CARDINALS: RHP Miles Mikolas homered and got the win in his return from a three-year stint in Japan to highlight an 8-4 win over the Brewers. Paul DeJong connected for the second straight game. Mikolas gave up three home runs, but his first major-league hit was a two-run homer off Zach Davies that broke a 2-2 tie. Dexter Fowler snapped an 0-for-13 start with a third-inning single to center.
TIGERS: Francisco Liriano pitched into the seventh inning in his Tigers debut and Victor Martinez drove in three runs in a 6-1 win over the Royals, the Tigers’ first of the season. Liriano allowed one run on four hits with three strikeouts in 62/3 innings.
NATIONALS: Bryce Harper hit a three-run homer and the Nats beat the Braves 8-1 for the first 4-0 start to a season in their Washington history. Harper also drew four walks and scored three runs. ... C Matt Wieters was placed on the DL with a mildly strained left oblique. Wieters had gone 1-for-7. Miguel Montero and call-up Pedro Severino will share catching duties.
RED SOX: Brian Johnson gave his team its fifth straight solid start, allowing one run in six innings in a 7-3 victory over the Marlins. All five Red Sox starters have allowed less than two runs, a franchise first to begin a season. Hanley Ramirez and Mookie Betts homered.
PIRATES: Colin Moran hit a grand slam in his PNC Park debut and Jameson Taillon tied a career high with nine strikeouts in a 5-4 win over the Twins in the Pirates’ home opener. Gregory Polanco added an RBI double and reached base five times as the Pirates started 4-0 for the third time in 35 years. Taillon allowed two runs on four hits in 51/3 innings. ... RHP Joe Musgrove went on the DL with a strained shoulder.
REDS: Rookie Tyler Mahle pitched one-hit ball for six innings in the Reds’ first victory, 1-0 over the Cubs. The Reds took their first lead of the season when Eugenio Suarez tripled in the fourth and scored on Adam Duvall’s groundout.
EXTRA INNINGS: Lance Lynn lasted only four innings in his first game with the Twins, allowing five runs on three hits and six walks with just one strikeout in a 5-4 loss to the Pirates. ... OF Yasmany Tomas was assigned outright to Triple A, but the Diamondbacks are responsible for the $42.5 million he’s owed. ... OF Michael Saunders agreed to a minor-league contract with the Orioles. ... The average age of a major-leaguer fell to 28.91 years from 29.13 at the start of last season. The Phillies are the youngest team at 26.92, the Blue Jays the oldest at 31.01.