Let's play ball!
"The boys of summer" are back in town as the Toronto Blue Jays have begun their home opener in front of a packed house.
After starting the season on the road in Cleveland, the Blue Jays host the AL East rival Boston Red Sox in front of a sold-out crowd tonight.
For a look at how fans are gearing up for the big game click here.
The first pitch was thrown out just after 7:30 p.m. Henderson Alvarez is on the mound for the Blue Jays, while Felix Doubront is starting for Boston.
Beofre the game, the Blue Jays paid tribute to Tanner Craswell and Mitch MacLean, two former baseball players who were killed in a horrific triple murder-suicide in Alberta in December.
Craswell and MacLean were killed along with Tabitha Stepple on Dec. 15 in a roadside shooting outside Claresholm, Alta. They were shot by Derek Jensen, a former boyfriend of Stepple's who then killed himself. Shayna Conway was the lone survivor of the shooting.
Craswell and MacLean were promising baseball players from Prince Edward Island and had been training with the Lethbridge Bulls. They were on their way to the airport in Calgary to fly home for Christmas at the time of the shootings.
MacLean's No. 6 jersey and Craswell's No. 13 were both presented in glassed frames at second base during the pre-game ceremony.
Afterwards, a moment of silence was observed in the players' honour, as well as for the memory of former legendary sportswriter Trent Frayne, former Montreal Expos catcher Gary Carter and one-time umpire Marty Springstead, all of whom also passed away recently.
Fans have high hopes for this year's Blue Jays squad, which is off to a 2-1 start in regular season play after their best spring training record in club history.
In advance of tonight's home game, Blue Jays pitcher Ricky Romero, president and CEO Paul Beeston, senior vice-president of baseball operations and general manager Alex Anthopoulos and manager John Farrell were on hand to open the Toronto stock exchange this morning.
Meanwhile, team management will be restricting the flow of booze to the cheap seats at Rogers Centre during tonight's game, the Globe and Mail reports.
Blue Jays officials told the newspaper customers can purchase only one beer at a time in the 500-level seats during the game. The standard two-beers-per-customer rule will continue in the lower sections.
Serving restrictions in the 500 level are one of the security measures being taken to cut down on drunken rowdiness and fights in the upper deck.
Toronto police are planning to increase their presence inside and outside the venue.
With files from The Canadian Press
