SOM Diary: last season opener, first standings

Orioles at Yankees

Game 1: BAL 3, NYY 4
In the third inning, both catchers - both batting ninth - hit solo homers. The game continues to be close. With one out in the seventh, CC Sabathia loads the bases with a double and two HP. The second hit batsman (Pearce) even has to leave the game with an injury. However, Boone Logan can bail out Sabathia with two K's and gets some help from Robertson who keeps the Orioles to just one run in the eigth. Mariano Rivera notches his first save of the season with  clean 1-2-3 ninth.

Game 2: BAL 3, NYY 4 - Defense and bullpens decide

Both starters are solid and give up one rub each, both bullpens give up the close lead at some point. Defensive heroics keep it close (Nix with a barehanded play on a ball that deflected off Kuroda, Jones with a catch on the warning track closing in on the wall in left center, the Yankees with two double plays, JJ Hardy with a couple of highlight plays on short).

Mariano shows that he is back with the second save in as many days, albeit giving up a walk and a single on the way.

Game 3: BAL 12, NYY 8 - Down, but not out

Once again, both starters start with a few innings of solid one-run ball, scattering occasional hits and runs but not allowing any big innings. The Orioles don't play spotless defense, though - Davis lets a ball get past him on a botched backhand play for an unearned run.

Bottom of the fourth, Hammel does get into trouble, loading the bases with one out and conceding a total of five runs (incl. a two RBI single from Cano and  three run homer from Ichiro) before Tommy Hunter gets Baltimore out of the inning with a three pitch strikeout to Jayson Nix.

The Orioles' chances don't improve when Markakis is hit by a pitch and injures his ankle. However, they start a rally with a three run homer from Jones and chase Pettite from the game in the sixth. With Mariano unavailable after two straight saves, Robertson tries but fails to bring it home, giving up the tying runs.

With the game in extra innings, both bullpens run out of available relievers. Adam Warren breaks first, giving up four runs in the top of the eleventh after 2.1 solid innings. TJ McFarland gets the win with two scoreless innings after Jim Johnson kept the Orioles in the game with a 1-2-3 ninth.

Although they're basically meaningless, here are the first standings after three games:

AL West
OAK 2-1
SEA 2-1
LAA 1-2
TEX 1-2

AL Central
DET 3-0
KC    2-1
MIN 1-2
CLE 0-3

AL East
NYY 2-1
BOS 2-1
TB    1-2
BAL  1-2