Orioles beat up on Yankees, Sabathia in opener 10-5  —  BALTIMORE (AP) — CC Sabathia and the new-look New York Yankees absorbed an old-fashioned beating on opening day.  —  Sabathia allowed six runs and failed to get through the fifth inning in his first start with New York …

Saunders baffles A's to hand Halos victory  —  Kendrick backs up southpaw's scoreless effort with homer  —  ANAHEIM — The Opening Night sellout crowd, 43,220 strong, was on its feet, its ovation gaining momentum as Joe Saunders crossed the third-base line and lifted his cap.

Francoeur puts tough '08 behind him  —  With new approach, Braves slugger homers in first at-bat  —  PHILADELPHIA — As he sat in the visitors' dugout at Citizens Bank Park on Sept. 24, Jeff Francoeur said, “Nobody is looking more forward to getting this season over than me.”

Dodgers give up on left-hander Miller  —  Former phenom released after injury-filled time with LA  —  SAN DIEGO — The release of Greg Miller on Monday was another unfortunate chapter in a phenom story gone awry.  —  The move was made as much to clear a 40-man roster spot as to pull the plug on Miller …

Griffey ties mark for Opening Day homers  —  No. 612 also his eighth in openers, equaling F. Robinson  —  MINNEAPOLIS — The last time Ken Griffey Jr. played an Opening Day game with the Mariners, he hit a home run and moved within one of tying a Major League record held by Hall of Famer Frank Robinson.

Belisario rises from obscurity for LA  —  Dodgers right-hander never has pitched above Double-A  —  SAN DIEGO — You know Blake DeWitt as last year's Opening Day third baseman by default.  You know Doug Mientkiewicz as the Joe Torre favorite, a former Gold Glove first baseman who'll play anywhere.

Pitchers' duel dies in the desert  —  Phoenix - The anticipated pitchers' duel in the desert turned into a slugfest today at Chase Field.  —  Rockies ace Aaron Cook got the hook with just one out in the third inning, after throwing only 55 pitches.  Cook gave up six runs on seven hits, including two homers.

Minor League Transactions  —  This time: March 31-April 3 … Arizona Diamondbacks  —  Signed: RHP Bobby Korecky, LHP Travis Blackley  —  Released: RHP Adam Howard, RHP A.J. Shappi, LHP Eddie Romero, C Richard Mercado, C Bill Musselman, 3B Steve Mena, 3B Cesar Nicolas, OF Frank Curreri, OF Jimmy Principe

Season opener a team win for Cubs  —  Big Z erases Opening Day zero; Soriano, Ramirez homer  —  HOUSTON — Monday may have been Carlos Zambrano's first win in five season openers, but the game wasn't about him.  It might have been Alfonso Soriano's 50th career leadoff homer, but it wasn't about him, either.

Predicting the '09 season  —  No one has asked for them, but here are my predictions anyway:  —  NL West  —  1. Dodgers  —  2. Diamondbacks (WC)  —  3. Rockies  —  4. Giants  —  5. Padres  —  I had the Diamondbacks in first place until Manny re-upped with the Dodgers …

Joe West replaces John Hirschbeck as umpires' president  —  NEW YORK — Joe West, who worked his first major league game in 1976 and later lost his job in a contract dispute with baseball, has become president of the World Umpires Association.  —  West beat out longtime head John Hirschbeck in the February election.

New York Mets auctioning tickets to Citi Field opener vs. San Diego Padres  —  NEW YORK — Take the highest bidder out to the ballgame.  —  The New York Mets are employing a unique method of selling remaining tickets for the first official game at Citi Field — by auction.

Why baseball benched Microsoft Silverlight  —  The thwacking sounds of bats striking balls will once again fill stadiums, as Monday is opening day for Major League Baseball.  This year, Microsoft will watch from the sidelines.  —  MLB.com no longer uses Microsoft's Silverlight to stream games to its 500,000 subscribers.