There was pomp. There was circumstance. There was Megan Thee Stallion throwing out the first pitch and Mark Wahlberg wishing Alex Bregman ("the Yankee killer") a happy birthday before yelling "play ball." There were pyrotechnics rivaling a '70s Kiss concert as the Astros starters were announced.

Only one thing was missing: a win.

After winning their last 10 opening days tying a record held by the Boston Beaneaters (we wish we were making that up), a pitchers duel cost them number 11 and the record outright. White Sox pitcher Dylan Cease was absolutely brilliant and a two-run double given up by Ryan Pressly in the ninth was the difference in a 3-2 Astros loss. Here are some thoughts.

Yordan's hand might be OK.

Yordan Alvarez, like most Astros hitters, struggled against Cease with a pair of strikeouts, but in the bottom of the ninth, he blasted a 442-foot homer off Sox reliever Reynaldo Lopez into the second deck in left field. It was one of just four hits on the night for the Stros, but it was an absolute monster. Alvarez, who was bothered by hand issues during Spring Training, only played a handful of games before Opening Day. Dusty Baker openly worried in his pregame press conference if Alvarez would be able to play regular time early in the season. He may have his answer. It's worth noting that Alvarez switched to an ax-handle bat. No word on if that was to relive pain he's struggled with for a couple years, but it sure seems to be working.

The Astros really miss Michael Brantley.

The Astros started rookie Yanier Diaz at DH with Alvarez in left field. Mauricio Dubon played second and Jake Meyers started in center. Those three were a combined 0-10 with four strikeouts. Diaz is a rookie and needs time to adapt to the big leagues, but putting both the light hitting Dubon and Meyers, who has yet to show he can return to his 2021 form, really exposed the bottom of the lineup, which also includes Martin Maldonado. Dubon plays an excellent second base and was exceptional in the field on Thursday night, but Baker may need to consider David Hensley at DH and get Chas McCormick back in center this weekend.

Pitchers duel goes to the Sox.

Framber Valdez was actually quite good, scattering six hits across five innings of work with four strikeouts. But Cease was absolutely dominant giving up one run on two hits over six-and-a-third with 10 strikeouts. He kept the Astros hitters off balance all night long. Ultimately, it was Rafael Montero (he of the new three-year deal) and Ryan Pressly who coughed up the loss. Valdez wasn't perfect, but he had generally good stuff and did what he needed to do in an early-season game. The offense was just unable to respond against Cease, the Cy Young runner-up to Justin Verlander in 2022.

It's a very, very long season.

Having said everything above, it is an extremely long season. With the injuries, it would not be a shock to see the Astros get out to a slow start, but this is still a really good ballclub (and Chicago is going to be better than people think). It's just one of 162 with more to come Friday and Saturday. No need to push the panic button yet, fans, even though we know you will.