Called third strike leaves Rays crying foul

Marty Foster blew the call and he knows it now, not that that’s much consolation to the Rays. Instead of ball four, which replays showed it clearly was, Foster called Ben Zobrist out on Joe Nathan’s two-out, 3-2 curveball and the Rangers slipped away with a 5-4 victory Monday night at The Ballpark in Arlington.

Tribe relieved; Santana’s thumb merely bruised

The Indians received good news a few hours after a left thumb injury forced catcher Carlos Santana from Monday’s 11-6 loss to the Yankees: X-rays taken after the game were negative, revealing that he sustained nothing more than a bruise in the ninth inning of Cleveland’s home opener. The slugging catcher is day to day.

Cards honor ‘Stan the Man’ before home opener

On Opening Day at Busch Stadium, there was an absence without Stan Musial, who died in January at 92, in that line. He had been a constant presence on Opening Day in St. Louis for the last 70 years. But while he may not have been at Busch on Monday, he emerged as the centerpiece of the Cardinals’ home opener festivities.