The Astros are the last team to record a win in the majors this year. After losing their first eight contests, they defeat the Cardinals, 5 – 1 at Busch Stadium. Pitcher Bud Norris helps his own cause by driving in the game’s first run in the 3rd inning, followed by an RBI double by Jeff Keppinger, who drives in two more in the 8th. It is also Brad Mills’ first win as a major league manager.

The Orioles place closer Mike Gonzalez on the disabled list, retroactive to April 10th, after he struggled to an 0-2 record with an ERA of 18.00 in the season’s first week. Also going on the DL are Angels closer Brian Fuentes, who has a strained back he injured while lifting weights, and Arizona catcher Miguel Montero, who needs to undergo surgery for a torn meniscus in his right knee, injured while attempting to avoid a tag from Pittsburgh’s Zach Duke four days ago. But the biggest blow of all is to the Phillies, who place starting shortstop Jimmy Rollins on the list with a calf injury.

A judge in Dayton, OH waives a 30-day jail sentence which had been given to former minor league pitcher Julio Castillo for throwing a baseball into the stands and injuring a fan during an on-field brawl at a Dayton Dragons game in 2008. While he avoids prison time, Castillo’s prospects in organized baseball are now dim, as his conviction for assault still stands and he is ordered to leave the United States and stay away for three years.

Ricky Romero pitches a gem for the Blue Jays. He allows only one hit to the White Sox, a two-run homer by former teammate Alex Rios with none out in the 8th, in 8 innings of work, while striking out a career-high 12 batters. Kevin Gregg completes the one-hitter with a perfect 9th inning, earning his 3rd save in sealing the 4 – 2 win.

The Pirates pull out a couple of brilliant defensive plays in beating the Giants, 6 – 5. With Pittsburgh leading 3 – 1 and a runner on first base, Aubrey Huff knocks a ball that appears headed past the mound for an infield single. But pitcher Paul Maholm dives to the ground, stops the ball, and in one motion flips it with his glove to 1B Jeff Clement to retire Huff while completing a backwards somersault. Then, in the bottom of the 9th, Garrett Jones, now playing 1B, makes a lunging grab of Pablo Sandoval’s line drive to end the game.

The Yankees receive their 2009 World Series rings in a ceremony before their home opener at New Yankee Stadium. Hideki Matsui, the Series MVP, gets to join his former teammates for the ceremony, as he now plays for todays’ visitors, the Los Angeles Angels. The Yankees bang out 13 hits for a 7 – 5 win. Andy Pettitte picks up the victory with six scoreless innings.

The ‘Bring Back Orbit’ Facebook group is created with the hopes of convincing the Astros to reinstate the mascot, who was replaced with Junction Jack beginning in the 2000 season, coinciding with the team’s move from the Astrodome to Enron Field. The social media effort pays off when the franchise reveals the lovable lime-green outer-space creature with antennae extending into baseballs, after a 12-year absence, will be returning to continue his role in 2013, the team’s first season in the American League.

Two star second basemen go on the disabled list today. The Orioles’ Brian Roberts is the victim of a strained abdominal muscle and will be spelled by Julio Lugo. For their part, the Blue Jays have to do without Aaron Hill, who goes on the DL with an injured hamstring. They lose their home opener to the Chicago White Sox, 8 – 7, in 11 innings, even though Hill’s replacement, John McDonald, turns four double plays. Five homers are hit in the game, including Andruw Jones’s first two in a White Sox uniform.