Greetings, friends. We’re back for another baseball season. More importantly, we have a fun new series this year.

Welcome to the Daily Opener.

Every morning, I’ll be with you to recap the previous day of baseball and talk about what stood out to me. We’ll find fun stats. We’ll lament some injuries. We’ll take a peek at the day ahead. And we’ll have a few laughs.

Have questions or just want to talk baseball? Feel free to reach out on Twitter @mikeMaher with questions or feedback anytime.

Top Stories

• LAA: Shohei Ohtani hits 100th career home run
• WAS: Juan Soto records 400th walk, now has 401 walks in 499 games to start his career
• PIT: Pirates won a game Sunday despite not getting a single hit…
  • CIN: Hunter Greene chases no-hitter in loss to Pirates
• STL: Paul Goldschmidt drives in three in rout of Giants
• SEA: Julio Rodriguez goes 4-for-4, homers in victory
• TEX: Adolis Garcia clobbers two homers against Red Sox
• HOU: Justin Verlander spins five shutout frames Sunday
• DET: Miguel Cabrera homers in Tigers’ win over Orioles
• DET: Tarik Skubal records 11 strikeouts in win over O’s
• ATL: Kyle Wright strikes out nine as Braves fall in extras

Fun!

Justin Verlander threw a 98.3 MPH fastball in the first inning today.

That’s the fastest pitch he’s thrown since April 13, 2019.

— MLB Metrics (@MLBMetrics) May 15, 2022

Rub Some Dirt On It (Injuries)

• DET: Austin Meadows (dizziness) heading to injured list
• MLW: Willy Adames exits Sunday’s contest with ankle injury
• SF: Tommy La Stella (Achilles) likely returning Monday
• TEX: Jon Gray (knee) starting Monday against Angels

Trivia

(Answer included at the bottom of the article)

Q: Barry Bonds is the all-time walks leader, with 2,558 walks in 12,606 plate appearances. Most of the Top 10 for all-time walks leaders is LEFT-HANDED HITTERS. Who are the only TWO RIGHT-HANDED HITTERS in the Top 10?

Hints:

1. Both Hall of Famers
2. One played most of his career in the 80s and 90s, the other in the 90s and 2000s

Studs and Duds

Here are some of the best and worst performances from the weekend.

Studs (Pitchers)

• Sean Manaea – 7 IP, 3ER, 6 H, 2 BB, 12 K
• Frankie Montas – 6 IP, 2 Er, 4 H, 1 BB, 12 K
• Pablo Lopez – 7 IP, 1 ER, 3 H, 0 BB, 11 K
• Tarik Skubal – 6 IP, 0 ER, 3 H, 2 BB, 11 K
• Justin Steele (!) – 6 IP, 1 ER, 3 H, 1 BB, 9 K
• Gerrit Cole – 6.1 IP, 3 ER, 6 H, 1 BB, 9 K
• Zac Gallen – 6 IP, 1 ER, 2 H, 1 BB, 9 K
• Hunter Greene – 7.1 IP, 1 ER, 0 H, 5 BB, 9 K
• Charlie Morton – 6 IP, 1 ER, 2 H, 1 BB, 9 K
• Kyle Wright – 6.1 IP, 1 ER, 3 H, 2 BB, 9 K
• Aaron Ashby – 4 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 0 BB, 8 K, and a SAVE!
• Corbin Burnes – 7 IP, 1 ER, 5 H, 0 BB, 7 K
• Shane Bieber – 6 IP, 1 ER, 7 H, 3 BB, 7 K
• Nestor Cortes – 8 IP, 1 ER, 3 H, 0 BB, 7 K

Studs (Hitters)

• Paul Goldschmidt – 6-for-12, 2 HR, 3 2B, 6 RBI
• Sam Hilliard – 3-for-10, 2 HR, 6 RBI, 2 BB, 1 SB
• Bryce Harper – 6-for-8, 2 HR, 5 RBI, 3 2B
• Whit Merrifield – 5-for-14, 1 HR, 5 RBI, 4 R, 1 SB
• Wil Myers – 5-for-12, 1 HR, 5 RBI, 1 BB, 4 R
• Salvador Perez – 4-for-14, 1 HR, 5 RBI
• Taylor Ward – 6-for-12, 1 HR, 5 RBI
• Hunter Dozier – 8-for-14, 1 2B, 1 RBI
• Yuli Gurriel – 8-for-12, 2 HR, 4 RBI, 1 SB
• Kole Calhoun – 6-for-12, 2 HR, 4 RBI, 1 2B, 1 3B
• Rafael Devers – 6-for-14, 1 HR, 4 RBI, 3 2B

Duds (Pitchers)

• Carlos Rodon – 3.2 IP, 8 ER, 10 H, 1 BB, 3 K
• Eric Lauer – 5 IP, 4 ER, 6 H, 0 BB, 7 K, 3 HR allowed
• Carlos Hernandez – 4 IP, 9 ER, 8 H, 3 BB, 3 K
• Cristian Javier – 3.2 IP, 7 ER, 8 H, 3 BB, 5 K
• Aaron Civale – 4.2 IP, 6 ER, 7 H, 2 BB, 5 K
• Josiah Gray – 6 IP, 6 Er, 6 H, 2 BB, 5 K
• Kyle Gibson – 3.2 ER, 6 ER, 8 H, 1 BB, 1 K
• Kyle Freeland – 4.2 IP, 6 ER, 12 H, 2 BB, 0 K
• Yu Darvish – 5.2 IP, 5 ER, 9 H, 1 BB, 4 K
• Walker Buehler – 5 IP, 5 ER, 9 H, 1 BB, 3 K
• Julio Urias – 6 IP, 5 ER, 8 H, 0 BB, 3 K
• Bryan Shaw – 0.0 IP, 5 ER, 4 H, 1 BB
• Carlos Carrasco – 4.1 IP, 4 ER, 8 H, 1 BB, 2 K

Duds (Hitters)

• Luke Voit – 2-for-14, 8 K
  • Hit 2 HRs on Thursday, then batted .143 over the weekend
• Patrick Wisdom – 2-for-11, 8 K, but did hit a HR
• Jake Cronenworth – 2-for-15, 7 K
• Jesus Sanchez – 1-for-10, 6 K
• Jared Walsh – 1-for-16, 6 K
• Christian Yelich – 2-for-11, 5 K
• Cody Bellinger – 2-for-12, 5 K
• Anthony Santander – 1-for-13, 4 K
• Owen Miller – 1-for-13, 4 K

From the News Desk

We have an incredible news desk at FantasyPros. Seriously, they crush it. If you don’t already, you should sync your teams with My Playbook and check out the Fantasy News and Scores app for updates about your players.

• Nick Senzel (COVID) hopes to begin rehab assignment Wednesday
• Nico Hoerner (right ankle sprain) put on the 10-day IL
• Andrelton Simmons activated from the injured list
• Clint Frazier (appendicitis) to begin rehab assignment Tuesday
• Clayton Kershaw (pelvis) scheduled to throw bullpen session Wednesday
• Mark Melancon’s status as Diamondbacks’ closer in question
• Alex Reyes (shoulder) shut down from throwing
• Willy Adames suffers left ankle sprain
• Jorge Mateo diagnosed with chest contusion after X-rays are negative
• Victor Reyes (right quad strain) to be placed on 10-day IL
• Austin Meadows (inner ear infection) headed to 10-day IL
• Tylor Megill (biceps inflammation) placed on 15-day IL
• Michael Pineda (finger) placed on 15-day IL
• Manuel Margot (hamstring) placed on 10-day IL
• Jeremy Pena (knee) out of the lineup again on Sunday
• George Springer returns to lineup on Sunday
• Jesus Luzardo (forearm strain) placed on IL
• Tyler Stephenson not expected to have concussion

Check out all of our weekly fantasy baseball content

Trivia Answer

A: Rickey Henderson and Frank Thomas

Today’s Starting Lineup

• No national games, and today’s ESPN+ game is Braves vs. Brewers featuring Ian Anderson vs. Freddy Peralta at 7:40 p.m. ET.
• No early games, but there are two 6:40 p.m. ET games: Tigers vs. Rays and Nationals vs. Marlins.

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Mike Maher is an editor and content manager at FantasyPros and BettingPros. For more from Mike, check out his archive, follow him on Twitter @MikeMaher, and visit his Philadelphia Eagles blog, The Birds Blitz.