In a dazzling debut, Reds right-hander Johnny Cueto fans ten batters in an overpowering seven-inning performance when Cincinnati beats the visiting Diamondbacks, 3-2. Using a 96-mph fastball and devastating changeup, the 22 year-old rookie, who started last season pitching in the low minors, strikes out eight of his first 13 Arizona batters he faces.

At Comerica Park in Detroit, the Royals beat the Tigers, 4-1, completing a season-opening three-game sweep. It is the first time that Kansas City had started the year with a sweep on the road since 1977 when the team also won the first three contests of the season in the Motor City.

Twenty minutes before their game, the Dodgers announce reliever Hong-Chih Kuo will start in place of Chad Billingsley, who in turn will be in the bullpen. The unusual move, made due to the threat of rain at the start of the contest, is also employed by the Giants with Merkin Valdez beginning the game on the mound and the announced starter, and eventual winner Tim Lincecum entering the game in the fourth inning.

During a tour of Fenway Park, a three-and-a-half pound red-tailed hawk, known to nest at the historic ballpark, attacks a Memorial Boulevard Middle School student. The 13 year-old eighth grader from Bristol, Connecticut, who is treated for a small scratch on her scalp at a local hospital, has a familiar name to Red Sox fans, Alexa Rodriguez, similar to the much detested third baseman of the Yankees, who also is 13 (uniform number).