Breaking 100: Watching Opening Day

3:46pm: Wow! Howz'bout that Gordon at third!?! What a nice diving stop to get the win. Great win for the boys in blue!

3:38pm: The Royals are up 5-4 in the bottom of the 11th. Hillman will test closer Joakim Soria. Let's get save number one!

3:29pm: YES! TJ gets it done with a shallow looper into left center to score the go ahead run. Now Bautista looks distracted with Pena on first and Gathright at the plate.

3:25pm: After the sac to get Teahen (the Royals best baserunner) to second, a nice hit by Gload, but it got out to Inge in a hurry. Luis Silverio challenged Inge and the play at the plate wasn't that close; even after a hesitation by Inge before he fired the ball home. One more chance with a runner in scoring position for Tony Pena, Jr.


3:19pm: I keep thinking that Leo Nunez can't be that good. Look at how skinny that kid is! But, he keeps getting it done. He pitched a perfect 11th with 2 strike outs. Time for some bats!!!

3:13pm: What a turnaround for Bautista. With German on first, Gordon was ahead 3-0. German stole second, but Gordon struck out looking. Guillen struck out and Butler lined to left, stranding the runner at second. Let's hope it gets to the 11th...

3:06pm: A familiar face. Former Royal Denny Bautista takes the mound and gives up a single to Grudz. Hillman asks Esteban German to run for Grudz with Gordon coming up. This could be an interesting inning, as we'll see if Hillman's Japanese style comes into play here.

3:01pm: Well, why not? Leo Nunez gets through the 9th giving up just a walk to Sheffield, and we will go to extras. If only Tomko hadn't hung that pitch to Guillen...

2:43pm: Damn. I had a bad feeling when I saw Tomko come back out for the 8th. Carlos Guillen just pounded a fastball to tie the game. Tomko came back to get out of the inning, but the Royals offense has more work to do.

2:26pm: I've been uncertain about the Royals bullpen this spring, and it looks like Hillman is uncertain as well, bringing in starter Brett Tomko to pitch the 7th. Tomko was shaky to start, walking Shefflied, but he gets Ordonez to ground into a double play. Whew!

2:18pm: Check out Sam Mellinger's Royals Blog. He's also doing a live blog while watching the Royals. I can't agree more with his comments about the scheduling this year. What was MLB thinking???

2:15pm: Love to see the "other" guys come through. After Teahen's walk, Gload gets the base hit, and then Buck delivers to tie the game. After a couple of outs, Grudz gets the big hit to take the lead. It's nice that somebody other than Gordan (other than his HR), Guillen and Butler can chip in and do their part. Let's go bullpen! Hold this thing down for a 1-0 start!

2:01pm: 1st and 3rd, nobody out, and Verlander's leaving the game. I'm liking how this thing is starting to shape up.

1:55pm: Meche finally gets a 1-2-3 inning, but is up to around 99 pitches after six innings. He's working hard, but keeping the Royals in this game. We'll see if he comes out for the seventh, or if Trey will look for help from the bullpen. 99 seems like a lot for the first game of the season, but Meche showed last year that he can be a work horse pitcher.

1:50pm: Nice inning by the Royals. Grudz gets the base hit, and Gordon shows that maybe he can be that stud we all were hoping for with a blast to right field. The boys are showing some signs of life, down 3-2 heading into the bottom of the 6th.

1:38pm: Wow, what a shot by Miguel Cabrera. A blast against the wind into the bullpen, and the Tigers are up 3-0. The Royals better hope Verlander gets an early hook, or this one might be overa already.

1:30pm: I thought Gil looked good in the early innings but he is really struggling now. He walked in run on a close pitch to Gary Sheffield. He got out of the inning by coaxing a fly ball out of Magglio Ordonez.

Meanwhile, Verlander seems to be cruising through the Royals lineup. The Royals haven't hit anything hard and Butler is the only Royal to get a hit. The Royals are getting frustrated with home plate umpire Tim Welke.

Verlander and Meche both have 5 strike outs (Verlander just got his 6th), but the difference is that Meche has 4 walks.