Pedro Martinez was overpowering on the mound, while Richie Sexson and Sammy Sosa looked great at the plate.

Still, none of them could match Dmitri Young's breakout performance.

Opening day around the major leagues Monday featured several stars in new places and a team from the nation's capital for the first time in 34 years.

Eight more squads open today, including the San Francisco Giants, who will host the rival Dodgers without injured slugger Barry Bonds.

The Texas Rangers play the new-name Los Angeles Angels - who are still in Anaheim. Atlanta's John Smoltz starts against Josh Beckett and the Florida Marlins, while 20-game winner Roy Oswalt will pitch for Houston against St. Louis in a rematch of the NL championship series.

"We have a chance to be real good," Cardinals manager Tony La Russa said. "It's kind of neat to think of us as favorites."

Nobody could have expected Young to begin the season with such a bang in Detroit. He became the third player to hit three home runs on opening day as the Tigers routed the Kansas City Royals 11-2.

"It was just one of those unconscious days," Young said.

He went 4-for-4 and matched a career high with five RBI, joining Toronto's George Bell (1988) and Tuffy Rhodes of the Chicago Cubs (1994) as the only players to connect three times in a season opener.

Young's big day made things easy for 22-year-old Jeremy Bonderman, who became the youngest pitcher to start on opening day since Dwight Gooden of the New York Mets did it at age 21 in 1986.

By contrast, Seattle's starter was 42. Left-hander Jamie Moyer led the Mariners to a 5-1 victory over Minnesota at Safeco Field, where Edgar Martinez threw out the ceremonial first pitch after retiring at the end of last season.

"It's a mix of emotions. I have that confused feeling," Martinez said. "I'm going to try and enjoy it as much as I can."

Moyer was backed by Sexson's two homers and five RBI. The Mariners signed the slugger to a $50 million, four-year contract during the offseason to boost a dismal offense, and he did just that.

"Not exactly the way you envision it," Sexson said. "To do something like that is a little farfetched."

Sosa also fit right in with his new team, getting two hits in his first game with Baltimore, a 4-0 victory over Oakland. He sprinted out to right field at the start just as he always did with the Chicago Cubs, delighting a sellout crowd of 48,271 at Camden Yards.

"I just feel that it is my house, like I've been here before," Sosa said. "I prepared for this moment. The support I get from the fans today was incredible."

Martinez was dominant in his Mets debut, striking out 12 in six sharp innings against Cincinnati.

Fellow newcomer Carlos Beltran homered and drove in three runs, but a suspect New York bullpen blew a three-run lead. The Reds won in the ninth thanks to Adam Dunn's tying homer - his second - and Joe Randa's game-winning shot off closer Braden Looper.

For the first time in their 129 season openers, the Reds finished one off with a homer.

"I felt like I was at a rock concert, screaming for the next song," said Danny Graves, who pitched the ninth and then piled on Randa at home plate. "We've had walk-off wins in the past, but I haven't had a feeling like this in a long time. It's the perfect script."

Not so for the Nationals, who lost their inaugural game 8-4 in Philadelphia. Their first batter, Brad Wilkerson, got a base hit, but after that Washington's new team played like Montreal's old one.

Still, it was fun to hear cheers of "Let's go, Nats!" among the sellout crowd of 44,080 at Citizens Bank Park when the Nationals scored in the second to take a 1-0 lead. Washington hasn't had a team since the Senators left after the 1971 season.

"It was good to hear that, but you don't get caught up in it," manager Frank Robinson said. "You keep your mind on what's going on in the field and what you're trying to accomplish. But it's nice to hear the fans cheering behind you. It's something we haven't heard in three years."

Roy Halladay had his Cy Young stuff again for Toronto, and Mark Buehrle pitched the Chicago White Sox past Cleveland 1-0 in a crisp game that took just 1 hour, 51 minutes. It also was the first season opener at home for the White Sox since the final year of old Comiskey Park in 1990.

At several ballparks, there was a moment of silence for Pope John Paul II.

In Phoenix, new Hall of Famer Ryne Sandberg threw out the first ball before the Cubs roughed up Javier Vazquez and Arizona 16-6. Sandberg made the toss from his old position at second base to former Chicago teammate Mark Grace at first. Muhammad Ali attended the game and received a standing ovation.

Plenty of celebrities were also on hand for the first game of the major league season Sunday night, when the New York Yankees routed the Boston Red Sox 9-2 behind Randy Johnson.

But despite all the excitement, there were two stark reminders of the steroids scandal that rocked baseball all winter: On the same day Tampa Bay outfielder Alex Sanchez began serving a 10-day suspension for violating the new policy on performance-enhancing drugs, 38 minor leaguers were suspended for breaking the minor league steroids rules, a group that included eight players from the Mariners' organization.