A look at what’s happening all around baseball today:
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WINTRY MIX
Snow is in the forecast at Coors Field, where the Colorado Rockies host Atlanta in their home opener. There’s also a chance of snow at Yankee Stadium when New York plays Baltimore.
Players and fans alike have been shivering this season, with cold and snow contributing to a plethora of postponements in Detroit, Cincinnati, New York and Kansas City.
“It’s cold,” Red Sox outfielder Mookie Betts said Thursday at Fenway Park, where Boston played its home opener. “You keep trying to play mind tricks, but it’s still 40 degrees. No matter how much you say ‘mind over matter,’ it still matters.”
REST UP
Miguel Cabrera and the Tigers are off, a day after the star slugger jammed his left hip rounding the bag on a single against the White Sox. Cabrera said his hip began to tighten up when he went to play first base. Cabrera tweaked himself in the first inning of a game Detroit won in the 10th. He said he thought the day off would help a lot.
NEW HOSE
Jonathan Lucroy has given Oakland the defensive upgrade it sought since signing him to a $6.5 million, one-year free agent deal in March. The veteran catcher threw out five runners during a four-game series against Texas, including two Thursday, and leads the majors with 182 runners caught since 2010. It’s a boost for the A’s, who allowed 111 stolen bases last season, fourth most in the majors. Lucroy is also hitting .273 heading into the opener of Oakland’s series against the Los Angeles Angels.
STARTING AT ZERO
Pirates righty Trevor Williams pitched six no-hit innings in his first start, overcoming five walks to win at Detroit. He’s back on the mound when Cincinnati visits PNC Park.
BACK FOR MORE
Tim Tebow was a smash in his Double-A debut, hitting a three-run homer on the first pitch he saw Thursday. The New York Mets minor leaguer connected for the Binghamton Rumble Ponies on opening night in the Eastern League. The 30-year-old outfielder and his team once again take on Portland. And what are Rumble Ponies? The nickname comes from an area in upstate New York that bills itself as the “Carousel Capital of the World.” George F. Johnson of Endicott Johnson Shoe Co. fame donated several carousels to the area, and the ponies from a handful of carousels that still remain entertain kids today.
