Jose Bautista, JP Arencibia Lead Blue Jays to Longest Opening Day Win; Roy Halladay Blanks Pirates in 1-0 Victory

Players of the Day for Thursday, April 5, 2012

American League

Bautista: 3-4, HR 2 RBI

Jose Bautista started the 2012 season with a strong message for opposing pitchers as the AL home run leader the past two seasons belted a homer and added a pair of singles and two RBI in four at-bats, helping the Toronto Blue Jays to an opening day, 7-4, 16-inning win at Cleveland.

Arencibia: 3R Homer

The contest was the longest opening day game in MLB history, ended when catcher JP Arencibia got his first hit of the season, a three-run homer that plated teammates Brett Lawrie and Omar Vizquel.

Following the Arencibia blast, Toronto's Luis Perez and Sergio Santos put three Cleveland batters down in order to end the game.

Toronto had scored just one run - on Bautista's homer - before they rallied for three runs in the ninth inning to tie the game. The Indians scored four second-inning runs off starter Ricky Romero but failed to find home plate for the rest of the game as a parade of seven Toronto pitchers held them scoreless for the next 14 innings.


National League

Halladay: 8IP, 2H, 5K

There have been some changes in Philadelphia since the end of last season, but at least one thing has remained the same: Roy Halladay is still one of the most dominant pitchers in the game.

Halladay worked over the Pittsburgh Pirates for eight innings, allowing just two hits while striking out five without issuing a walk and Jonathan Papelbon got his first National League save with a hitless ninth as the visiting Phillies topped the Pirates, 1-0.

The Phillies scratched out their lone run in the seventh inning when Carlos Ruiz got Ty Wiggington home with a sacrifice fly.

Of five National League openers, only the Mets and Reds won at home. The Phillies joined the Dodgers and the Nationals as road victors.