Jeter Injured in 8-4 Win

A violent collision that left shortstop Derek Jeter with a dislocated left shoulder overshadowed all the good that happened for the New York Yankees on opening day.

Hideki Matsui got his first hit, Roger Clemens won his 294th game and Alfonso Soriano hit the first grand slam of his career as the Yankees beat the Toronto Blue Jays, 8-4, Monday night at Toronto.

Jeter will go on the disabled list and be sidelined for at least two weeks, according to Manager Joe Torre. The extent of the injury wasn’t immediately clear.

“This isn’t getting hit by a pitch or spraining an ankle,” Jeter said. “Hopefully, there’s nothing wrong.”

Jeter was injured in the third inning when Toronto catcher Ken Huckaby landed on his shoulder during a frightening play at third base.

Jeter was down for more than 10 minutes, writhing in pain and surrounded by worried teammates. He was helped onto a cart, strapped in place sitting upright and taken off the field.

After the shoulder was popped back in place, Jeter was taken to a hospital for X-rays.

“I think no question it will be a DL. How long it takes beyond the initial two weeks, we don’t know,” Torre said.

Matsui drove in the first run with a single in his first at-bat since coming over from Japan. Robin Ventura hit a two-run homer in the fourth and Soriano’s slam capped a five-run sixth that knocked out Roy Halladay.

Tampa Bay 6, Boston 4 -- Carl Crawford hit a three-run homer with two out in the bottom of the ninth inning, giving new Manager Lou Piniella a victory at St. Petersburg, Fla.

The Red Sox are going with a closer-by-committee approach this season. The relievers are off to an inauspicious start.

The Devil Rays rallied for five runs in the ninth against the revamped Boston bullpen, ruining another strong opening-day start by Pedro Martinez.

Baltimore 6, Cleveland 5, 13 innings -- In a snowy opener, Gary Matthews Jr. singled home the winning run with two out in the 13th inning at Baltimore. Opening day at Camden Yards is usually a festive occasion held in a packed stadium. Although the crowd was announced at 46,257 -- a sellout -- there were thousands of empty seats.

Cleveland scored three runs in the third inning with the aid of a routine fly ball that right fielder Jay Gibbons lost amid the huge snowflakes that swirled around the stadium.

The umpires then halted play -- not soon enough for Oriole Manager Mike Hargrove, who argued in vain that the stoppage should have come before the ball vanished in the falling snow.

Kansas City 3, Chicago 0 -- Runelvys Hernandez gave up two hits in six innings and rookie Angel Berroa drove in the go-ahead run at Kansas City, Mo. Hernandez combined with two relievers on a three-hitter -- and the first opening-day shutout in Royal history.

Minnesota 3, Detroit 1 -- Brad Radke got 19 consecutive outs after a leadoff bunt single, and Dustan Mohr hit a two-run homer at Detroit.

New Manager Alan Trammell and coaches Kirk Gibson and Lance Parrish -- who led the Tigers to the 1984 World Series title -- received the loudest cheers during pregame introductions. Most of their players drew only polite applause.