The second wave of Opening Day games begin today. There are nine home openers on tap, 11 games in all.
CAPTION By David Goldman, AP
The day begins with NationalLeague Cy Young winner Roy Halladay on the mound as he and the Philadelphia Phillies host the Houston Astros. It ends with American League Cy Young winner Felix Hernandez and Seattle Mariners ace against the Oakland Athletics.
The nine openers (all times ET): Astros at Phillies, 1:05 p.m.; Pirates at Cubs, 2:20 ; White Sox at Indians, 3:05; Red Sox at Rangers, 4:05; Diamondbacks at Rockies, 4:10; Twins at Blue Jays, 7:07; Orioles at Rays, 7:10; Mets at Marlins, 7:10; and Mariners at Athletics, 10:05.
Follow the afternoon action in the Daily Pitch, starting at 1:05 p.m. ET:
PHILLIES-ASTROS BOX SCORE
3:41 p.m. ET: Howard singles up the middle on closer Brandon Lyon. Runners on first and second.
3:32 p.m. ET: The Phillies are down to their final three outs. With Jimmy Rollins on first, Ryan Howard can tie the game with one swing of the bat.
3:09 p.m. ET: The Phillies two-run seventh inning closes the lead to 4-2.
2:49 p.m. ET: Astros break it open in the seventh on a two-run triple by Michael Bourn. Bourn makes it 4-0, scoring on a sacrifice fly.
2:34 p.m. ET: The Astros get to Halladay and take a 1-0 lead after a Hunter Pence double and Bill Hall infield outin 6th inning. Halladay is pinch-hit for the bottom of the inning. His day is over.
2:24 p.m. ET : Bad news for Cardinals fans. Left fielder Matt Holliday to undergo an appendectomy procedure today after going 3-for-4 on opening day Thursday.
2:14 p.m. ET: The Astros havethree hits through 5 innings. Myers has two of them.
2:10 p.m. ET: On deck - the Cubs host the Pirates at Wrigley Field. Ryan Dempstervs. Kevin Correia. A $125 million payroll vs. $45 million. Guess which team has the smaller payroll?
2:09 p.m. ET: Ben Francisco, Jayson Werth's replacement in right field, gets fooled by afly ball in the wind and drops the ball. Astros' Humberto Quintero reaches second base.
2:05 p.m. ET: Myers is matching Halladay in a pitching duel. Only four hits allowed after four innings.
1:38 p.m. ET: Halladay's no-hitter through 2 2/3 inning was broken up by former Phillies pitcher Brett Myers. Score remains 0-0.
1:20 p.m. ET: c Of the 846 players on the 25-man opening day rosters, disabledor restricted list, 234 (27.7%)are foreign-born players. TheNew York Yankees have the most.
1:16 p.m. ET: A strong start for Halladay, a 1-2-3 first inning.
1:05 p.m. ET: The heart-and-soul of the Phillies, ChaseUtley, will sit out the opener and the next few weeks witha knee injury.
1:04 p.m. ET: For those who forgot, Halladay threw a perfect game last May and a no-hitter in the National League Division Series.
12:59 p.m., ET: Roy Halladay ready to make his ninth consecutive opening day start, second with the Phillies. It's the longest streak in the majors.
