 to begin the 10th, and Stewart homered to right field on an 0-2 pitch.Victor Alcantara (1-0) pitched one inning for the win and Shane Greene finished for his first save as Detroit won its opener for the seventh time in eight seasons.Playing their first game under rookie manager Charlie Montoyo, the Blue Jays lost their eighth consecutive home opener - tying the third-longest streak in baseball history. Pittsburgh dropped eight straight from 1994-2001, and the Washington Senators did it from 1963-70.The Brooklyn Dodgers lost a major league-worst 11 straight home openers from 1903-13, and Oakland lost 10 in a row from 2005-14.Blue Jays right-hander Marcus Stroman walked Harrison, the first batter of the game, on four pitches but didn't allow a hit until a two-out single by Nicholas Castellanos in the sixth. Stroman yielded two hits and walked four in seven scoreless innings.Playing for the first time since June 2018 after missing most of last season because of a biceps injury, Tigers slugger Miguel Cabrera was hitless in four at-bats. He struck out once and grounded into a double play.YESTERYEARZimmermann pitched a no-hitter against Miami on Sept. 28, 2014, the first in Nationals history. Outfielder Steven Souza Jr. made a dramatic, diving catch for the final out, retiring Christian Yelich. Souza, who had just entered the game as a defensive replacement, used his bare hand to squeeze the ball in his mitt as he fell.Feller threw his opening day no-hitter against the Chicago White Sox on April 16, 1940. The Indians won 1-0.TRAINER'S ROOMTigers: OF JaCoby Jones (strained left shoulder) is expected to miss at least the first two weeks of the season. ... RHP Drew Verhagen (right shoulder) is on the 10-day injured list.Blue Jays: Toronto recalled 1B Rowdy Tellez from Triple-A to take the place of DH Kendrys Morales, who was traded to Oakland on Wednesday. ... Several Blue Jays began the season on the 10-day injured list, including LHP Ryan Borucki (left elbow), RHP Ryan Tepera (right elbow), RHP Clay Buchholz (right flexor strain), RHP David Phelps (elbow surgery) and OF Jonathan Davis (right ankle). OF Dalton Pompey is on the seven-day concussion list. RHP Bud Norris (right forearm) was not healthy in time for opening day. ... The Blue Jays selected the contract of RHP Javy Guerra from the minors.UP NEXTTigers: LHP Matthew Boyd went 1-1 with a 5.00 ERA in five spring training starts, striking out 20 batters in 18 innings.Blue Jays: RHP Matt Shoemaker makes his first start with Toronto after signing as a free agent. He had no record and a 5.00 ERA in five spring outings.---More MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/-Sports)
Expectations low as Blue Jays, Tigers clash When the Detroit Tigers and the Toronto Blue Jays play each other these days, it is easy to long for what used to be.The Tigers and the Blue Jays had one of the better rivalries in baseball in the 1980s when they battled it out in the American League East.The Blue Jays are still in the East while the Tigers have long been in the AL Central. They don't see each other as much as they used to.When the Tigers visit the Blue Jays on Thursday for Opening Day, neither team can be expected to do much this season to erase the fond memories of the past.The Tigers were 64-98 last season and the Blue Jays were 73-89.Jordan Zimmermann will pitch the opener for the Tigers and fellow right-hander Marcus Stroman will start for the Blue Jays.Zimmermann added a curveball and changeup to his repertoire after having core muscle surgery following last season. He was 7-8 with a 4.52 ERA in 25 starts last season."This is pretty much where I expected to be if I had a healthy spring," said Zimmermann, who also pitched the opener last season. "The body feels real good going into the regular season. I am ready, ready to go play some meaningful games." Zimmermann is 2-1 with a 3.20 ERA in four career starts against Toronto. He won his only start against the Blue Jays last season, allowing five hits, one run, no walks and striking out six in seven innings.Miguel Cabrera has shown in spring training that he can still be a force for Detroit as he approaches his 36th birthday with four impressive home runs this spring. His season was curtailed last year because of a biceps injury."He's feeling really good, starting to see it really good," Gardenhire said. "That tells you where he's at." Said Cabrera: "I feel good. I feel healthy. And I want to feel that in the season." Stroman, who was hampered by shoulder and blister issues last season, will be the Opening Day starter for the second time in his career."I think it just feeds into my personality, and who I am as a person," Stroman said. "The greater the stage, the bigger the lights, the more I feel I'm really able to lock it in. Something I feel I've always had since I was a young age." Stroman, who was the 2016 Opening Day starter, said his shoulder "feels great." "I haven't felt like this since 2017," he said. "Last year was a battle, so just to be able to go out there knowing that I have my entire arsenal and repertoire in the tank, it's going to be a fun year." Stroman was 4-9 with a 5.54 ERA in 19 starts last season and 13-9, 3.09 in 33 starts in 2017.The Blue Jays are in admitted rebuilding process. They have not made the postseason since 2016 when they reached the AL Championship Series for the second straight year.Part of the rebuilding involves going with a rookie catcher in Danny Jansen after Russell Martin was sent to the Los Angeles Dodgers. Luke Maile returns as the other catcher.Stroman likes what he has seen from Jansen."He's had a great mix with me so far," Stroman said. "I'm a guy that wants to get to all six of my pitches, so I told him we have to get in sync and get our repertoire going, but like I said, he wants to learn and go into games with a great game plan." Stroman is 1-1 with a 2.86 ERA in three career starts against the Tigers. He won his only start last season when he allowed four hits, two runs (one earned), no walks and struck out four in seven innings.--Field Level Media
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