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Cam Schlittler shoved in his first start of the 2026 season while Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton left the yard as the Yankees defeated the Giants, 3-0, on Friday afternoon in San Francisco.

It's the 60th time Judge and Stanton homered in the same game. 

After Max Fried and the bullpen blanked the Giants in Wednesday's opener, the Yankees had an encore. Through two games, Yankees pitching has allowed zero runs on just four hits.

Here are the takeaways...

-Schlittler was on his game early, getting two strikeouts in the first inning, including getting Rafael Devers looking -- thanks to a successful ABS challenge by the Yanks. Schlittler would continue to keep the Giants lineup off balance with his impressive pitch mix, even striking out four consecutive batters at one point.

His only mistake came in the second when Heliot Ramos doubled off of him. That would be all the Giants would get on Schlittler, who finished with eight strikeouts across 5.1 innings. He got 13 whiffs, most coming from his four-seamer, which averaged 98.5 mph.

Schlittler wasn't stretched out in camp because a strained oblique set him back, so he only threw 68 pitches (49 strikes). His limit was at 70 pitches. 

-Manager Aaron Boone used a right-handed heavy lineup on Friday as the Yankees were going up against the southpaw Robbie Ray. Ray is the only lefty starter they expect to see over the next week, so he felt it was a good chance to get Paul Goldschmidt, Amed Rosario and Randal Grichuk in the starting lineup. However, the former Cy Young winner got the top of the order in order to start the game and wiggled out of trouble in the second after Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Jose Caballero singled with two outs.

Ray mowed down the Yankees lineup until the sixth. Goldschmidt led off with a double that was assisted by a carom off the wall on the right field side. Then Judge entered the box for his third at-bat. Ray took care of Judge in the first two, but the two would battle. Judge got a low strike overturned using ABS and Ray battled back from 3-0 to get the full count. However, the reigning AL MVP would get the last laugh, getting around a 93 mph four-seamer on the inside part of the plate to deposit a homer over the left field wall. The blast went 405 feet. 

Ray would get one more out before he was pulled. The southpaw went 5.1 innings (89 pitches, 57 strikes), allowing two runs on five hits while striking out four. 

-Stanton, after narrowly missing an opposite-field homer earlier in the game, launched a homer of his own in the sixth. The blast went 414 feet (108 mph off the bat) off reliever Jose Butto. After getting two hits in the opener, Stanton picked up another two and finished 2-for-4.

-Judge, who went 0-for-5 with four strikeouts in the season opener, flew out in his first AB against Ray and struck out swinging after his check swing couldn't hold up on a 1-2 slider in the dirt. His third at-bat was the homer, but he then struck out looking in his fourth time to the plate. Judge finished 1-for-4 with the home run. After two games, he's struck out six times. 

As for the right-handers Boone put in the lineup, Grichuk went 0-for-2 before Trent Grisham came in the seventh innings. Rosario also went 0-for-2 before Ryan McMahon pinch-hit for him in the sixth, while Goldschmidt finished 1-for-5 but stayed in for the entire game.

-Five Yankees pitchers allowed just one hit on Saturday. After Ramos' second-inning double, Schlittler, Fernando Cruz, Tim Hill, Camilo Doval and David Bednar allowed just two baserunners (both walks) in 3.2 innings. Here's how the bullpen broke down:

• Cruz: 0.2 IP, 1 BB
• Hill, 1.0 IP, 2 K
• Doval: 1.0 IP, 3 K
• Bednar: 1.0 IP, 1 BB

Game MVP: Cam Schlittler

The Yankees were in a pitcher's duel early and Schlittler kept the Giants off the board long enough for Judge and the offense to push across some runs.

Highlights

ALL RISE.

AARON JUDGE'S FIRST HOME RUN OF 2026! pic.twitter.com/6hRfFSZqD5

— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) March 27, 2026

Giancarlo Stanton LAUNCHES a solo homer 🔥 pic.twitter.com/kymDN2XzEK

— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) March 27, 2026

What's next

The Yankees wrap up their series in San Francisco with a Saturday game that starts at 7:15 p.m.

Will Warren will take the mound against Tyler Mahle. 

Friday at 7pm CT on ESPNU, Saturday at 1pm CT on SEC Network, and Sunday at 11am CT on ESPN2.

This might be the first time in 20 years that neither us, nor the Franzia Funnelers to the East are ranked. Gross. Clearly, ESPN didn’t think this would happen to both of us, as they put all three games on actual cable networks, and not just the app/SECN+.

The Knoxville Buttchuggers (NR)

‘26 Record: 18-7 (3-3 SEC). In OOC play, The Chuggers opened with a series sweep over Nicholls before the wheels came off and they lost 2 of 3 to Kent State. They also lost to UCLA, but just as with Clanga, losing to the #1 team is nothing to hang your head about. In that same mini-tournament, they beat Arizona State and Virginia Tech. They also took 2 of 3 from the Wright State Freds to close out OOC play as a decidedly middle of the pack SEC team.

In conference play thus far, they dropped 2 of 3 from Ugga in Athens, and then took 2 of 3 from Missourah (spits).

In short, they’re not very good. Seeing as we are also currently not very good, and we’re at home, there’s at least a chance we can take this series.

That’s about as much enthusiasm as I can whip up right now, as I’m still reeling from the news that the cavalry is never coming for our pitching staff this season:

…and the Emily Dickinson Velociraptor is dead. This is a doomed, doomed season. https://t.co/6sdwxtYNBJ

— Andrew VU '04 (@AndrewVU041) March 25, 2026

Player to Watch: Honestly, not as many as we were accustomed to in the Tony “The Calf” Vitello era of Chuggers baseball. I’ll go with the very old corpse and horseless motor-carriage tycoon #9 Jr. 3B Henry “Detroit Zombie” Ford (.344/.400/.646 with 5 2B, 8 HR, and 25 RBI).  They’re not mashing like they used to, so you might want to pitch around the Detroit Zombie.

Anchor of Gold Tiger Beat Hottest Pitcher: #9 Fr. LHP Cam “Apple Cheeks” Appenzeller (3-0; 1.77 ERA; 0.79 WHIP). He’s a freshman reliever who’s thrown 20 & 1/3 IP, and, well, he’s not exactly giving up many hits or walks.

Andrew VU ‘04 2026 All-Name Team Nominee: Not all that many options here, either, though they do have one classic “right out of central casting” style baseball name:#27 RS So. C Stone Lawless. That’s the type of name that comes with a free bag of Big League Chew.

On the Mound

Friday @ 7:00pm on ESPNU

Vanderbilt #39 Jr. RHP Connor “The Spice” Fennell (2-1; 5.74 ERA; 12.35 K/9)

vs. THEM #21 So. RHP Tegan “And Sara” Kuhns (1-2; 4.35 ERA; 11.61 K/9)

The Lineup

Game 1 lineup ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/NzcpKybNBp

— Vanderbilt Baseball (@VandyBoys) March 27, 2026

See you in the comments.

Somehow, I’m not only doing the game coverage for Opening Day, but also for the second game of this series.

There was a time where I used to be in game threads a lot. Those times are over, for many reasons. I’ll pop in here and there. But, just a reminder that problems (and you know what I mean) are resolved by flagging posts. If you don’t flag, nothing can happen. Be the change you want to see in the game thread.

Also, about the body of the game thread post — what do people actually want to see in here? I never have any idea. The Statcast game preview actually makes far more sense for the lineups post, but that leaves this one barren. If you have inspired ideas, tell me — but not here, because I probably won’t see it here.

Anyway, the Braves and Royals have an Opening Day duel set, with two very good lefties in Cole Ragans and Chris Sale set to battle. For more info, refer to the preview and lineups and such. I just hope both teams have fun or whatever.

San Diego Padres starter Joe Musgrove was in the bullpen during team introductions on Opening Day. Along with the rest of the starting pitchers, Musgrove was there to support Nick Pivetta before his start. He had already done his work for the day, revealing in pre-game interviews that he has begun playing catch.

Musgrove started an exhibition game against the Great Britain World Baseball Classic team on March 4 and hasn’t appeared in a game since. He had a bullpen on March 8 and hadn’t thrown since then until this week. He revealed that an MRI was done on his repaired right elbow about two weeks ago and showed no new issues.

In his usual effort to be honest and forthcoming, Musgrove was unwilling to put any timeline on his progression to returning to pitching. He knew that what he was feeling during spring work wasn’t what he wanted his arm to feel like but kept hoping that things would improve and he would “breakthrough.” That never happened and it was decided to put his throwing program on pause, giving his arm a chance to rest and recover from the inflammation that seemed apparent.

President of baseball operations A.J. Preller seemed optimistic when speaking about Musgrove’s status:

“It’s not like he’s been down for six to eight weeks, so hopefully he can get going here,” he said Thursday in his media availability. “But we’re not going to really know until he gets through days like today, where he starts to play catch and he puts some volume on what he’s doing and he starts to build up innings and we’re seeing the bounce-back.” – Jeff Sanders, San Diego Union Tribune.

Musgrove also spoke in the clubhouse during Thursday’s media time.

He will have to progress from playing catch to bullpen sessions and then to live BP and a minor league or sim game appearance before considering building up to be able to start a Padres game. Common sense would lead one to think at least a May/June comeback if all goes well.

He emphasized that this was an expected development in his progress back from surgery but he had hoped it wouldn’t happen. His 15-day IL stint was back-dated to March 22. By not putting him on the 60-day IL it seems they are hopeful for a quicker bounce-back.

Yu Darvish goes on the Restricted List

Preller also discussed the status of Yu Darvish on Thursday. The Padres placed Darvish on the Restricted List on Wednesday. . He will not collect any salary for the 2026 season and will have limited contact with the team during this season. His desire is to rehab on his own and at his own pace but in consultation with Padres medical staff. He will have no commitment to being at Petco, travel with the team or be around the team before or after games. He wishes to break from the routine of the set rehab and spend more time with his family and handling his recovery himself.

Darvish has not announced his retirement and Preller explained that there will be a reassessment of his status as he gets further down the road in his rehab. He also stated that Darvish is on track with is rehab so far. The team has known for a long time that the money owed to Darvish this season would not be paid to him, that he intended to do what was best for the organization financially. This is not unprecedented as Darvish also went on the Restricted List in 2024 while dealing with personal issues that required him to leave the team for an extended period.

Preller explained this took some time because of the legal issues and the amount of people involved in the decision-making but the process began a long time ago when Darvish decided to pull away from baseball after his surgery last year.

The Padres also have starter Griffin Canning rehabbing from Achilles surgery and there has been no timeline announced for his return. Relievers Yuki Matsui and Jason Adam also began the season on the IL and both are retroactive to March 22.

It has been a busy six months since the 2025 season ended at Coors Field with a loss to the Giants, capping off the most torturous season in franchise history. 

The Rockies finished 2025 on a six-game losing streak enroute to 119 total losses on the season — a number that still doesn’t quite feel real. 

A lot can change over the winter. 

This offseason brought sweeping changes. Paul DePodesta and Josh Byrnes were brought in to reshape the front office, signaling a long-overdue investment in analytics, player development, and infrastructure. A new coaching staff followed, reinforcing what the Rockies hope is a philosophical reset from top to bottom. 

PECOTA  projects the Rockies for around 60 wins in 2026. That’s not contention, but a record of 60-102 would represent a 17-win improvement. No one is confusing this team with a miracle turnaround like the 2024 Royals, but for the first time in a long time, there’s at least a sense of direction. 

The roster looks very different. 

Over half the team has changed since last Opening Day. Kyle Karros will make his Opening Day debut, while TJ Rumfield is set for his Major League debut tonight. Overall, the roster is young — especially on the position player side, with only Brett Sullivan north of 30. The rotation is more experienced but features three new faces aiming to provide stability. 

This may be the most intriguing Opening Day in franchise history — not because of expectations, but because of what could be taking shape. And it all starts tonight at loanDepot Park in Miami.

On the mound for Colorado is veteran lefty Kyle Freeland, making his franchise-record fifth Opening Day start (2019, 2022, 2024, 2025, 2026). A Colorado native, Freeland enters his 10th season coming off a 5–17, 4.98 ERA campaign across 31 starts. He’s at his best working with tempo and generating weak contact, mixing a fastball, curveball, cutter, and sweeper to keep hitters off balance. 

Opposing him is former Cy Young Award winner  Sandy Alcantara for Miami. After returning from Tommy John surgery in 2025, the right-hander posted a 5.36 ERA over 31 starts but looked more like himself down the stretch, going 7–3 with a 3.33 ERA in his final 13 outings. He brings a balanced five-pitch mix anchored by an elite fastball. 

One thing to watch early: the offense. 

The Rockies quietly put together a strong spring, leading MLB with an .858 OPS andscoring 202 runs in 31 games. Just as encouraging, they cut down on strikeouts, finishing the spring with the 13^th fewest. 

The pitching lagged behind — posting the second-highest team ERA andallowing 209 runs — but the Rockies still finished the spring with a 15-15 record. For a team coming off three consecutive 100-loss seasons, that’s meaningful progress. 

The question now: do those offensive gains carry over, and can the pitching catch up? 

Now for the details… 

Game Time: 5:10 pm MDT 

How to watch: Rockies.TV

How to listen: Rockies – KOA 850 AM/94.1 FM

Follow Live: MLB Gameday 

Lineups –  

Here. We. Go.#Rockiespic.twitter.com/9XJQEI8c0X

— Colorado Rockies (@Rockies) March 27, 2026

Game 1/162

🤝: @PNCBank
📺: https://t.co/pMAEOPHNJ8
👂: @MarlinsRadio , @radiomambi710, 560 WQAM
⏰: 7:10 PM ET
🏟️: Roof status: OPEN#FightinFish // https://t.co/ZrOdIbYDTIpic.twitter.com/MV5D2QCOM3

— Miami Marlins (@Marlins) March 27, 2026

The day we’ve all been waiting for has finally arrived. A’s Opening Day baseball is hours, minutes or just seconds away. Granted, it’s not “our” opening day at “our’ our ballpark, we’ll have to wait another week for that celebration, but it is the start of the most promising season in recent memory.

There’s a buzz around this team that I haven’t sensed in a while, and it will all get started today as the reigning American League champs host our A’s for the weekend! Let’s hope that watching the Blue Jays hoist the American League Pennant will serve as even more motivation for this young and uber-talented team to take their play to the next level.

Taking the mound for the A’s today will be Luis Severino. The 32-year-old righty hopes to improve upon a rough first season in the Kelly-green and gold where he went 8-11 with a 4.45 ERA in 162 innings. He ended last season with a definite upswing and pitched well in the World Baseball Classic (WBC) this spring, so there is reason for optimism.

Severino will go up against 35-year-old righty Kevin Gausman. He finished the year with a 10-11 record over thirty-two starts. He logged a 3.99 ERA with 189 strikeouts for the Jays.

Gausman will face off against this lineup for Mark Kotsay’s A’s tonight at the Rogers Center in Toronto:

Game 1 👊 pic.twitter.com/bgY1Mtg2jI

— Athletics (@Athletics) March 27, 2026

Severino will go up against this lineup for the Jays today:

🚨 OUR FIRST LINEUP OF 2026 🚨 #BlueJays50pic.twitter.com/kJ85cuJzCr

— Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays) March 27, 2026

Follow the Game:
Watch:
Athletics – NBCSCA
National – MLBN

Listen:
Athletics – Talk 650 KSTE, A’s Cast

One day after the Mets began their season, Jonah Tong was on the hill for Triple-A Syracuse's Opening Day as they took on the Worcester Red Sox at Polar Park.

After a bit of a bumpy first inning in which he walked two, the right-hander settled down and looked good in his four innings of work, where he allowed no runs on one hit and those two free passes. The youngster also struck out four, including three of the last four batters he faced, but his outing was done following 73 pitches (42 strikes).

Tong featured his usual fastball/changeup combo while also throwing in some cutters and curveballs as he continues to work on adding to and refining his repertoire. His fastball reached as high as 97 mph, but was typically around 93-95 mph.

The 22-year-old got better as the game went on, retiring the final eight batters he faced. Had it not been for a first inning that saw him throw 33 pitches, Tong would've been able to pitch deeper into the game and possibly get the win. 

Nevertheless, Tong left the game with a 2-0 lead after Jose Rojas hit a two-run homer in the fourth inning.

The long winter has finally ended. Baseball is back. And while we got to laugh at the misfortunes of nearly half the teams in the league yesterday – seriously, Oneil Cruz seems very badly miscast as a centerfielder – it’s finally our turn to fret about our own team’s foibles. Let’s play ball!

Today’s starter for Kansas City is Cole Ragans, getting his third straight Opening Day start. He’ll be looking for his first win in such games, though. He took the loss against Minnesota in 2024 and could only watch from the bench as Sam Long got rocked for three runs in the tenth inning against the Guardians last year. Even after a ninth-inning rally forced the extra frame to begin with.

We all know that Ragans was hurt and had a much worse ERA last year. But pretty much every backing stat we have says he actually pitched significantly better than fourth-in-Cy-Young-voting campaign in 2024 – at least, when he was able to be on the mound. Keen-eyed Royals fans should watch not just to hope he stays healthy, but to see if he can pitch similarly to how he did last season while he’s at it. If he pitches a full season the way he did last year, he could end up the runaway favorite for the 2026 Cy Young Award.

Ragans has never faced Atlanta as a member of the Royals; he pitched three innings of relief against them in 2023 as a member of the Rangers and gave up four runs. But that was a long time ago and a very different Ragans. Atlanta’s offense somewhat resembles the 2025 Royals in that it has some absolute studs – Ronald Acuña Jr, Drake Baldwin, Matt Olson, and Austin Riley – and then a bunch of guys you mostly would rather weren’t in your lineup. Former Royals Mike Yastrzemski either isn’t in the lineup or shouldn’t be thanks to his splits.

The Royals, as an organization, are very familiar with Atlanta’s starter, Chris Sale, as he pitched for the White Sox for so many years. But they haven’t actually faced him since 2023, when he was still with the Red Sox. He’s a very different pitcher now than he was then, back to being absolutely elite when he’s on the mound, and the Royals are going to have their hands full.

Lineups

The Royals’ opening day lineup includes four players who weren’t on the team at this time last year. Maikel Garcia also returns to his old home at the top of the lineup after a monster 2025 and an even better WBC performance, after being left out of the Opening Day lineup last year.

The Royals are really leaning into their platoons, at least to start the year, with Starling Marte and Lane Thomas getting starts over Kyle Isbel and Jac Caglianone, who each figure to get the majority of the playing time at their positions over the course of the season. However, you can understand letting them sit against one of the very toughest lefties in the game. They could both enter as pinch hitters later in the contest.

I think it probably says something less than kind that the Royals’ plan for leadoff last year now bats seventh, and their “big” offseason acquisition is batting eighth. But Lane Thomas is having a lot of faith put in him to bat third today. Still, it may be Opening Day, but it’s also only one game out of 162. So let’s try not to panic too much about what this lineup construction means or how lineups will work for the rest of the year. Looking purely at the positive, it’s nice to see Manager Matt Quatraro leaning into the platoon matchups the front office built for him. We’ll just have to see whether they and he did well enough.

Astros All-Star shortstop Jeremy Peña will make his season debut on Friday against the Los Angeles Angels after missing Opening Day due to his recovery from a fractured right index finger.

Peña suffered the injury playing for the Dominican Republic in an exhibition game leading up to the World Baseball Classic. He was healthy enough to be included on the Astros’ Opening Day roster and spent Thursday facing live pitching with the Astros Triple-A affiliate in Sugar Land, TX. 

“He feels good. He’s excited to be back in the lineup. We’re all excited to have him back in the lineup,” Astros manager Joe Espada said.

Espada said Peña’s availability for Saturday’s game will hinge on how he feels after Friday’s game. Peña hit a home run while playing in Tuesday’s exhibition against Sugar Land at Daikin Park.

Peña, 28, finished last season batting .304 with 17 home runs and 62 RBI in 125 games with 20 stolen bases. He was selected to his first All-Star Game and finished 10^th in American League MVP voting.

Welcome back to the Charlotte Knights’ redemption season. Last season didn’t go as expected, as the Knights finished 65-85, the fourth-worst record in the International League East. Despite spending time early in the season with a winning record and flirting with .500 for a while, the club ultimately struggled because the bullpen frequently gave up games, and the bats were streakier than Midwest weather in the spring. Fortunately, the Knights finally appear to be sporting some top-notch talent this year.

---

Starting Pitching
The Knights rotation looks slightly different than last year. 

After securing a Southern League title, Tanner McDougal is ready to cruise through Charlotte. His 3.26 ERA, 1.33 WHIP, and .241 allowed batting average made him a standout pitching in the farm system in 2025. But the real test is yet to come. McDougal lasted less than four innings in nearly half his starts last year, which isn’t enough in the majors. All eyes will surely be on the only new starter.

Jonathan Cannon returns to Charlotte after missing Chicago’s 26-man roster cut. He hopes to work his way back to the majors after posting a 5.82 ERA and giving up 17 home runs in 22 games. His regression from 2024 and struggles in Charlotte require he work especially hard to reclaim any role in Chicago. 

Duncan Davitt and Noah Schultz fall into a similar category of needing to prove themselves. Davitt didn’t give up the long ball as much as he couldn’t stop the bleeding. His 27 earned runs in nine starts with the Knights set a sink-or-swim expectation for him this year. Schultz is also in hot water after his leap from Double to Triple-A was a disaster. Schultz was decimated for 15 runs in his first three starts, was plagued for a month by a bum knee, and couldn’t manage to squeak out shutout appearances in his last two very short starts. 

Shane Murphy starts the season with the Knights after breaking out last year. His stunning 1.66 ERA, 24 walks, and 104 strikeouts from High-A through Triple-A went under the radar, but he was one of the best pitchers in the minors. Murphy needs reps in Triple-A before he gets the call up, and his timeline could speed up if Erick Fedde or Drew Thorpe get annihilated in April and May.

Relievers
Shifting to the bullpen, not much has changed. A few old faces will reclaim their place in the pen after pitching at least 25 innings last year for the Knights:

• Wikelman González – 33 IP
• Tyler Schweitzer – 50 IP
• Chase Plymell – 52 ⅓ IP
• Garrett Schoenle – 27 ⅔ IP

Ben Peoples, Adisyn Coffey and Zach Franklin got a taste of Triple-A last year, but struggled in the few innings they pitched.

Brandon Eisert had two appearances in Charlotte before being called up to play out the rest of the season with the Sox. He’s been relegated back to the Knights — although it could be a brief stay given Chicago embarrassed itself on Opening Day in a 14-2 loss to Milwaukee. Eisert’s 34 earned runs, 74 strikeouts, and nine holds in 72 innings aren’t keeping him off the 26-man as much as lack of space. However, he still has yet to show he isn’t a 4A reliever.

Position Players
With Korey Lee released, the Knights will rely on backstops Michael Turner, Josh Breaux and DrewRomo. With Reese McGuire signed to an MLB deal (no demotion to Triple-A in the plans) and Kyle Teel on the mend and preparing to share catching duties with Edgar Quero, it’s unlikely that any of this trio will get off of the Charlotte busses in 2026. However, Turner is the closest thing the White Sox have to an ace catcher in the system at this point.

Making our way around the horn, first base seems anyone’s guess, while there is some strong talent otherwise. A trio of middle infielders anchor the group, including Sam Antonacci, William Bergolla Jr. and Jacob Gonzalez. Gonzalez, the only one a first-rounder, is probably the odd man out and pushed to third base, as Antonacci strutted his stuff at the WBC representing team Italy and seems destined to be the first bat up in Chicago when injury calls. Like Antonacci, Bergolla impressed with his Spring Training invite. Oliver Dunn was solid at third base and could slide over to play some first. Darren Baker also had an active camp with the White Sox, and he’ll be subbing in at second base and pinch-running.

Finally, the outfield. Dustin Harris comes from the Rangers minor league system bouncing between Triple-A and the majors. While he didn’t hold his own in Texas, he slapped the ball around for Round Rock Express (.285/.369/.435, 44 walks, 41 RBIs). He should help move runners around the diamond on a team that loved to strand hitters. Dru Baker had a strong season with the Knights and has a real chance of being called up. Acquired in the Matt Thaiss trade, Baker hit a respectable .256 batting average and kept the offense. The only issue is that he is one of the few guys who can incite an offense on a whim. Jarred Kelenic takes over right field after struggling with Braves and Gwinnett Stripers. With batting averages below or just touching the Mendoza line, there are no expectations. And finally, LaMonte Wade Jr. couldn’t parlay his terrific Spring Training with the White Sox into a guaranteed deal somewhere else, so he is back to club the ball in Charlotte.