The Walk Off: Anthony Rizzo's big night keeps Cubs undefeated

[admin]

Welcome to The Walk Off, the nightly MLB recap from Big League Stew. Here we'll look the top performers of the night, show you a must-see highlight and rundown the scoreboard. First, we start with a game you need to know about.
The Chicago Cubs, this is what they do.*Things didn't start out to well for the Cubs on Thursday night, but after nine innings, the Cubs had scored 14 runs against the Arizona Diamondbacks and improved to 3-0.
[Elsewhere:*Cubs make dream weekend come true for young Chicago ballplayers]
We'll start at the beginning, because that's the best way: The D-backs scored three runs in the first inning off new Cub John Lackey. But that was only a quick problem, as the Cubs scored two in the second, another pair in the third then five in the fourth.

We can't go another paragraph without mentioning Anthony Rizzo, so here's this: Rizzo had three hits, scored three times and drove in six runs. Yes, that's good. He had an RBI single in the third, a two-run triple in the fouth and a three-run homer in the ninth that, by that time, was just piling on. When it was over, the Cubs had a 14-6 win.
But that's what the Cubs are capable of. Five Cubs had multi-hit games, including Addison Russell and Kris Bryant. Lackey, meanwhile, wasn't stellar. He allowed six runs on eight hits, but that much offense will make anybody look better.
Things weren't all good, as the Cubs may have lost Kyle Schwarber to injury*(they're awaiting an MRI on Friday after Schwarber's outfield collision with Dexter Fowler). But if anybody can afford to lose a slugger like Schwarber, it's a team that has scored 29 runs in three games.
TOP PERFORMERS



• Joe Panik: The San Francisco Giants had a number of big contributors in their 12-6 win against the Los Angeles Dodgers in their home opener. Hunter Pence hit a grand slam. Buster Posey knocked three hits. But Panik was their best across-the-board star. He had three hits, scored three runs and drove in another three. The Dodgers started the game 4-0, running their shutout streak to 31 innings. But then the Giants erupted for 12 runs and the Dodgers had no answer.
[Sign up for Fantasy Baseball*|*Play for $40K*|*Expert rankings*|*Mock draft]*
• Albert Pujols: Coming into the Angels' game against the Texas Rangers, Pujols didn't have a hit on the season. He got two Thursday, the second of which was a walk-off single*as the Angels beat the Rangers 4-3. Good time to improve that batting average, eh?
• Jay Bruce: Hey, if you didn't know, the Cincinnati Reds haven't lost a game yet this season. Part of that is opening against the Philadelphia Phillies. But part of Thursday's 10-6 win was an outstanding afternoon from Bruce. He homered twice and drove in five runs on three hits.*
MUST-SEE HIGHLIGHT



With the score tied 5-5, New York Yankees slugger Mark Teixeira stepped to the plate in the bottom of the seventh against the Houston Astros. There were two runners on. Well, there were. Because Teixeira unloaded this opposite-field laser into the left-field bleachers. It made the score 8-5, and it would remain that as the Yankees improved to 2-1 on the season.
THE REST OF THE SCOREBOARD



• Orioles 4, Twins 2: The Baltimore Orioles improved to 3-0 and completed a sweep of the Twins. Down 2-0 early, the O's fought back and Jonathan Schoop eventually knocked the go-ahead single in the seventh inning.
• White Sox 6, A's 1: Mat Latos impressed in his first White Sox start, throwing six innings and allowing just one hit.
• Marlins 6, Nationals 4: The Marlins used a balanced offensive attack to top the Nats. Five different players had two-hit games for Miami. On the D.C. side, Bryce Harper hit his second homer of the year.
More MLB coverage from Yahoo Sports:



*

- - - - - - -​

Mike Oz is the editor of Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @MikeOz