Game Recap

Mike Minor carried the Atlanta Braves to a 4-1 win over the Chicago Cubs on Friday night.  Justin Upton hit another home run, and Evan Gattis had three hits in the victory.

The Cincinnati Reds clobbered the Washington Nationals 15-0 Friday night to take home their third win of the young MLB season.

The Braves started off the 2013 season on the right foot with a 7-5 victory over Philadelphia.

And the atmosphere at Turner Field was electric. 

The offseason acquisitions of B.J. and Justin Upton created a buzz around the Braves, and fans were even more excited when they learned Chipper Jones would be throwing out the first pitch. 

The Detroit Tigers showed the Minnesota Twins and the rest of the American League what they can expect all season with a 4-2 Opening Day victory.

The Tigers got timely hits, manufactured runs, unveiled the closer-by-committee experiment and as expected, got outstanding starting pitching from the ace, Justin Verlander.

A lot of questions confronted the Philadelphia Phillies as they headed into spring training.  Would their aging stars bounce back from long stints on the disabled list and regain their effectiveness?  Would those who had avoided the DL be able to avoid Father Time for one more year?  Would youngsters come up and fill voids left by core players departing?

Thanks to six innings from southpaw Wandy Rodriguez and a home run from Carlos Santana, the Dominicans were able to pull off a 2-0 victory against Puerto Rico in the World Baseball Classic and earn a trip to San Francisco.

The game was destined to be a close one from the get-go. A pitcher's duel was in full swing until the bottom of the fifth inning, when Santana cranked a homer to right field off of Puerto Rico's Orlando Roman.

After barely surviving the opening round of the 2013 World Baseball Classic, the United States is back in action on Tuesday night against Puerto Rico to begin Pool 2 play. The game highlights a three-game schedule for Day 11.

After a disappointing 5-2 loss to Mexico (box score via MLB.com) in its World Baseball Classic opener on Friday night, Team USA needs Brandon Phillips and Giancarlo Stanton to step up in order for the team to advance.

Straight up front, please save your "it's only one game!" remonstrations. Of course it's only one game, and of course it's only the preseason.

Know how you know that preseason results are meaningless? The Philadelphia Eagles went 4-0 in the preseason in 2012. And you know how that turned out.

So, yeah, right, it's ridiculous to take anything away from a preseason game in February (even one against the terrible Houston Astros) where Jimmy Rollins sat and Cole Hamels left after two strong innings. You're right.

Coco Crisp boosted the Oakland A's early on, giving them a lead four pitches into the game. Then, the A's couldn't do anything right on offense.