Opening day winners and losers: Bryce Harper, Manny Machado, Mariners, more

Opening day is in the books. After an offseason of waiting, teams finally got their first opportunity to show whether they are truly contenders, or whether the entire offseason was a waste.

While two teams have not even played a regular season game yet, that’s not going to stop us here at The Stew from making some snap judgments. If you missed out on opening day, we’re here to give you the cliff notes.

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Below, you’ll find our list of winners and losers on the first day of the regular season. Who rose to the occasion and delivered? Who wilted under the pressure? Read on.

WINNERS: BRYCE HARPER AND ADAM LIND
Is it too early to call Bryce Harper the king of opening day? The 24-year-old has taken part in four opening day affairs, and has homered in every single one of them. He continued that streak Monday against the Miami Marlins, bashing a solo shot in the bottom of the sixth. It was Harper’s fifth opening day long ball.

Though Harper stood out early, it was Adam Lind who emerged late. Lind, who was a late addition to the Nationals, didn’t start, but made the most of his pinch hit appearance. With the Nationals trailing by a run in the seventh inning, Lind smacked a go-ahead two-run homer to give the team its first lead of the night. The Nationals would hold that lead, going on to win the contest 4-2. (Chris Cwik)

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LOSERS: GERRIT COLE AND ANDREW MCCUTCHEN
The Pirates were hoping for turnaround seasons for ace Gerrit Cole and star outfielder Andrew McCutchen. The early returns weren’t great. Cole allowed seven hits and five runs in five innings against the Boston Red Sox, getting just two strikeouts. McCutchen wasn’t any better. He was 0-for-4 at the plate with three strikeouts and four runners left on. It all equaled to a 5-3 loss to the Red Sox. (Mike Oz)

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WINNERS: MANNY MACHADO AND MARK TRUMBO
A familiar formula propelled the Baltimore Orioles to a 3-2 win against the Toronto Blue Jays on Monday. Manny Machado made another ridiculous defensive play in the field, and Mark Trumbo hit a crucial home run. Oh, and to make things even more dramatic, both plays came in extras. Machado kept the game tied with an exceptional diving stop and unbelievable throw from his knees to nail a runner in the top of the 11th. In the bottom of the frame, Trumbo put Baltimore ahead for good. He crushed a walk-off solo shot, giving the Orioles an opening day win over their division rival. (Cwik)

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WINNER: EDWIN ENCARNACION
If you want to get all analytical about it, opening day is just one of 162 games and a game-tying homer on opening day is just a game-tying homer, no more special than a game-tying homer in game 62. But that discounts emotion. And emotion says that Edwin Encarnacion is an opening-day winner. Encarnacion, who signed that big offseason deal with the Cleveland Indians, delivered the game-tying homer in the eighth inning for his new club. It was one of two hits on the day for Encarnacion, but the big one in the Tribe’s 8-5 comeback win over the Rangers. Get paid, then deliver on opening day. Yes, it is more special. (Oz)

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LOSERS: THE SEATTLE MARINERS
Here’s a simple formula: It’s never good when you make 14 trades in the offseason and get only three hits on opening day. Seattle Mariners, come on down. The M’s did not deliver on Day One after GM Jerry Dipoto’s wild offseason ride. They were blanked by the Houston Astros. Sure, it’s just one game out of 162, but you don’t want to start the season with a thud when you went wild in the offseason. It didn’t help matters that ace Felix Hernandez left after five innings with a groin injury. (Oz)

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WINNER: DALLAS KEUCHEL
Dallas Keuchel went from Cy Young winner to disappointment to, on this year’s opening day, pitching like a Cy Young winner again. We’ll give the typical small-sample size warning here, but Keuchel looked like the pitcher the Astros need back if they’re going to make a World Series run. He threw seven scoreless innings, allowing just two hits in Houston’s 3-0 win against a Mariners lineup that can hit the ball. Pitching seven scoreless innings is something Keuchel did only twice last season. So this was a great way to start 2017. (Oz)

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LOSER: JUNIOR GUERRA
Junior Guerra was one of the opening day’s better stories — until he hurt himself, now he’s a hard-luck loser who lasted only three innings on his first opening day start. Guerra, the 32-year-old Brewers pitcher, had a surprise 9-3 season last year as a rookie. He was looking to build on that in 2017, but hurt his right calf while laying down a sac bunt. He was later spotted on crutches and is expected to miss significant time. (Oz)

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WINNER: NOLAN ARENADO
If the Colorado Rockies are hoping to be a surprise playoff contender, they’ll need Nolan Arenado to play like an MVP candidate. Though one game, things are looking pretty good. Arenado was a dual threat in Monday’s 7-5 win against the Milwaukee Brewers. He reached base three times, on two singles and a hit by pitch, and scored two of the team’s seven runs. Arenado’s greatest contribution, however, may have come on defense. With the Brewers threatening in the bottom of the ninth, Arenado started a game-ending double-play with a tremendous diving stop on a ball scalded by Ryan Braun. It’s the type of play that would be impossible for most third basemen, but Arenado somehow made it look easy. (Cwik)

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LOSER: COREY KLUBER
The Indians ended up winning their opening day matchup with the Rangers, but that was in spite of a rough day from ace Corey Kluber. Kluber got knocked around, specifically by Roughned Odor, whose two homers accounted for four of the five runs that Kluber gave up. Credit to the Indians, they fought back after Kluber’s exit in the sixth. That might save him in the loss column, but not in this winners/losers column. (Oz)

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WINNER: ROUGNED ODOR
In his first game after signing a six-year deal to stay with the Texas Rangers, Odor proved he was worth the investment. The infielder launched two home runs on opening day in an 8-5 loss to the Cleveland Indians — one for each horse he asked for in his new contract. In total, Odor batted in four of his team’s five runs. He’s the fourth player to open the 2017 season with two home runs joining Yasmani Grandal, Madison Bumgarner and Khris Davis. (Blake Schuster)

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WINNERS: THE LOS ANGELES DODGERS
The most mismatched pitching matchup of the day went … exactly how you would expect. The Los Angeles Dodgers jumped all over San Diego Padres “ace” Jhoulys Chacin, and Clayton Kershaw turned in another impressive opening day start in the team’s 14-3 win. On the mound, Kershaw was his usual self, giving up two runs, one earned, over seven innings. He allowed just two hits and struck out eight. He was backed by an even more impressive display from his hitters. Joc Pederson gave the team an early grand slam, and added another RBI on a sac fly. Yasmani Grandal also got into the act, hitting two home runs. Even Corey Seager, who missed most of spring training due an injury, joined in. His three-run shot in the fifth put Los Angeles up 12-1, ruining the 2017 pitching debut of Padres two-way player Christian Bethancourt. This one was absolutely dominated by Los Angeles. (Cwik)

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LOSERS: THE PADRES, BUT ESPECIALLY JHOULYS CHACIN AND CHRISTIAN BETHANCOURT
It’s not a surprise that the Padres got blasted by the Dodgers on opening day, a 14-3 rout that promises to be a sign of things to come in this season. The Padres just aren’t good, as proven by the fact that they sent out Jhoulys Chacin to start on opening day. He was charged with nine earned runs in 3 1/3 innings, which, ouch. Then the Padres brought in Christian Bethancourt, the catcher they’re turning into a two-way player, for his first serious pitching performance. It included two wild pitches and a three-run homer to Corey Seager. Both pitchers finished the game with ERAs over 20.00. It’s gonna be that kinda year in San Diego. (Oz)

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WINNER: ANDREW BENINTENDI
You know what? It ain’t bad being the hyped-up youngster in Boston who delivers on opening day. We’re sure Andrew Benintendi went to sleep Monday night feeling good about himself. Benintendi, the 22-year-old outfielder, slugged a three-run homer as part of Boston’s 5-3 win over the Pirates. It was his only hit of the day, but it was an effective one. With all the pomp and circumstance that surrounds opening day in Boston, and with the gap left by David Ortiz’s retirement, it was nice for the youngster to deliver on his first opening day. It was also nice for everyone who believed the hype and spent a high-round fantasy pick on Benintendi. (Oz)

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WINNER: KHRIS DAVIS
Oakland Athletics slugger Khris Davis led the American League in homers last season and after one game, he’s tied for the lead again. Davis hit two dingers in Oakland’s 4-2 win over the Los Angeles Angels, keeping him on Rougned Odor’s pace. Also nice: Davis didn’t homer at all in 15 spring-training games. He saved ‘em for when they counted most. (Oz)

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WINNERS: THE MINNESOTA TWINS
Minnesota will take the positives where it can this season, so expect Twins fans to be all sorts of excited after defeating the Kansas City Royals 7-1 to earn their first opening day victory since 2008. Ervin Santana dismantled a veteran Royals lineup to the tune of seven innings pitched, two hits, one earned run and three strikeouts on two walks. His only blemish was giving up a Mike Moustakas home run in the fourth inning. (Schuster)

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LOSERS: CHICAGO WHITE SOX FANS
It was not an easy day to root for the South Siders. Not only did White Sox fans have to watch other teams play with their favorite toys (Adam Eaton went 1 for 2 at the plate with a walk, a stolen base and a run scored in his Nationals debut), but they made the trudge to the newly named Guaranteed Rate Field to watch a team that was built to lose. Except they didn’t get to do that, either — the game was postponed due to rain after a two-hour delay. (Schuster)

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LOSERS: THE ATLANTA BRAVES BULLPEN
Julio Teheran did about as much as the Atlanta Braves could have asked for. He threw six scoreless innings against the New York Mets and left with the scored tied at zero. Then the bullpen happened. Three Braves pitchers then gave up six runs in the seventh inning. Here they are, along with their current 2017 ERAs: Ian Krol (81.00), Chaz Roe (INF) and Eric O’Flaherty (54.00). Yikes. (Oz)

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BONUS WINNERS AND LOSERS LIST FROM THE SUNDAY GAMES

WINNER: MADISON BUMGARNER
The San Francisco Giants may have lost their opener, but you can’t blame Madison Bumgarner for that. Bumgarner did everything in his power, literally, to will his club to victory. He not only was strong on the mound, striking out 11 over seven innings, but Bumgarner also helped his own cause. He smashed not one, but two home runs during the game, becoming the first pitcher to accomplish that feat on opening day. Bumgarner’s second big fly gave San Francisco the lead, so you can’t blame the late-inning loss on him. (Cwik)

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LOSERS: THE GIANTS BULLPEN
It may have been the start of a new season, but the Giants bullpen seemed stuck in 2016. After leading the league with 30 blown saves last season, the club’s relievers blew two save opportunities on opening day. Derek Law was responsible for the first, giving up the game-tying run after allowing three straight hits. He was pulled before recording an out.

The Giants managed to retake the lead in the ninth, setting the stage for $62 million man Mark Melancon to close things out. In his first save opportunity with the Giants, Melancon fit in well. He gave up two runs on four hits, not only blowing the save but picking up the loss in the process. It was just one game, but it was an awful start for a group that badly needs redemption in 2017. (Cwik)

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WINNERS: THE ST. LOUIS CARDINALS
The St. Louis Cardinals walked-off on the reigning champs while starter Carlos Martinez struck out 10 on opening day in St. Louis. If that weren’t enough to excite the city, the team also signed two cornerstone players in Yadier Molina and Stephen Piscotty to multiyear deals. That’s some nice momentum to take into a Tuesday night matchup against Jake Arrieta. (Schuster)

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LOSER: MASAHIRO TANAKA
The New York Yankees’ ace had the worst outing of his career in the first game of the MLB season. Tanaka was pulled after just 2.2 innings in which he gave up seven earned runs on eight hits and two walks. That’s a solid 23.63 ERA. (Schuster)

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