In his first start in nearly 19 months, Johan Santana showed the effects of shoulder surgery, but he also showed the ability to overcome those effects.

With my media credential around my neck and my laptop bag slung across my shoulder, I stepped into Great American Ball Park for my first official game as a reporter.

The Rangers on Thursday unveiled a bronze statue depicting the late Brownwood, Texas, firefighter Shannon Stone and his son, Cooper.

Johnny Cueto earned ace status with his efforts in 2011, and he certainly pitched like one in the Reds' first game of '12.

It doesn't feel like it to Todd Helton, but Friday night will be his 15th straight Opening Day start at first base.

The second longest consecutive saves streak in MLB history is over.

Ian Desmond's RBI single in the ninth inning, the leadoff man's third hit of the day, delivered the winning run as Washington defeated the Cubs, 2-1, on Thursday afternoon at Wrigley Field.

The end result — an Opening Day loss to the Tigers — overshadowed an impressive comeback by the Red Sox on Thursday afternoon.

Robin Ventura's first official lineup was hanging up in the visitor's clubhouse on Thursday, the afternoon before Friday's Opening Day at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington.

If the White Sox have a ninth-inning lead in Friday's 2012 season opener against the Rangers, the pitcher called upon to close out the victory will be … ?

Though the Red Sox rallied for two ninth-inning runs off Jose Valverde for his first blown save since 2010, they couldn't pull ahead. Austin Jackson made them pay with a game-winning single in the bottom of the inning, sending the Tigers to a 3-2 win Thursday afternoon at Comerica Park.

Rangers manager Ron Washington said Mitch Moreland will be out of the lineup on Friday when the Rangers play the White Sox.

The Rangers continue to negotiate a long-term contract extension with second baseman Ian Kinsler. The deadline, as imposed by Kinsler, is on Friday.

The called third strike is, in some ways, an anticlimax unto itself. It delivers no dazzling defensive stop, results in no heroic homer and doesn't even have the satisfying swoosh of nothingness that is a swing and a miss.

Roy Halladay pitched beautifully in Thursday's 1-0 Opening Day victory over the Pirates at PNC Park. He allowed just two hits and struck out five in eight innings, resembling the man many have called the best pitcher in baseball, not the stranger who had a 5.73 ERA in Spring Training.

Johan Santana pitched five scoreless innings Thursday in his first game in 19 months, David Wright drove in a key run, the revamped bullpen held its ground and the Mets scored a 1-0 victory over the Braves at Citi Field.

Just one game in, and the Pirates' lineup Saturday against Cliff Lee and the Phillies could be starkly different.