Glavine Has Rough Debut

Tom Glavine got off to a great start -- for all of one pitch.

Glavine opened the season with a called strike, then fell apart. Booed off the mound in the fourth inning, the Mets’ prized newcomer was long gone by the time Chicago’s Corey Patterson finished with two home runs and seven runs batted in Monday in the Cubs’ 15-2 romp at New York.

It was the most lopsided opener in the major leagues since the Chicago White Sox beat the St. Louis Browns, 17-3, on April 17, 1951.

“It certainly wasn’t what I envisioned or hoped for,” Glavine said. “But I guess in the scheme of things, it was just one game and I’ll try not to read more into it than what it was, which was a bad day for me and a bad day for us.”

Sammy Sosa’s home run total stayed at 499 as he hit a run-scoring single and drew three walks before leaving early. Everything else went right for the Cubs in their highest-scoring opener since 1899.

New Manager Dusty Baker saw ace Kerry Wood win with five effective innings on a cold, blustery afternoon and watched Juan Cruz tie a team record by striking out six consecutive batters in relief. Patterson had four hits and the most RBIs on opening day since Minnesota’s Brant Alyea had seven in 1970.

Met Manager Art Howe’s debut was a nightmare. Glavine struggled, and New York’s defense -- which led the majors in errors last year in a last-place finish -- looked even worse. Met pitchers walked 12 and gave up 16 hits.

St. Louis 11, Milwaukee 9 -- Scott Rolen capped a six-run rally in the eighth inning with a three-run homer as the Cardinals overcame a shaky start by Matt Morris at St. Louis.

Kerry Robinson, who secured the final spot on the Cardinal roster earlier in the day, hit a go-ahead single in the eighth on a drag bunt off loser Mike DeJean. Rolen, obtained from Philadelphia last July, hit a long home run to left for an 11-7 lead.

Pittsburgh 10, Cincinnati 1 -- Reggie Sanders, Kenny Lofton and Jason Kendall homered in succession and the Pirates ruined the Reds’ first game at Great American Ball Park.

Ken Griffey Jr. got the first hit, a double that inspired hopes of a new era. Every other moment belonged to the Pirates.

The crowd of 42,343 waved flags during a patriotic pregame program, then bundled together on a 53-degree afternoon and watched the NL’s worst offense last season have its way with the Cincinnati pitching staff.

Philadelphia 8, Florida 5 -- With newcomers Jim Thome, Kevin Millwood and David Bell leading the way, the Phillies took advantage of a sloppy showing by the Marlins at Miami.

Thome, whose $85-million, six-year contract was the largest of the off-season, went three for four, hitting an RBI double on his first pitch.

Bell went two for four with a walk and scored three times. Millwood gave up three runs -- two earned -- and four hits in six-plus innings.