Kendrys Morales hits his first homer since breaking his ankle celebrating a walk-off grand slam on May 29, 2010. Morales missed the rest of 2010 and all of 2011 recovering from the injury. His three-run blast off Brandon McCarthy in the 1st comes in support of a strong performance by Jered Weaver, who tosses 6 2/3 scoreless innings and records his 1000th career strikeout in the game. Three relievers succeed Weaver to complete the Angels’ 6 – 0 combined shutout of the Athletics.

The Marlins defeat the Astros, 5 – 4, in 11 innings in a game featuring a couple of milestones in the history of newly-inaugurated Marlins Park. Omar Infante is the first Marlins player to set off the gaudy mechanical flamingoes sculpture in the outfield when he homers off J.A. Happ in the 2nd, and P Anibal Sanchez, sporting a career .087 average with no extra-base hits, hits the first triple in park annals in the 5th. Hanley Ramirez drives in pinch-runner Brett Hayes with a single off David Carpenter to give the Marlins a walk-off win.

Vin Scully is back in the broadcast booth for a record 63rd season after missing a week with a bad cold, as the Dodgers improve their major league-best record to 9-1 with a 5 – 4 win over the Padres. The Dodgers turn a strange triple play in the top of the 9th, when C A.J. Ellis picks up Jesus Guzman’s short bunt with runners on first and second base. Somehow, the Padres think that home plate umpire Dale Scott called the ball foul and do not run, being easy pickings for Ellis, who relays to Juan Uribe at third base to start the triple killing. San Diego manager Bud Black comes out to argue vehemently, but only succeeds in getting himself tossed from the game. In the bottom of the inning, Dee Gordon hits a bases-loaded single off Brad Brach to give Los Angeles the walk-off win.

The Dodgers have the best record in the majors at 8-1 after beating the Padres, 6 – 1. Matt Kemp hits a pair of two-run homers and Andre Ethier also goes deep, in support of Ted Lilly who is a winner in his first start of the year; Joe Wieland is charged with the loss in his major league debut.

The Indians beat the Royals, 11 – 9, in a wild 10-inning game. Benches clear in the 3rd inning after Kansas City’s Jonathan Sanchez plunks Shin-Soo Choo, and again in the bottom of the frame when Jeanmar Gomez hits Mike Moustakas. Gomez is immediately ejected by home plate umpire Gary Darling, as are Indians manager Manny Acta and 3B Jack Hannahan, the first player to join the fray. The Indians then proceed to blow a 9 – 2 lead, with the Royals scrapping runs here and there until Yuniesky Betancourt ties the game with a solo homer off Vinnie Pestano in the 8th. Choo hits a two-run double in the 10th to give Cleveland its margin of victory. For his part, Gomez will receive a five-game suspension for deliberately throwing at Moustakas, and will be fined $500, as Acta and Hannahan will also be.

Josh Thole’s bizarre base running blunder leads to a very odd double play in the second inning of the Mets’ 5-2 victory at Citizens Bank Park. After successfully reaching second base on R.A. Dickey’s sacrifice bunt, the 25 year-old Mets’ catcher shocks everyone, including the Philadelphia defense, by trying to return to first base, where he is tagged out to complete the unusual 3-1-6-4 twin killing.

The Nationals top the Reds, 2 – 1, in 13 innings. Jayson Werth drives in Danny Espinosa with the winner. He becomes the first player to drive in the winner in a 13-inning game on Friday the 13th since 1963. In an odd note, the scorer of the winning run in the 1963 game was none other than Werth’s grandfather, Dick Schofield Sr.

Aaron Harang sets a Dodgers record with 9 consecutive strikeouts after giving up a lead-off single to San Diego’s Cameron Maybin; Will Venable then homers to lead off the 4th. Johnny Podres had struck out 8 consecutive batters on July 2, 1962 for the franchise record and Harang falls one short of Tom Seaver’s all-time record. He finishes with 13 Ks in 6 1/3 innings and leaves with an 8 – 3 lead, but the bullpen then gets to work to sabotage that lead, with the Padres tying the score with 2 runs in the top of the 9th. Andrew Cashner retires the first two Los Angeles batters in the bottom of the 9th, before he walks the bases loaded; Joe Thatcher replaces him and walks Andre Ethier, forcing in the winning run and providing an anticlimactic ending to the game, with the final score 9 – 8.

The Giants’ Matt Cain comes one batter shy of a perfect game in beating the Pirates, 5 – 0, in the team’s home opener. He settles for a one-hitter, with mound rival James McDonald’s 6th-inning single representing the only baserunner.

The Cubs spoil the Cardinals’ home opener and P Adam Wainwright’s return to St. Louis with a 9 – 5 win. After the Cards receive their World Series rings before the game, Ian Stewarthits a three-run homer in the 1st, and Bryan LaHair adds his first career grand slam in the 3rd. Jeff Samardzija is the winner.