Opening Day different but special for new 2nd baseman
Mike Moustakas drives in four runs in his first game with Cincinnati.
CINCINNATI — Mike Moustakas went 1-for-6 in exhibition games Tuesday and Wednesday, prompting a reporter to ask him Thursday if he felt he was struggling at the plate.
“I’m putting together good at-bats,” Moustakas said. “I’m hitting the ball hard. It’s baseball, man. The good thing about this is none of those count. As soon as it counts, then we can be a little more concerned.”
It did count Friday as the Cincinnati Reds opened the 2020 season against the Detroit Tigers, and it counted even more than usual. The 7-1 victory for the Reds at Great American Ball Park equaled 2.7 victories in the normal 162-game season.
In his first game as a Red, Moustakas went 3-for-4 with four RBIs, putting him on pace for 240 RBIs, which would be a record in any season. He showed why the Reds paid more for him — $64 million over four years — than any free agent they have signed in their history and proved the practice results meant little.
Moustakas showed up to his postgame Zoom interview with reporters with shaving cream on his sleeveless Reds hoodie. He didn’t get sprayed because of his success. His teammates were celebrating the first big-league hit by Shogo Akiyama, who drove in a run with a pinchhit single in the sixth.
Moustakas and Akiyama were among a number of standouts in the first game of the season. Joey Votto hit his 285th career home run. Starting pitcher Sonny Gray allowed one run on three hits in six innings while striking out nine. Lucas Sims, Nate Jones and Brooks Raley all pitched scoreless innings of relief without allowing a hit.
The Reds won their season opener for the second straight season. It was the latest Opening Day in franchise history. The season was originally scheduled to begin March 26, which would have been the earliest opener in Reds history, but was delayed by the coronavirus pandemic.
The Reds and Tigers played without fans in the stands. At most, there were maybe 150-200 people in the whole stadium, and that number included 60 players and 35 members of the media. Some fans followed the game in the bars and restaurants at The Banks across the street. A few sat in folding chairs next to the front gates at the stadium, soaking up the atmosphere as best they could even though they couldn’t see the live action inside.
There were about 15 groundskeepers sitting spaced out in the stands on the left-field line, and they filled in as best they could for the 40,000-plus fans who would have been at Opening Day in a normal season. Moustakas noticed them after his two-run home run in the seventh.
“They were cheering,” Moustakas said. “I think they were coming out to fix the field up the next inning. That was really cool to see. It was definitely a little different than what we’re used to, but at the end of the day, we’re playing Major League Baseball, and it’s awesome to be back out there competing against other teams and having some fun.”
This was the first regular-season Reds game in 299 days. Their 2019 season ended Sept. 29. They played 17 games in spring training in Arizona before that was shut down on March 12. They played the two exhibition games in the days before the opener.
Now the Reds get 59 more games to compete for their first postseason berth in seven years, and it will be much easier than in years past to reach the playoffs because baseball added three playoff teams in each league. Even considering that, this was an important victory.
“Every win in the big leagues is special,” Moustakas said. “It’s hard to win Major League Baseball games. There’s so much talent in this league. It’s just hard every single day to come out and compete against the best in the world. Every should be celebrated because it’s something that’s incredibly hard to do, especially on Opening Day and especially after not playing baseball for a long time.”