Eric Thames, back from starring in the Korea Baseball Organization, ties a team record by homering in his fifth straight game as the Brewers defeat the Cubs, 6 – 3. Thames hit 124 long balls over his three seasons in Korea and now has 7 in 14 games this season.

Seemingly back from whatever injury ailed him last year, Bryce Harper hits a pair of homers, including a walk-off blast in the 9th, to lead the Nationals to a 6 – 4 win over the Phillies. His three-run drive with two outs off Joaquin Benoit gives him 5 RBIs on the day.

Two weeks into the major league season, a pitcher finally records a complete game win as the Twins’ Ervin Santana tosses a one-hit shutout at the White Sox. The only two complete games before that this year had been of the eight-inning variety, and both had resulted in losses.

Hank Aaron, who also did the traditional toss for the Braves in the first and last contests at Turner Field, throws the ceremonial first pitch, with former long-time team manager Bobby Cox serving as the catcher, prior to the inaugural game at SunTrust Park. Atlanta’s center fielder Ender Inciarte records the first out, first hit, first run, and first home run in the team’s 5-2 victory over the Padres at the new ballpark.

The first time in baseball history that a team starts three fly-chasers with the same surname in the same game occurs when left fielder Willy Garcia, center fielder Leury Garcia, and right fielder Avisail Garciaare appear in the Twins’ lineup at Target Field. In the 1960’s, the three Alou brothers, Felipe, Jesus, and Matty, patrolled the same outfield on three occasions, but the trio of siblings never started the contest at the same time.

The White Sox start an outfield composed of three players named Garcia: Avisail in right, Leury in center and Willy, making his major league debut, in left. The three are unrelated and it marks the first time a major league team has three outfielders with the same last name in its starting line-up, a quirk caused by Melky Cabrera going on paternity leave before the game. However, it’s P Dylan Covey, also making his debut, who steals the show, with one run allowed in 5 1/3 innings as the Sox defeat the Twins, 2 – 1.

The Braves open their new ballpark, SunTrust Park, with a 5 – 2 win over the Padres before a sellout crowd of 41,149. Ender Inciarte has the first hit and scores the first run in the 1st inning, and hits the first homer at the new park in the 6th. The Braves’ centerfielder already has three homers this year, matching his output for all of 2016.

In the longest game yet played at Marlins Park, the Mets defeat Miami, 9 – 8, on a homer by Travis d’Arnaud in the 16th inning. Mets starter Robert Gsellman gives up 8 runs in 4 2/3 innings, but seven relievers combine to pitch 10 1/3 scoreless innings. Yoenis Cespedes hits a pair of homers, while d’Arnaud has four hits, including a bases-loaded triple and his game-winning homer off Adam Conley, who had been scheduled to start the next day. For the Marlins, Marcell Ozuna hits a grand slam in the 1st

2017 – Yoenis Cespedes hits three home runs to lead the Mets to a 14 – 4 win over the Phillies. He is the first player in team history with two three-homer games. His effort is part of a seven-homer night as Lucas Duda goes deep twice, and Asdrubal Cabrera and Travis d’Arnaud hit one out each.

Wil Myers becomes the first player to hit for the cycle this year, doing so in the Padres’ 5 – 3 win over the Rockies. He is only the second player in team history to pull off the feat following Matt Kemp in 2015.