Ten of 15 games ducked under three hours, with an average time of 2:45 chopping 18 minutes off the 2022 nine-inning average. And of the five games that exceeded the three-hour mark, three could certainly cite extenuating circumstances – final scores of 10-9, 11-7 and 10-9. Even still, Phillies-Rangers (11-7, with Aaron Nola and Jacob deGrom dispatched early) checked in at a reasonable 3:04.
We haven’t seen enough – there’s still 161 games left, after all, the weather has not yet warmed, and almost every team’s ace pitched on Thursday. At the same time, we’ve seen enough. It works.
The new collective bargaining agreement has greatly enhanced the chances you’ll see a top prospect debut when they have actually earned an opening day gig. Thursday did not disappoint in that regard.
St. Louis Cardinals rookie Jordan Walker singled sharply up the middle in his first major league at-bat – off Toronto ace Alek Manoah, no less – and later trucked down the line to avoid a double play and drive in the go-ahead run with a seventh-inning fielder’s choice. St. Louis eventually lost to Toronto 10-9.
