Duda's day: Slugger's two homers carry Mets  —  NEW YORK — Mets manager Terry Collins spent much of Spring Training lauding Lucas Duda, he of prodigious raw power but a noticeable lack of confidence and experience.  What Collins envisioned for his right fielder was something like this.

Joe Girardi and Joe Maddon play game of chess in bizarre Opening Day game between Yankees and Tampa Bay Rays  —  Managers save nothing and neither does Mo Rivera  —  Tampa Bay Rays' Carlos Pena watches the flight of the ball after hitting a grand-slam home run and might as well thank Joe Girardi for loading bases for him.

Rockies get 5-3 opening day win over Astros  —  HOUSTON—Pinch runner Eric Young scored the go-ahead run on an error in the eighth inning and Troy Tulowitzki homered in the ninth to lift the Colorado Rockies to a 5-3 win over the mistake-prone Houston Astros on Friday night.

Colorado Rockies general manager Dan O'Dowd addresses several issues on opening day  —  HOUSTON — The Rockies are going to score runs.  Preventing them?  That's a concern even for the man responsible for piecing together the opening-day roster.  —  “I thought there was a lot of trust …

Magic vs. Kemp?  LA slugger is ready  —  SAN DIEGO — It might have to happen over the dead body of incoming CEO Stan Kasten, what with the injury exclusion clauses in today's contracts.  —  But the mythical one-on-one hoop challenge concocted in the Dodgers clubhouse has been further fueled …

Nieuwenhuis promoted after Torres is put on DL  —  After playing in only one regular-season game, the Mets' new centerfielder is on the disabled list.  —  The Mets announced Friday that Andres Torres was put on the 15-day DL with a strained left calf, an injury suffered in their Opening Day win over Atlanta on Thursday at Citi Field.

Uecker mourns loss of 52-year-old son  —  MILWAUKEE (AP)  —  Hall of Fame broadcaster Bob Uecker's son Steve has died from complications related to San Joaquin Valley fever.  —  The Brewers issued a statement saying Steve Uecker passed away Friday at a hospital in Milwaukee.  He was 52.

Mariners Top A's 7-3 in Stateside Opening Night  —  OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Yoenis Cespedes leaned back, put all his might into one powerful swing and sent a soaring shot over the fence in left-center field and off the second-deck facade.  —  And with that, the Cuban defector finally arrived at his new home.

Royals Shut Down Pujols, but Lose Opener to Angels  —  ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Albert Pujols was little trouble for Bruce Chen and Aaron Crow in the Royals' opener.  —  Nobody in the Kansas City lineup was any trouble at all for Jered Weaver, and that's why the Royals are still starting the season in a hole.

Venable focused on effective baserunning  —  SAN DIEGO — Padres outfielder Will Venable didn't start Thursday against the Dodgers, but he got into the game in the sixth inning when he walked and later stole second base.  —  For as much that was made during Spring Training about Venable's …

Lucchino willing to up payroll  —  Goal is to improve pitching, prospects  —  DETROIT - Red Sox president Larry Lucchino said on Friday the team would be willing to add to the payroll to improve the pitching staff.  —  In an appearance on MLB Network Radio, Lucchino said the team would be over the luxury tax threshold regardless.

Dunn ties record with eighth opening-day homer  —  ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Adam Dunn tied a major league record with his eighth opening-day home run.  —  Dunn led off the sixth inning for the Chicago White Sox when he pulled a ball into the second deck of seats in right field off Texas starter Colby Lewis.