Sidney Ponson made his starting debut for the Royals on Friday in the reopening of Kauffman Stadium against the Yankees. New York scored four runs in the first four innings en route to a 4-1 victory. Ponson had his problems at the beginning of the game, allowing six hits, four runs and three walks in six innings. He struck out five. At the end of his outing he got some help from the shadows between mound and plate, which hurt the offensive performance on both sides. Ponson threw 59 of his 104 pitches for strikes.
Shairon Martis got the starting nod for the Nationals in Atlanta. After three rocky innings, the young right-hander didn’t come back for a fourth after a lengthy rain delay, which also knocked out Braves starter Derek Lowe. Martis gave up five hits, three runs and a walk, while striking out one. A three-run homerun by Yunel Escobar in the third frame did most of the damage. He threw just 48 pitches, 29 for strikes. The Braves later won by a score of 6-5, thanks to a walk-off hit by Kelly Johnson in the tenth. Washington has started 0-4 into the new MLB season.
Other Europeans in the US:
Reliever Leon Boyd, who is playing for the Toronto Blue Jays double-A affiliate in New Hampshire, isn’t allowed to pitch right now, as he awaits his work visa. His new club has won the first three games of the season.
Catcher Kai Gronauer of the Savannah Sand Gnats (New York Mets Single A) started the first two games behind the plate for his club and singled twice in seven at-bats so far.