MLB's opening day: Bearded era begins with a win for the Yankees; Ohtani goes deep for the Dodgers

The New York Yankees showed they can still win with a little scruff on their chins while Baltimore's Tyler O'Neill might be the best player on Earth during the first game of the season.

And to no one's surprise, Japanese star Shohei Ohtani delivered more big hits for the defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers as Major League Baseball celebrated its domestic opening day with 14 games on Thursday.

New York's Carlos Rodón — sporting a well-kept short beard — gave up just one run over 5 1/3 innings while striking out seven, leading the Yankees to a 4-2 win over the Milwaukee Brewers. In February, the Yankees announced that they were ending their 49-year ban on beards.

O'Neill went deep for a sixth straight opening day to extend his own record, connecting for a three-run homer in the Orioles' 12-2 win over the Toronto Blue Jays. He finished 3 for 3 with two walks and three runs scored.

Even more special, the Canadian was able to play in his home country for the first time on opening day.

Ohtani hit a solo homer and scored twice for the Dodgers, who improved to 3-0 this season with a 5-4 win over the Detroit Tigers. The Dodgers beat the Cubs twice in Tokyo to open the season on March 18 and 19.

Here are a few more highlights from the first day of the six-month MLB season:

Austin Wells became the first catcher to hit a leadoff homer on opening day, sparking the Yankees to their win over the Brewers.

It was a good day in New York after a rough spring in Florida.

The Yankees were hit hard with injuries during Grapefruit League play, losing ace Gerrit Cole for the season after learning he needed Tommy John surgery. Slugger Giancarlo Stanton (sore elbows), reigning AL Rookie of the Year pitcher Luis Gil (lat strain), right-hander Clarke Schmidt (shoulder fatigue) and infielder DJ LeMahieu (left calf strain) also start the season on the injured list.

None of that mattered against the Brewers. New closer Devin Williams — an All-Star acquired from the Brewers in a December trade — worked out of a bases-loaded, no-out jam to seal the win.

O'Neill's record-extending homer was just one facet of Baltimore's potent offense. The Orioles went deep six times in their lopsided win over the Blue Jays, including two homers for both catcher Adley Rutschman and center fielder Cedric Mullins.

Rutschman's power display is a good indicator that he's ready to bounce back from a slightly disappointing 2024 season when he hit .250 with 19 homers. The two-time All-Star and former No. 1 overall pick finished with three hits.

The Chicago White Sox took advantage of a much-needed fresh start, beating the Los Angeles Angels 8-1.

The White Sox were coming off a 41-121 record last season, which set the post-1900 major league record for losses in a season. Chicago's still expected to be in rebuilding mode this summer, but at least for one day, the White Sox looked like an improved bunch.

Sean Burke threw six scoreless innings, Andrew Benintendi, Lenyn Sosa and Austin Slater all hit homers and Will Venable won his MLB managerial debut.

For the Angels, it was their 11th opening day loss in 12 years.

Nolan Arenado is still in St. Louis and still a very good baseball player.

Arenado hit a solo homer in the Cardinals' 5-3 win over the Minnesota Twins, saluting the home crowd with a curtain call.

The Cardinals tried to trade the eight-time All-Star third baseman during the offseason, but nothing worked out, so the 33-year-old is back at Busch Stadium's hot corner — at least for the time being.

There's no way the Los Angeles Dodgers go 162-0 this season, right?

Right?

Well, they're 159 wins away after beating the Tigers on Thursday. The big-budget Dodgers have delivered so far in the early season, looking every bit the favorite to win back-to-back World Series titles for the first time since the Yankees won three straight from 1998 to 2000.

Ohtani hit his second homer of the season, going deep in the seventh. Teoscar Hernández hit a three-run homer and two-time Cy Young award winner Blake Snell pitched well in his Dodgers debut, giving up two runs over five innings after signing a $182 million, five-year deal during the offseason.

Miami's Sandy Alcántara gave up two runs over 4 2/3 innings in a 5-4 win against the Pirates in a solid return after missing the entire 2024 season after Tommy John surgery. Alcántara was the 2022 NL Cy Young award winner. Pittsburgh's Paul Skenes, who won the NL Rookie of the Year award last season, countered by giving up two runs over 5 1/3 innings. ... Fernando Tatis Jr. had three hits and Manny Machado added two doubles as the Padres beat the Braves 7-4. ... Wilmer Flores hit a three-run homer with two outs in the ninth inning, and the San Francisco Giants rallied for a 6-4 victory over Cincinnati, spoiling Terry Francona’s debut as Reds manager. ... New Mets star Juan Soto struck out with two on base in the ninth to end New York's 3-1 loss to Houston. Soto signed a record $765 million, 15-year deal during the offseason. ... Washington's MacKenzie Gore struck out a career high 13 batters against Philadelphia, but the Phillies rallied for a 7-3 win. Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwarber went deep for the Phillies. ... Boston's Wilyer Abreu dedicated a two-homer game to his newborn twin boys. Abreu went deep twice in Boston’s season-opening 5-2 win at Texas, including a tiebreaking three-run shot in the ninth. ... Catcher Miguel Amaya had two doubles and five RBIs to lead the Cubs past the Diamondbacks 10-6.

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

St. Louis Cardinals' Nolan Arenado (28) hits a solo home run during the eighth inning of a baseball game against the Minnesota Twins, Thursday, March 27, 2025, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Michael Thomas)

Baltimore Orioles' Tyler O'Neill (9) celebrates with teammates a after hitting three-run home run during third inning MLB baseball action against the Toronto Blue Jays, in Toronto on Thursday, March 27, 2025. (Christopher Katsarov/The Canadian Press via AP)

New York Yankees pitcher Carlos Rodón throws during the first inning of an opening-day baseball game against the Milwaukee Brewers at Yankee Stadium, Thursday, March 27, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Los Angeles Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani, top, celebrates with Miguel Rojas after hitting a solo home run during the seventh inning of a home-opening baseball game against the Detroit Tigers, Thursday, March 27, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

ROME (AP) — For AC Milan, it could be the only way to qualify for Europe.

For Inter Milan, it’s the least important of the three competitions that the Nerazzurri are still competing in this season.

The rival clubs are in completely opposite forms entering the first leg of their Italian Cup semifinal on Wednesday.

Milan was virtually eliminated from contesting for the Champions League spots with a 2-1 loss at Napoli in Serie A on Sunday that left the Rossoneri in ninth place — nine points behind fourth-place Bologna, which faces Empoli in the other semifinal on Tuesday.

Winning the Italian Cup guarantees a Europa League spot.

“It’s very frustrating, because we didn’t deserve this defeat,” Milan coach Sergio Conceicao said, referring to how Milan nearly equalized with some late fight at Napoli. “We want to change the outlook and on Wednesday we have the chance to do so.”

It will be the fourth derby of the season after Milan won the first two, followed by a draw.

Milan’s 2-1 win in Serie A in September served as a wakeup call for defending champion Inter, which now leads the Italian league. Then in January Milan came back from two goals down for a 3-2 win over Inter in the Italian Super Cup final in Saudi Arabia. The most recent meeting was a 1-1 draw in Serie A last month.

Milan hasn't won much else of importance this season, having been eliminated from the Champions League playoffs by Feyenoord last month.

Inter visits Bayern Munich in the Champions League quarterfinals next week and coach Simone Inzaghi recently raised the prospect of a treble like the one that Inter achieved under Jose Mourinho in 2010.

Although now he’s going one step further, adding the Club World Cup starting in June in the United States as another season goal.

“It’s more accurate to say four,” Inzaghi said of the possible number of titles that Inter can win.

Inter held on to its Serie A lead with a 2-1 win over Udinese on Sunday despite missing injured striker Lautaro Martinez, who picked up a knock with Argentina during the international break.

Lautaro will likely be unavailable again, although key defender Alessandro Bastoni could return from injury and link up again with Federico Dimarco on the right flank. Dimarco set up both of Inter’s goals against Udinese.

Milan will likely have Rafael Leao back in the starting lineup after the Portugal winger came off the bench against Napoli.

But Milan will still be without midfielder Ruben Loftus-Cheek, who underwent an appendectomy on Sunday.

Bologna has won five straight matches in Serie A and is on course to qualify for the Champions League for a second consecutive season.

Empoli eliminated Juventus in a penalty shootout in the quarterfinals.

Bologna's only two Italian Cup titles came in 1970 and 1974, while Empoli has never won anything better than its three Serie B titles.

The Italian league will test in-stadium announcements explaining VAR decisions during the Italian Cup matches.

It will be the first time such a system is used in Italian soccer although it has already been trialed in England and Germany.

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

Inter Milan's head coach Simone Inzaghi argues with a referee as he received a red card during a Serie A soccer match between Inter Milan and Udinese at the San Siro stadium in Milan, Italy, Sunday, March 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

Inter players thank the fans after a Serie A soccer match between Inter Milan and Udinese at the San Siro stadium in Milan, Italy, Sunday, March 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)