The vibes were immaculate. 26,805 baseball fans came to the Oakland Coliseum to see the Oakland A’s face off against the Los Angeles Angels. Shohei Ohtani started for the Halos, while young prospect Kyle Muller was on the bump for the Athletics. Forget about the new rules in place. Baseball was back.
Both pitchers played well through the first four innings before Muller allowed the game’s first run in the fifth inning. Angels’ catcher Logan O’Hoppe singled on a full count and brought Gio Urshela home from third base. It looked like that would be the game’s only run, until it wasn’t.
The eighth inning came, and Trevor May took over in relief. He allowed one hit but no runs, giving his team a chance to put some runs on the board in the bottom of the eighth.
Time For The A’s To Rally
We don’t know how many great moments the Athletics will have like this. We truly don’t know what the future holds for Oakland. The bottom of the eighth was one of those good moments.
Center fielder Esteury Ruiz already made an impact in this game, robbing Mike Trout of a hit in the first inning.
15% catch probability per Statcast?
— Oakland A's (@Athletics) March 31, 2023
Esteury likes those odds. pic.twitter.com/xHzTNt3T5r
There’s a reason why Oakland is high on their young outfielder. He doesn’t just play great defense. The man showed off his clutch gene by singling off reliever Aaron Loup to start the bottom half of the eighth. Then, Tony Kemp came to the plate.
Esteury Ruiz flying pic.twitter.com/ytmgZ5CLzY
— Karl Buscheck (@KarlBuscheck) March 31, 2023
The game was tied, but the A’s were not done. After Brent Hooker struck out as a pinch hitter, Aledmys Diaz came to the plate with one goal in mind…
ALEDMYS. CLUTCH. pic.twitter.com/DwszR4hrpk
— Oakland A's (@Athletics) March 31, 2023
2-1, Oakland.
Dany Jimenez came in to close the game out for the Athletics in the ninth, and… I’ll let this clip speak for itself.
Bad quality, but the A’s HAVE WON ON OPENING DAY pic.twitter.com/P5c9h0s95R
— Nathan Nguyen (@athleticasian2) March 31, 2023
The A’s rally to win their first Opening Day in two years. A sight to behold, indeed.
Players Of The Game
- Kyle Muller: The young pitcher went five innings, allowing just one run on four hits. He also struck out three. Future ace?
- Shohei Ohtani: Despite the loss, it was not his fault. Ten strikeouts in six innings pitcher is a solid stat line. He also had a hit in this game. See you Saturday at the plate!
- Tony Kemp: The fan-favorite drove in Ruiz to tie the game and scored the game-winning run. This is someone Oakland should not trade at the deadline. The clubhouse needs more people like Kemp.
Up Next
After the A’s rally to win their first Opening Day in two years, they will send Shintaro Fujinami to the bump and face off against Patrick Sandoval and the Angels on Saturday.
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