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Opening Day 2018 featured a theme as akin to 2017’s prevailing storyline: home runs, dingers, taters, longballs, slamma lamma ding dongs. Unlike a home run in the middle of Rays vs. Tigers in June, these homers had meaning. (Sorry, Rays and Tigers fans.) So here are a few of today’s righteous dingers and epic moonshots in an Opening Day that was full of more explosions than a Michael Bay movie with an unlimited budget....

In Monday's loss, the Braves struck out only seven times, but also had just five hits and were 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position. So when looking at today's matchup between Alex Wood and Kyle Lohse, there isn't as much excitement as there was for this game a week ago when we identified Wood as a pitcher to take a shot on in April because of an outstanding spring. Wood went 2-0 in five spring starts, allowing only 17 hits and one earned run in 20 innings of work....

Check The Linemakers on Sporting News’ odds page for current baseball lines from Las Vegas. AccuScore Best Bet No.1: Minnesota Twins +118 (vs Pittsburgh Pirates) Ervin Santana (2-0, 2.60 ERA) vs Francisco Liriano (6-6, 2.91 ERA) The teams played a hugely entertaining game last night, with the Pirates taking a four-run lead in the 8th only to see the Twins tie it up right after. Eventually the Bucs managed to score the decider in the last inning on Jung Ho Kang’s solo homerun....

New York Yankees -101 (@ Toronto Blue Jays) Mark Buehrle vs CC Sabathia The game between the Yankees and the Jays is deemed an all even affair, with Toronto having just a slight edge. As usual, we disagree with the assessment, although do agree on the fact that it will be a close game. AccuScore’s supercomputer puts the Yankees on top at 54.2 percent out of 10,000 game simulations, which would indicate odds of -118....

Bryce Harper changed the narrative Saturday night. MORE: Three takeaways from Nationals’ Game 2 win With his game-tying, eighth-inning blast into the second deck at Nationals Park, Harper provided — at least temporarily — a loud record scratch in what to that point sounded like the same ol’ song for a team that tends to hit all the wrong notes when it plays baseball in October. In sparking a five-run rally that propelled the Nationals to a 6-3 win over the Cubs to tie the NLDS at a game apiece, Harper provided a salvo that may have changed the course of the series....

Now, with some playoff pressure on their resumes, the postseason first-timers will look to build on their experience and help the team advance to the World Series when LA starts the NLCS against the Cubs on Saturday. FAGAN: It’s time for the Cubs to bench Jason Heyward The six Dodgers postseason first-timers are a diverse group. There’s 22-year-old Cody Bellinger, fresh off of what will likely be a Rookie of the Year season, who came up with a couple of key hits in Game 3....

Alas, it was not to be. MORE: Baseball’s most disappointing players in 2016 The Orioles won easily, and the Tigers were shut out. The Giants crushed the Dodgers to elminate the Cardinals. What is the MLB playoff bracket? Other games Sunday that affected the postseason picture: — The Red Sox lost to the Blue Jays, giving Toronto home-field advantage in Tuesday’s wild-card game. And an Indians win gave them the home-field against Boston in the ALDS....

Tuesday’s American League wild-card matchup between the Orioles and Blue Jays featured two of the most home run-happy teams in baseball, but the outcome was decided by the bullpens after starters Chris Tillman and Marcus Stroman left the mound. Edwin Encarnacion delivered a long three-run homer off Ubaldo Jimenez in the bottom of the 11th to give the Jays a 5-2 win . MORE: The 50 best players in this year’s playoffs...

Much of the roster won’t surprise the casual baseball fan, but manager Aaron Boone did have to make some tough calls for the 25-man group. Questions swirled around first baseman Luke Voit and his roster chances late in the season as he endured a 1-for-31 slump to end the year. However, his production throughout the year (21 home runs, 62 RBIs in 118 games) was enough to push Mike Ford off the roster despite a strong finish (11 home runs, 23 RBIs in August and September)....

Those games determined the full NLDS and ALDS brackets and set the stage for the rest of October. MLB POSTSEASON PICKS:SN’s experts make their pennant, World Series predictions MLB playoffs bracket 2019 MLB playoffs schedule 2019 Wild card results Division Series dates, times, results A = Involves club with best record; B = Does not involve club with best record NLDS ALDS League Championship Series schedule NLCS ALCS World Series schedule

With the new campaign comes the intrigue over how it will turn out. Not many expected the Braves to win their fourth World Series title at the beginning of the 2021 season. Now in the new year, they’ll have a target on their backs as several teams loaded up this offseason with the goal of avoiding a repeat champion. But just who will it be that claims the Commissioner’s Trophy at the end of the year?...

Free agency has been just as quiet, with catcher John Buck the only player to find a new team on a major league contract as he signed with the Seattle Mariners. Technically, the New York Yankees also signed second baseman Brian Roberts and left-handed reliever Matt Thornton, but those were simply formalizations of deals that were made in December. Take your pick of the next-biggest move — Jeff Francoeur (Indians), Ramon Hernandez (Royals), Nyjer Morgan (Indians), Guillermo Mota (Royals), Mark Mulder (Angels), Brad Penny (Royals), Mark Reynolds (Brewers), and Delmon Young (Orioles) all have signed minor-league deals....

“I’ve been a guy that’s always been a believer of keeping the game the way it is and not doing the extremes,” Riley told me during All-Star week in Los Angeles. FAGAN: Why is MLB obsessed with gifting second base to runners? That said, Riley has found himself in “basically right field” for certain hitters, and has fielded his share of hard-hit balls there that became outs instead of hits solely because of good positioning....

Yankees second baseman Robinson Cano, Detroit third baseman Miguel Cabrera and Minnesota catcher Joe Mauer each were selected for the fifth time. SN awards: Cabrera POY | AL Rookie | NL Rookie | Managers | Comeback players Silver Slugger awards are given to the top offensive player at each position in the American and National Leagues. They were handed out Wednesday night on the MLB Network. Nine of the 18 recipients were first-time winners with major league home run and RBI leader Chris Davis of Baltimore taking home a bat-shaped trophy as the best AL first baseman....

Ozuna was arrested Saturday in Sandy Springs, Ga., an Atlanta suburb. He was booked into Fulton County Jail and charged with aggravated assault by strangulation and battery, according to jail records and a press release by the Sandy Springs Police Department. The aggravated assault charge is a felony; the battery charge is a misdemeanor and is listed in jail records as a first offense. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that Ozuna was being held without bond....

There aren’t any future superstars in this year’s crop of second base prospects but there are a few guys who should open the season in the majors with a handful of others who could make an impact beginning around mid-season. DOMINATE YOUR DRAFT: Ultimate 2019 cheat sheet MLB Top Prospects: 2B The Rays’ Brandon Lowe may not play much 2B this year in Tampa but he can certainly hit, and his positional versatility (2B, 1B, OF) should allow him to see regular playing time....

Dealin’ Dave continued his trading ways Monday, acquiring second baseman Ian Kinsler from the Angels in exchange for a few minor leaguers. Here’s how the trade worked out for both sides. MORE: Follow the MLB trade deadline with SN’s comprehensive tracker Red Sox: B This move makes sense and doesn’t at the same time. The Red Sox couldn’t afford to keep going without help at second base with Dustin Pedroia (knee) looking more and more likely to miss the remainder of the season....

New York picked up the big bat from Seattle for right-handed pitcher Juan Then and cash considerations. And according to USA Today, the Mariners will eat $30 million of Encarnacion’s contract in the deal. He is under contract with Seattle through 2020 after signing a three-year, $60 million deal. Encarnacion leads the American League with 21 home runs. This is the second big deal the Yankees have pulled off with the Mariners in 2019 as Seattle traded starting pitcher James Paxton to New York this offseason....