Major League Baseball: Fans return in limited numbers on 2021 opening day
- Published
Yankee Stadium hosted 10,850 fans at 20% capacity for the season opener between the New York Yankees and the Toronto Blue Jays
Fans returned in limited numbers to Major League Baseball stadiums across the United States for the opening day of the 2021 season.
Most teams are starting the season with their stadiums at 20-30% capacity to enable social distancing in the stands and most require fans to wear masks.
The 2020 regular season was reduced to 60 games and played behind closed doors because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Washington Nationals' 2021 opener was postponed after an outbreak.
The 2019 World Series champions were due to host the New York Mets on Thursday at Nationals Park, which will run at only 12% capacity to start the season.
But the game was called off after one Nationals player tested positive, with two other players subsequently testing positive and two others in quarantine after contact tracing.
Defending champions the Los Angeles Dodgers were beaten 8-5 by the Colorodo Rockies in Denver, while the New York Yankees lost 3-2 to the Toronto Blue Jays at home.
Fans attending Yankee Stadium had to provide proof of either full vaccination against Covid-19 or a negative test within the past 72 hours and have their temperature checked to gain entry.
The Blue Jays, who had to play their home games in Buffalo last season, will play their home games in Florida until at least the end of May because of ongoing travel restrictions between the US and Canada.
The Seattle Mariners came from 6-1 down in the bottom of the eighth inning to beat the San Francisco Giants 8-7 in extra innings.
The Mariners scored six runs in the eighth to take the lead before the Giants tied it up, only for Jake Fraley to draw a walk with the bases loaded in the 10th to give the home side victory.
The Kansas City Royals beat the visiting Texas Rangers 14-10.
The Rangers have said they will have a full capacity crowd for their first home game at Globe Life Field on Monday, a decision President Joe Biden called "a mistake", before reducing their capacity for subsequent games.
The Houston Astros beat the Oakland Athletics 8-1, while their American League West rivals the Los Angeles Angels secured a 4-3 win over the Chicago White Sox.
The Tampa Bay Rays, who lost to the Dodgers in the 2020 World Series, beat the Miami Marlins 1-0, while the San Diego Padres won 8-7 against the Arizona Diamondbacks.
The St Louis Cardinals eased past the Cincinnati Reds 11-6, the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Chicago Cubs 5-3 and the Detroit Tigers won against the Cleveland Indians 3-2.
The Philadelphia Phillies beat the Atlanta Braves 3-2 in extra innings, with the Milwaukee Brewers also needing a 10th inning to win 6-5 against the Minnesota Twins.
The Boston Red Sox's scheduled opener against the Baltimore Orioles at Fenway Park was postponed to Friday because of rain.
MLB intends each team to complete the full 162-game regular season this year, although several franchises had to play multiple seven-inning double headers last season to fulfil their fixtures after outbreaks.
The option to play seven-inning double headers and the rule that places a runner on second base to start extra innings have returned under the 2021 health protocols.
However, there will be only 10 play-off spots available again, after the post-season was expanded to 16 teams last year, while the designated hitter rule, which allows a batter to hit for the pitcher, will not be in use in the National League as it was last year.
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