AMERICAN LEAGUE NOTES

AL EAST

BALTIMORE ORIOLES

RHP Nate Karns returned to a major league mound for the first time since May 2017, facing the Yankees on March 30. Karns went two innings as part of the Orioles’ “opener” strategy.

He was acquired to be a starter but — after nearly two years of injury and difficulty getting stretched out during spring training — will work out of the bullpen for the time being.

❚ IF-OF Drew Jackson and IF Richie Martin, two former Rule 5 picks, made their major league debuts on opening day.

BOSTON RED SOX

Five days after signing a five year, $145 million contract extension, LHP Chris Sale was shelled by Seattle on opening day. He gave up seven runs with three homers — one shy of his career high — in three innings, and his fastball averaged 92.8 mph, down from 95.6 last year.

Sale, who missed almost six weeks last season because of a sore shoulder, was brought along slowly in spring training. In 2018, he didn’t allow his third homer of the season until his sixth start and never surrendered more than two in any start.

It was his first opening-day loss in four outings and the first time he gave up seven runs in a game since Aug. 1, 2017, against the Cleveland Indians.

❚ SS Xander Bogaerts got a six-year, $132 million contract extension. He could opt out after the 2022 season, when he’ll be 30.

NEW YORK YANKEES

The Yankees will monitor Aroldis Chapman’s velocity following his first appearance of the season, a non-save situation against the Baltimore Orioles on opening day. In that outing, Chapman’s velocity on his four-seam fastball didn’t touch his typical 100 mph.

❚ The Yankees’ injury woes continued April 1 when IF Miguel Andujar (shoulder) and LF Giancarlo Stanton (biceps) both went on the injured list. IF DJ LeMahieu was at second base in place of Andujar, and OF Clint Frazier was called up from Class AAA Scranton/ Wilkes-Barre (Moosic, Pennsylvania) to take Stanton’s spot.

TAMPA BAY RAYS

Manager Kevin Cash will spend the early part of the season trying to maximize the depth and versatility of his roster, which includes 13 position players. Matchups will be a primary factor, but he also will be looking for enough playing time for all.

❚ No pitcher on the active roster has reached 200 innings in one season. LHP Blake Snell leads the staff with 180 2 ⁄ innings in 2018, the fewest ever for a 3 time CY Award winner.

TORONTO BLUE JAYS

Until — and if — rookie manager Charlie Montoyo settles upon a regular leadoff hitter, the lineup will be in a fluid state. He will base his choices on matchups, previous performance, a player’s comfort level in that spot and other information such as bat speed, swing type and the style of the opposing pitcher.

Candidates include Brandon Drury, Randal Grichuk, Billy McKinney and Teoscar Hernandez.

❚ through four games (24 innings); Blue Jays starting pitchers hadn’t allowed a run. Two of their first three wins were shutouts; they had three in 2018.

AL CENTRAL

CHICAGO WHITE SOX

LF Eloy Jimenez’s six-year, $43 million contract is the largest deal ever given to a player with no major league experience. It will be interesting to see whether his early experiences in the majors are productive.

❚ The White Sox began the season with 13 foreign-born players, third most in the major leagues. The Minnesota Twins and Pittsburgh Pirates had 14.

CLEVELAND INDIANS

Eric Stamets, a 27-year-old rookie, is being asked to fill some big shoes with All-Star SS Francisco Lindor sidelined indefinitely. Stamets spent seven seasons in the minor leagues with the Los Angeles Angels and Indians. Lindor missed the entire Cactus League season because of a strained right calf. He then sprained his left ankle in a minor league exhibition game March 26.

❚ The Indians are hoping veteran OF Cameron Maybin can provide help at some point. They signed him to a minor league contract and assigned him to Class AAA Columbus (Ohio) after he was released by the San Francisco Giants during spring training.

DETROIT TIGERS

IF-OF Niko Goodrum played all four infield positions as well as left field and right field last season, his first with the Tigers.

Look for Goodrum to see some action in center field this season. The Tigers tried Goodrum there in spring training and came away believing he could play center in the regular season.

That would leave pitcher and catcher as the only positions Goodrum hasn’t played. He could be tried as an emergency catcher, too.

In 2018, Goodrum started 59 games at second, 22 at first, 10 at shortstop and left, nine at third and seven in right.

❚ RHP Drew VerHagen (shoulder) is expected to be activated April 4 before the home opener against the Royals. He began the season on the injured list.

KANSAS CITY ROYALS

The Royals had high hopes that RHP Kyle Zimmer could one day front their rotation when they selected him fifth overall in the 2012 amateur draft.

Seven injury-plagued years later, Zimmer finally made it to the major leagues. He was on the Royals’ opening-day roster as a relief pitcher.

Zimmer resurrected his career after sitting out last season and participating in six months of data-driven strength training at Driveline Baseball in suburban Seattle. He allowed only one run in 12 2 ⁄ 3 innings during exhibition games.

❚ 1B Frank Schwindel also reached the major leagues for the first time by making the team out of spring training. He hit .286 with 24 home runs in 134 games at Class AAA Omaha (Papillion, Nebraska) last season.

MINNESOTA TWINS

RP Ryne Harper was a longshot candidate coming into spring training but made the opening-day roster.

Harper, 30, had spent all but three days of his eight-year professional career in the minor leagues. He had a three-day stint with the Seattle Mariners in 2017 but did not appear in a game.

Harper also pitched at least parts of the last six seasons at Class AA. However, he did not allow an earned run in 11 Grapefruit League innings.

In 2011, Harper was drafted in the 37th round by the Atlanta Braves.

❚ LHP Martin Perez began the season as a reliever after being signed as a free agent in the offseason. He will move into the rotation as soon as the Twins need a fifth starter.

AL WEST

HOUSTON ASTROS

All-Star SS Carlos Correa , who battled back problems last year, returned to the lineup after missing the first three games because of a stiff neck. Correa said the most important thing is that his back no longer barks.

Correa was limited to 110 games in 2018 but “I felt 100 percent (in spring training), felt strong and flexible and was hitting the ball hard again like I used to.”

❚ For the fifth time in franchise history, the Astros hit at least three home runs on opening day. CF George Springer blasted one for the third consecutive season. RHP Justin Verlander got the win on the heels of signing a two-year, $66 million contract extension through the 2021 season.

LOS ANGELES ANGELS

With LF Justin Upton expected to miss an estimated two months because of a toe injury, Peter Bourjos and Brian Goodwin will fill the void.

Upton, who hit 30 home runs last year, was hurt just before the opener when he jammed his left toe into a fence. The Angels felt comfortable with their outfield depth at camp, but then top prospect Jo Adell (ankle, hamstring), Michael Hermosillo (hernia) and Jarrett Parker (strained muscle in side) were injured.

❚ DH Shohei Ohtani continues to make significant strides and could return before May. Ohtani, the reigning AL Rookie of the Year, won’t pitch this season after having Tommy John elbow surgery.

Because Ohtani bats left-handed, the right-handed pitcher can hit this year.

OAKLAND ATHLETICS

With Gold Glove 1B Matt Olson (hand) expected to miss nearly two months, the A’s acquired veteran Kendrys Morales.

The A’s tried Mark Canha, Chad Pinder and Jurickson Profar at first but decided the switch-hitting Morales, 35, was a better fit. Morales, who arrived with 211 homers and 728 RBI, is on his sixth major league team.

❚ LHP Brett Anderson extended his home scoreless streak at Oakland to a franchise- best 34 1 ⁄ 3 innings by spinning six innings in his season debut. Anderson’s gem was the third consecutive game an A’s starter had worked at least six scoreless innings, following performances by RHPs Mike Fiers and Marco Estrada.

SEATTLE MARINERS

Nowhere is the Mariners’ contrast from last year’s team more evident than in the bullpen, where inexperienced relievers are being asked to replace All-Star Edwin Diaz.

RHP Hunter Strickland , who had 14 saves for the San Francisco Giants last season, was set to seize the spot, but his lat injury has manager Scott Servais summoning numerous youngsters.

Of Servais’ choices, only RHP Cory Gearrin has a career save, and he has only five. Among those seeking their first: LHPs Zac Rosscup and Roenis Elias and RHPs Nick Rum below and Chasen Bradford.

In his first appearance of the season, Bradford got his first career save March 31 as the Mariners finished off a three-out-off our series win over the Boston Red Sox.

❚ Future Hall of Famer Ichiro Suzuki , who retired after the Mariners’ season-opening series against the A’s in Japan, was saluted by 2B Dee Gordon with a full-page ad in The Seattle Times. Gordon was Suzuki’s teammate in his final five seasons, two with the Miami Marlins and the last three in Seattle.

TEXAS RANGERS

New manager Chris Woodward raised eyebrows when he benched the team’s lone 2018 All-Star, DH Shin-Soo Choo, on opening day.

Woodward is steadfast that he wants to use Hunter Pence against left-handed pitchers, and with LHP Jon Lester on the mound for the Chicago Cubs, the left-handed-hitting Choo was out of the lineup.

Woodward’s strategy was that the Rangers will face no more than five left-handed starters in their first 20 games, so Pence, 35, needed the at bats.

❚ SS Elvis Andrus made the opening-day lineup for the 11th consecutive year, which ties Hall of Fame C Ivan Rodriguez and IF Michael Young for the most opening-day starts in team history.