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Perhaps “finally” isn’t the most accurate description, but it sure did feel like a long, arduous journey had been completed when Jonny Gomes hit the walk-off home run of Jason Motte to give the Cincinnati Reds their first victory of the young season.

That “finally” sure wasn’t helped by the fact that the Reds hadn’t lead in any game until the 5th inning of this, the 3rd one. And even that was short-lived when Matt Holliday homered to tie it in the 7th.

But Gomes and Bronson Arroyo were the heroes. In addition to pitching 8 innings of 1-run baseball, Arroyo drove in the Reds first run. And he recorded his 1,000th strikeout of his career, getting Albert Pujols, no less.

Brad Penny was the St. Louis Cardinals starter, and it was a pitcher’s duel between him and Arroyo. Penny lasted 7 innings and allowed 1 run.

After the starters left, it looked like it was going to be a battle of the bullpens. This time, unlike the first two games, the Reds prevailed.

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Despite the avalanche of bloggers on Opening Night last night–Red Reporter and RHM were well represented–the Cincinnati Reds still lost.

Johnny Cueto started and lost for the Reds. He was quite good, going 6 innings while allowing just 2 runs from the offense that destroyed the Reds the game before. Heck, he even struck out Albert Pujols. He was also allowed to throw 109 pitches on his first start. So when he gets injured later this year, we can feel free to blame Dusty Baker for it. The pitcher’s spot was set to lead off the bottom of the inning, but hasn’t Baker ever heard of a double-switch? Sheesh.

The story of the game for the Reds was again the bullpen. In the top of the 7th, it seemed the Reds relievers were attempting their own variation of the classic joke, “How many people does it take?” In this case, it was, “How many Reds pitchers does it take to get one out?” The answer, as Mr. Owl so famously informed us, was 3.

Daniel Herrera allowed 1 run in his 0 innings, while Logan Ondrusek improved on that performance by allowed 3 in 0 innings. It took Arthur Rhodes to clean the mess up, but it was too late by then, which was a shame because Orlando Cabrera showed he may have something left in his bat by tieing the game with a 2-run homer just the inning before.

The bullpen will get better, but man is it tough seeing them inflate the opponent’s lead so much to make the game impossible to win. Hopefully, we’ll get to see how they handle a lead soon.

Adam Wainwright started for the Cardinals and was very good, stupefying the Reds until the 6th. Ryan Ludwick, Albert Pujols (of course), and Matt Holliday provided the RBIs.

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The Pittsburgh Pirates hosted the defending National West champions yesterday, and did what they’ve done for the past 3 Opening Days: win.

That’s right. The Pirates have at least one streak that has nothing to do with losing.

The Pirates wrung 5 decent innings out of Zach Duke, and made the wise decision to pinch-hit for him with the bases loaded in the bottom of the 5th. Duke had allowed just 2 runs, but his 7 hits were pause for concern. And with Pittsburgh having a 1-run lead and an opportunity for a big inning, manager John Russell made the call.

Ryan Church hit a bases-clearing double off Vicente Padilla to break the game open.

Right-fielder Garret Jones also homered twice for the Pirates, showing that he may just be more than a one-hit wonder.

And for one day, the Pirates sit atop the division, looking down on everyone else.

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Just like Aaron Harang for the Reds, Carlos Zambrano had a rough opening day. Unlike Harang, Zambrano didn’t make it out of the 2nd inning.

The Chicago Cubs started off the game promisingly, with Marlon Byrd hitting a 3-run home run in the top of the first, but Zambrano killed all that.

Big Moose allowed 8 runs–all earned–in 1 1/3 innings. Not what the Cubs wanted out of their ace, especially with Ted Lilly starting the season on the disabled list. Zambrano allowed 6 hits, walked 2, and allowed 2 home runs, and the Cubs–like always–never had a chance.

It could have been worse. Instead of setting a personal worst for his shortest outing ever, Zambrano only tied it. You’ve definitely got to find the silver lining when talking about the Cubs.

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Well, that sucked.

I always find that opening day for the Cincinnati Reds is a disappointment. This year was no exception.

Aaron Harang started and did about as good as he ever has done in his previous opening day starts. Harang went 5 innings and allowed 4 runs, 3 earned. He struck out 2, unfortunately, it was only the first 2 batters of the game. Things went downhill after that, as Harang allowed home runs to Albert Pujols and Colby Rasmus.

The Reds did score a bit during a Harang start. And really, if they can’t win when they score 6 runs most of the time this year, the pitching isn’t as good as it’s been made out to be. Joey Votto homered to get the Reds on the board, and Scott Rolen homered in the same inning to keep things close.

And things were within reach–albeit a long reach–until Nick Masset allowed a grand slam to Yadier Molina in the top of the 9th. That truly ended things.

Pujols again showed that you have to pitch carefully to him. Fastballs down the middle of the plate aren’t the best approach to him. He was 4 for 5 with 2 home runs and 3 RBI. The heart of the Cardinals lineup was clicking in a way that made me wonder how far away the Reds really are from competing.

Oh well, there’s always tomorrow. And one thing that’s definitely true at this point is it’s still early.