterte allows more pork imports

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In anticipated season debut, Kyrie Irving scores 22 as Nets beat Pacers

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