Winners and Losers From 2025 MLB Opening Day Results

It was Opening Day of the 2025 MLB season on Thursday, and now it's over. The actual winners and losers of each game are only part of the story.

As always, there's also the other people, events and what-have-yous taking Ws and Ls.

For one example, there's a certain Baltimore Oriole who made Thursday his sixth straight Opening Day with a home run. For another, there's the Cincinnati Reds and Athletics watching easy wins turn into a hard losses by way of bullpen malfunctions.

In any case, read on for takes on all 14 games from MLB's Opening Day slate.

Milwaukee Brewers 2, New York Yankees 4

Baltimore Orioles 12, Toronto Blue Jays 2

Los Angeles Angels 1, Chicago White Sox 8

Boston Red Sox 5, Texas Rangers 2

San Francisco Giants 6, Cincinnati Reds 4

Cleveland Guardians 7, Kansas City Royals 4 (10)

New York Mets 1, Houston Astros 3

Atlanta Braves 4, San Diego Padres 7

Pittsburgh Pirates 4, Miami Marlins 5

Philadelphia Phillies 7, Washington Nationals 3 (10)

Minnesota Twins 3, St. Louis Cardinals 5

Detroit Tigers 4, Los Angeles Dodgers 5

Athletics 2, Seattle Mariners 4

Chicago Cubs 10, Arizona Diamondbacks 6

Winners: Austin Wells and Carlos Rodón Came Through

Wells as a leadoff man? Isn't he a catcher? And Rodón as the Opening Day starter? Isn't he less expensive and not as good as Max Fried?

These were fair gripes to make about how the Yankees chose to approach Opening Day, but the joke's on the gripers now. Wells led off with the first home run of Opening Day, and Rodón earned the W with 5.1 one-run innings.

The one scare Rodón got came when he fell trying to cover first base on a play where the Yankees didn't even get an out. Though, to be fair, the whole sequence was just as big a scare for the Yankee faithful after what happened last October.

Loser: A Platinum Sombrero for Jackson Chourio

Based on how he hit during spring training, it was perfectly fair to expect Chourio to go all the way off on Opening Day. He hit (and we swear these are real numbers) .469 with a homer and nine doubles.

Instead, he went 0-for-5 with five strikeouts. That's not just any sombrero. That's a platinum sombrero.

Don't worry, Brewers fans. The 21-year-old is still going to be a star. But as they're fond of saying in the Bronx, "You can't predict baseball, Suzyn.

Winner: The O's Couldn't Stop Setting Home Run Records

This one was a rout that started early, with Adley Rutschman notching the first of what would eventually be six home runs for the Orioles with a solo shot in the first.

Six home runs on Opening Day? That's a new club record that happens to delightfully mirror the individual record that Tyler O'Neill achieved with his three-run homer in the third inning.

With that homer, O'Neill has now gone yard on Opening Day in six straight seasons. He is a machine, which one supposes is only appropriate for a dude who's built like a Terminator.

Loser: Let's Just Say It Was a Bad Day for the Blue Jays

As if getting utterly pantsed at home by a division rival on Opening Day wasn't bad enough, the Blue Jays' worst news of the day might have become before the game.

Per ESPN's Buster Olney, the Blue Jays made a last-ditch effort to sign Vladimir Guerrero Jr., only for there to still be "a gap" between the two sides.

In other words, Toronto is now off to a 0-1 start in what may be its last season with Guerrero before the slugging first baseman becomes a free agent.

Winner: Take a Bow, Sean Burke

It's not often that a team tabs a rookie to start on Opening Day, much less one with as little clout as Burke. Per MLB Pipeline, he's only Chicago's No. 13 prospect.

He twirled a good one, however, racking up six scoreless innings on three hits and no walks. He struck out three.

And with that, he has the White Sox 1/41th of the way to tying their win total from last year.

Loser: The Angels Got an Early Scare on Mike Trout's Health

Losing to the White Sox? Well, that's just no way to begin a season.

Yet even before the Pale Hose ran the score up to 8-1 and won in a rout, the Angels must have had their hearts skip a beat when Trout took a fastball off his left hand in the first inning:

Trout was fine, but...yeesh. After playing in only 266 games over the last four seasons because of injuries—including a chunk of time lost to a HBP in 2023—the last thing the three-time AL MVP needed on Opening Day was another health scare.

Winner: Have Yourself a Day, Wilyer Abreu

The Red Sox's offense didn't have a particularly good day on Thursday. It managed only six hits and suffered nine strikeouts at the hands of Nathan Eovaldi.

But Abreu, at least, was not deterred. He hit a game-tying solo homer in the fifth inning and then a three-run shot for the lead in the ninth.

Not bad for a guy who was sidetracked in spring training by an illness that cost him a few pounds. It's also a reminder of the depth of this Boston offense, as a Gold Glove right fielder with an above-average stick was only their No. 7 hitter on Thursday.

Loser: A Little Shine Came off Garrett Crochet

Perhaps the Rangers should be in focus here, but it's worth remembering just how utterly dominant Crochet looked in spring training.

All told, the 2024 All-Star faced 66 batters and fanned 30 of them. He also allowed one earned run in 15.2 innings, seemingly foretelling an end-to-end run of dominance once the season began.

Instead, he pitched five good but not great innings on Opening Day, allowing two runs on five hits and two walks with only four strikeouts.

Winner: The Giants Had to Earn This One

After Willy Adames struck out swinging to open the ninth inning, the Giants had two outs left and a nine percent chance of winning a game the Reds led 3-2.

So, they got to work, manufacturing the game-tying run to set the stage for Wilmer Flores to put the game away with a go-ahead three-run homer.

Thus the Giants won a game they probably should have lost, and not strictly because they were losing so late. They also got Hunter Greene at his best, with the Reds ace fanning eight batters in five dazzling innings.

Loser: The Reds Don't Have a Closer, Huh?

Terry Francona is a future Hall of Fame manager, but even skippers of that sort need arms they can rely on in the late innings.

To this end, Alexis Díaz wasn't particularly good in 2024 and he began this year on the injured list. Thus did Francona have to turn to Ian Gibaut, who fooled nobody in that fateful ninth inning.

If there's a silver lining here, it's that Nick Krall should already have one item on his shopping list for the trade deadline.

Winner: Kyle Manzardo Is Here to Help

When the Guardians traded Josh Naylor over the winter, they willingly parted with 31 home runs and 108 runs batted in from last year's offense.

That's a lot of production to replace, but Manzardo is on it. He was the man in the middle for the Guardians on Thursday, providing go-ahead hits with a two-run homer in the sixth and a two-run double in the 10th.

Though far from a household name, Manzardo is the kind of guy the Guardians would dig up for immediate relief. He was formerly a solid prospect who hit well in the minors, including a .946 OPS and 20 homers at Triple-A last year.

Loser: The Royals Bullpen Remains an Issue

The Royals basically had half of a great pitching staff last year, as they thrived on their rotation while basically tolerating a bullpen that hindered their win probability.

It's a new year, but not much has changed.

Though the Royals did get good work from Lucas Erceg, Hunter Harvey and Carlos Estévez, four of the seven runs they gave up on Thursday were ultimately charged to the pen. That includes three to Sam Long, who took the L.

Winner: Yup, the Astros Are Still Good at Run Prevention

The Mets have one of the deepest offenses in baseball, so drawing them right out of the gate amounted to a tough Opening Day assignment for the Astros.

Or was it? They certainly made shutting the Mets down look easy, with Framber Valdez taking the lead with seven one-run innings before Bryan Abreu and Josh Hader nailed the door shut in the eighth and ninth.

Just as a reminder, the Astros have been a mainstay near the top of the American League leaderboard for ERA over the last decade. It seems relevant now.

Loser: A Mixed Bag for Mets Newcomers

If it's a highlight Mets fans want, well, Juan Soto singled in his first official at-bat as a $765 million member of the Mets.

That was fun while it lasted, but it was Soto's lone hit of the day and he ended up making the final out when Hader fanned him as the tying run in the ninth inning.

It was otherwise a hit-or-miss debut for Clay Holmes, who pitched 4.2 innings and gave up three runs on five hits and four walks. As good as he looked in spring training, it turns out that starting pitching isn't so easy.

Winner: Is Jackson Merrill Good at This, or What?

In virtually any other year, Merrill would have won the NL Rookie of the Year in 2024. He just had the misfortune of going up against Paul Skenes, who was simply too good at making history.

But if Opening Day confirmed anything, it's just how ridiculously good Merrill is on both sides of the ball. On one side, he made this catch in the fifth inning:

And on the other, he used a two-run single, an RBI groundout and a sacrifice fly to rack up four RBIs. He had help, of course, but this is about as single-handedly as a guy can win a game.

Loser: A Rough 7th Inning for the Visitors

The Braves led this game 4-3 going into the bottom of the seventh inning, at which point they had a 65 percent chance of winning.

Things unraveled for Atlanta pretty much immediately. A Gavin Sheets leadoff homer gave way to back-to-back singles by Elias Diaz and Fernando Tatis Jr., followed by a wild pitch by Aaron Bummer and then three more runs on a double and two sac flies.

There are hypothetically uglier ways to lose a game, but this was pretty bad.

Winner: Paul Skenes Did His Part

For a matchup that otherwise would not have excited many observers, this one at least had Paul Skenes vs. Sandy Alcantara going for it.

The duel initially lived up to the hype, but it was the 2024 NL Rookie of the Year who eventually came out ahead of the 2022 NL Cy Young Award winner. Skenes pitched into the sixth inning and allowed two runs on three hits and two walks with seven strikeouts.

When Skenes was lifted, the Bucs were up 4-1 and had an 80 percent chance of winning.

Loser: The Bucs Bullpen Should Be Ashamed

Credit to the Marlins and all. They didn't exactly get run over by Skenes, and there are few things sweeter than winning Opening Day on a walk-off.

They had help, though, namely in the rank wildness of Colin Holderman and David Bednar. Handling the ninth and 10th innings, respectively, they faced 10 batters and gave up three runs on four hits and three walks.

This is especially concerning where Bednar is concerned, as the Pirates badly needed him to bounce back from a brutal 2024 season that saw him finish with a 5.71 ERA.

Winners: That's Why the Phillies Pay Those Guys

The Phillies have quite a few expensive players on their roster, including Bryce Harper ($330 million), Zack Wheeler ($126 million), J.R. Realmuto ($115.5 million) and Kyle Schwarber ($79 million).

Days like Thursday serve as good reminders as to why things are the way they are in Philly. Wheeler pitched six scoreless innings, Harper and Schwarber both homered and Realmuto eventually iced the game with a two-run triple.

It is very possible that 2025 is the last best chance for the Phillies to win the World Series with this core. To this end, they have at least one believer.

Loser: MacKenzie Gore...Like, in a 'Tough Luck' Kind of Way

Max Scherzer used to hold the Nationals record for strikeouts on Opening Day with 12, set on March 28, 2019.

He doesn't anymore, because Gore took the hill on Thursday and fanned 13 over six scoreless, one-hit innings.

Though these things don't carry as much weight as they used to, the lefty frankly deserved better than to walk away from the Nats' opener with a no-decision. Suffice it to say they owe him a W his next time out.

Winner: A Little Bit of Everything for the Cardinals

This is what you might call a holistic Opening Day win for the Redbirds, as seemingly every corner of the roster came through.

Four of their hitters had multi-hit days, compared to just one for the Twins. And on the mound, Sonny Gray twirled five innings of two-run ball and the bullpen closed it out with 3.1 scoreless innings.

It all culminated with Nolan Arenado adding insurance with a solo homer in the eighth and Ryan Helsley fanning the side in the ninth. Any executives who would like to have either or both of them in a trade were surely paying attention.

Loser: Pablo López Didn't Really Have It

López's final line score is not the worst. He gave up eight hits, but no walks. He gave up four runs, but only two were earned.

Eight hits is a lot for just five innings, however, and López only dodged those two earned runs because of an error...charged against himself in a pickoff throw that sailed into center field. Oh, and he also got called for a balk.

Not exactly the start the Twins were hoping for from López, who needs to be better than the guy who had a 4.08 ERA for them last season.

Winners: The Dodgers' Stars Shined a Little Brighter

To be fair, all the Dodgers have is stars. From spot No. 1 to spot No. 26 on their roster, it's stars all the way down.

There's a reason for this, though, and it boils down to "stars win games, duh." So it was in the Dodgers' home opener, in which Blake Snell pitched five solid innings and Shohei Ohtani, Teoscar Hernández and Tommy Edman homered.

After sweeping the Tokyo Series to begin their season, the Dodgers are now 3-0. According to popular demand, they have only 114 more wins to go before they can say they satisfied expectations.

Loser: Tarik Skubal Wasn't His Best

The Tigers outhit the Dodgers 9-7, and the pitching side of things ended with three mostly clean innings from the bullpen.

It therefore isn't unfair to pin Detroit's opening L on the reigning AL Cy Young Award winner. And while Skubal wasn't bad, per se, you can't strike out only two Dodgers in five innings of exposure against them and expect to live to tell about it.

So far, Skubal has as many starts of four or more earned runs in 2025 as he did in his last 16 regular-season outings of 2024.

Winners: Big Arms and Big Swings

The Mariners seemed determined to lose their opener at times, specifically on questionable bunt calls in not one, but two situations that didn't pan out.

Things worked much better when Randy Arozarena and Jorge Polanco just plain swung away in the eighth inning, with the former erasing a 2-1 deficit and the other providing a 4-2 lead by way of long home runs.

Not to be overlooked are Logan Gilbert and Andrés Muñoz, who bookended the game with brilliant pitching. Gilber went seven and allowed one run, and Muñoz shut the door with a scoreless ninth.

Loser: José Leclerc, Basically

The A's signed Leclerc because they needed a guy to get the ball to Mason Miller without too much trouble. On paper, a good move.

But in reality, it was Leclerc who served up both the homer by Arozarena and the homer by Polanco. He took the L and now has a 81.00 ERA for the young season.

Perhaps needless to say, not the start that the former World Series hero for the Texas Rangers was looking for in the Green and Gold.

Winners: Cubs Hitters Not Named Dansby Swanson

Swanson didn't have a good day, but there were worse 0-for-5 performances on Opening Day. Unlike a certain Brewer, at least Swanson didn't whiff five times.

Rather, his issue is that he was the only Cubs batter to not get in on the 12 hits that the team hung on the D-backs. Ian Happ and Miguel Amaya were the stars, each collecting two hits and driving in three and five runs, respectively.

All this was against multiple tough opponents in the form of Zac Gallen, who's a No. 1-type pitcher, and Arizona's offense, which led MLB in scoring last season.

Loser: Arizona Not Leading with Corbin Burnes

Gallen is a good pitcher, alright, but he's no Burnes. He doesn't have a Cy Young Award, much less a $210 million contract.

To be fair, there is a clear rationale behind the D-backs' decision to lead with Gallen and not Burnes. But it nonetheless feels like (sorry for this) they got burned by it.

It's also not as if Burnes doesn't have a track record on Opening Day. Just last year, he fanned 11 in six dominant innings for the Orioles in their opener.

Stats courtesy of Baseball Reference, FanGraphs and Baseball Savant.