Major League Baseball’s well-anticipated Opening Day did not disappoint as excitement flourished from game to game.
The first 2014 MLB non-preseason games were held in Australia, where the Dodgers and Diamondbacks matched up for a Dodger’s sweep March 22 and 23. Here in the United States, America’s favorite pastime debuted Sunday night and all day Monday.
The best catch of the season thus far took place in Petco Park, where the Padres rallied to beat the Dodgers in the  eighth inning Sunday night.
The catch, however, was by none other than the Padre’s ball girl herself. A lined foul ball was hit down the first base line and the ball girl leaped out of her seat to make the catch and protect the grateful fans.
Neil Walker of the Pittsburgh Pirates announced his presence with authority as he homered to right field in the bottom of the tenth against the Cubs.  The Buc’s fans left happy with a 1-0 victory to start off their season.
Alex Gonzales of the Detroit Tigers went from zero to hero on Monday as he made up for an error early on in the fourth inning with a walk-off single to earn the Tigers a 4-3 victory against the Kansas City Royals.
In regards to MLB’s new instant replay rule, Greg Gibson was the first umpire to swallow his pride as Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez challenged the play. Gibson overturned his call at first base finding Ryan Braun was out when he originally called safe.
The San Francisco Giants started their season on the road against the Diamondbacks, with Madison Bumgarner starting on the hill.
Buster Posey came through clutch in the top of the ninth, with a homer to left field scoring Brandon Belt and putting the Giants up 9-7.
Miguel Montero answered back late in the bottom half of the inning, hitting a homerun to deep right field. It was not enough to put the Diamondbacks ahead and the Giants finished the night with a 9-8 victory.
On the other side of the bay, the Oakland A’s started off at home taking on the Cleveland Indians. Sonny Gray and Justin Masterson dueled it out on the mound, with both pitchers providing outstanding performances.
The A’s manager, Bob Melvin, turned to the bullpen after six complete innings from Gray and Terry Francona, the Indians skipper sent for a reliever after seven innings from Masterson. It was small-ball tactics that sealed the game for the Tribe in the top of the ninth.
Nyjer Morgan hit a sacrifice fly to center field, scoring Asdrubal Cabrera. Then,  Nick Swisher singled to shortstop scoring David Murphy for the final run of the night.  The final score was 2-0 with the Indians coming out on top.