Author: MLB Baseball News, Scores, Standings, Rumors, Fantasy Games

One game won’t exorcise all the demons of yesteryear, but the Atlanta Braves made a huge first step in turning things around on Opening Day, dominating the Kansas City Royals to the tune of a 6-0, wire-to-wire victory. Chris Sale was uncharacteristically shaky in the early going, but the bats (three dingers!) and gloves (lots of flash!) showed up in full force — sprinkle in a little luck, and you have a recipe for a feel-good Friday night.

Things even looked auspicious early. After a Maikel Garcia single started the game, Sale pumped in a get-me-over fastball to Bobby Witt Jr., and was “rewarded” with a hard-hit but routine double play ball to Mauricio Dubon at shortstop. Though Royals ace Cole Ragans and his defense got two outs on two grounders in three pitches, Ozzie Albies jumped all over a 2-1 floating changeup and yoinked it into the left-field corner for the Braves’ first homer, and run, of the season. It was a cheapie, coming off the bat at less than 97 mph and traveling less than 370 feet, but we’re exorcising demons here. Ragans probably didn’t intend to float a 2-1 changeup, and he looked shaky afterwards. Matt Olson yanked a pitch way below the zone for a hard single, and then Ragans walked Austin Riley on four pitches. Unfortunately, Eli White had a weak bounceout to end the rally.

Sale’s second inning was a mess, but it cleaned itself up. A hard single, a hit-by-pitch, a strikeout, and a four-pitch walk loaded the bases and brought up Isaac Collins. Sale got ahead with a slider, and then threw a fastball that ended up considerably lower than where it was likely called for… but Collins didn’t do anything with the pitch and instead bounced it right to Dubon for another bacon-saving double play.

Ragans bounced back, striking out the side (but also walking Jonah Heim) in the bottom of the inning. Sale continued to wobble in the third — two walks and two strikeouts, but was bailed out by White’s diving catch of a liner to left that would’ve tied the game.

And then the Braves more or less took over the proceedings. Drake Baldwin swung at and barely tipped what would’ve been fall four from Ragans to start the bottom of the third, but then got a misplaced fastball that he sweetly hoisted over the brick wall in right. Ragans is actually a bizarre reverse splits guy (are they real? If so, Ragans would be a paragon of the cause), but had been taken deep by lefties all of three times in his entire career, and none since September 2024… at least until Drake Baldwin had his say in the matter. Albies followed by lacing another floating changeup for a single up the middle. The Braves kind of took the wind out of their own sails a bit by having Albies try to steal with Olson at the plate — not only did Olson take a strike when Albies was thrown out, but then he struck out on the next pitch. Riley followed with a bloop single, and White struck out.

By the fourth, we were done with Shaky Sale and had progressed back to the expected, Smooth Sale(ing). He threw a 1-2-3 frame, with two groundouts and a strikeout. After Heim drew another walk off Ragans, it was Michael Harris II’s turn to go off, as he took a hanging first-pitch slider and bashed it for a two-run homer. So, just to be clear: Cole Ragans pre-facing the Braves tonight — three career homers yielded to lefties; Cole Ragans tonight — two homers yielded to lefties. Go figure. At this point, while it wasn’t inconceivable that the Royals could rally, the game started to feel like a fait accompli. Sale ended up with just one more baserunner (a Witt leadoff single) as he completed six frames. The defense continued to help him out — Olson, Ronald Acuña Jr., and Riley all made nice defensive plays to keep the outs tally growing.

Ragans departed after four in favor of Bailey Falter, who was fine for two innings before the Braves got him in his third frame of work. At one point, there was a near-surreal sequence where Acuña struck out looking and challenged the call, with it being confirmed by the slimmest of margins, only for Baldwin to follow and get thrown out trying to beat out a slow roller by a similarly-microscopic sliver. But, in the seventh, a combination of what were essentially bloops by Olson, Riley, and Dubon scored two more runs. The first two bloops were donut holes, but Dubon’s was basically a routine fly ball that just so happened to split the defense in right center, capping the scoring at 6-0.

The Braves’ bullpen had no adventures. Dylan Lee had a nine-pitch inning with three outs in the air. Robert Suarez had a couple of bloop hits go against him in his Braves debut, but collected a strikeout and got a groundout to escape. Tyler Kinley wrapped the game up while looking somewhat unrecognizable, peppering the zone with breaking pitches in a way that baffled the Royals and exhausted their remaining outs.

Overall, it was hard to ask for an easier, more relaxing win — after Sale settled down, anyway. Good enough pitching, some flashed leather, and, oh yeah, homers. We don’t yet know if that’s how the Braves will do it in 2026, but it’s what they did tonight, and it was great.

Walt Weiss got his first win as Atlanta’s skipper. Sale’s line was only okay in the end (6/3 K/BB ratio, and a hit by pitch), but he improved as the game went on and no one’s gonna complain given the game itself. The Atlanta side of the box score generally looked pretty sweet, with Albies and Olson each collecting two hits, and Riley having a perfect 3-for-3 night with a walk, though two of his three hits were bloops and the third was an infield hit not cleanly handled by the defense. The only guy that didn’t have a good time, on paper, was Acuña, who struck out three times, and had a couple of weak balls in play otherwise. Ah, well, he can have the spotlight another day.

Ragans had his worst start by FIP ever and his worst start by xFIP since August 2024, as he managed just a 5/4 K/BB ratio and gave up three bombs. Falter saved the Kansas City relief corps with three innings and a 4/0 K/BB ratio, though he did suffer bloop damage in the seventh.

The series continues tomorrow with a Reynaldo Lopez-Michael Wacha matchup, as the Braves will try to add some old priest/young priest action on top of tonight’s soul-cleansing win.

The day we’ve all been waiting for has finally arrived. A’s Opening Day baseball is under way for 2026. Granted, it’s not 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. 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.

Luis Severino got the start for the A’s today. 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 matched up against Kevin Gausman, who finished the year with a 10-11 record over thirty-two starts for the Jays, logging a 3.99 ERA with 189 strikeouts.

Both pitchers were rock solid through the first three innings. Severino, only allowing one baserunner, a walk to Vlad Jr. Gausman was perfect through three innings with six strikeouts. But the A’s broke through against Gausman when Shea Langeliers launched the first homer of the season over the left field wall for a 1-0 lead.

Shea strikes first 😮‍💨 pic.twitter.com/QLbPAdQQ8h

— Athletics (@Athletics) March 28, 2026

Severino worked his way into a bit of a jam in the bottom of the fourth walking Nathan Lukes and giving up a single to Guerrero. But two ground balls; one a double play and the other a 6-3 ground out got him quickly out of the inning. His luck ran out in the bottom of the fifth when a bad miscommunication between Clarke and Soderstrom allowed a gapper to score two runs and bring Gimenez to third with just one out. Seve worked his way out of the jam but hit the bench trailing 2-1 for the first time this game. That was all for Severino, who finished his day with 5.0 innings, three hits, two earned runs, three walks and three strikeouts. Scott Barlow made his A’s debut in the bottom of the sixth with a quick 1-2-3 inning.

Gausman was finished after six, replaced by Louis Varland. Langeliers greeted him with a base hit and Soderstrom walked with no outs. But Varland buckled down and escaped without allowing a run. Barlow got the first two outs in the bottom of the seventh then gave way to Hogan Harris. He walked one but escaped unharmed. Harris came out again for the eighth and tossed another quick inning for the A’s.

The Blue Jays closer, Jeff Hoffman entered to shut down the A’s in the ninth. He got Kurtz on an ABS challenged strike three. But Shea Langeliers ripped his second homer of the game to straight away centerfield to tie the game.

BANG pic.twitter.com/oL0oDBVwLU

— Athletics (@Athletics) March 28, 2026

With one out Soderstrom swung at strike three, but the ball got away from Alejandro Kirk and Soderstrom beat the throw to first. Unfortunately, Hoffman struck out the side, and we went to the bottom of the ninth tied at 2-2.

Justin Sterner entered the game to pitch the ninth. Sterner got two easy outs, but then Kazuma Okamoto singled and Ernie Clement doubled to move Okamoto to third with two down. Andrés Giménez singled to drive in the winning run. The A’s dropped the opener in Toronto 3-2 to the Blue Jays.

The bad news? The Royals had a really rough game at the plate and on the mound. The good news? There are 161 more of these, and the Royals will look better in most of them.

Cole Ragans led the way to the Royals’ third straight Opening Day loss with him on the mound. He ended up giving up four runs on six hits in four innings. He walked four and gave up three home runs; he did strike out five. Walks continue to be an issue for him in starts where they show up, not just adding baserunners but really skyrocketing the pitch count. There was a scare in the first inning where Ragans came down on his lead foot weird. His command seemed to suffer after that, but he had only faced two hitters before that, so it might have been a pure coincidence.

Bailey Falter came on in relief and pitched three innings, the first two looked pretty good but he definitely seemed to wear down in the third inning. Ultimately, he gave up two runs in three innings with four strikeouts and no walks. It does seem like he might have something to build on there. Alex Lange got the eighth and pitched a perfect inning with a strikeout. So the bullpen is showing some promise to get things started.

Chris Sale really struggled with his command in the early going, but managed to get things under control without giving up any runs, thanks in part to some excellent defensive plays behind him. Their bullpen sent two to the mound, giving up no runs. The Royals managed only five hits and three walks all night. The top of the order did their jobs with Maikel Garcia, Bobby Witt Jr., and Lane Thomas each reaching twice. Salvador Perez contributed a single from the four hole as well. But the bottom five reached only once, a Jonathan India walk.

The offense will need to be better, but Chris Sale is a tough matchup for anyone. They’ll face righties for each of the next two games, so hopefully they’ll be able to put out the stronger iteration of their lineup and get some work done. It’s far too early to panic.

Tomorrow’s matchup will feature Michael Wacha (10-13, 3.86 ERA last year) facing off against Reynaldo López (0-0, 5.40 ERA in one start last year – he was injured for most of it.) It will be a nationally televised game on FOX, so if you’re a cord-cutter, you will already require a second service to watch the game. Hopefully, the Royals put up a slightly better showing. It starts at the same time as tonight’s game, 6:15 Royals time.

18 zeros. 18 goose eggs. 18 uh-ohs. 18 black holes. 18 innings of big ol’ nothin’s from the San Francisco Giants offense.  

Two days removed from being carved up by New York starter Max Fried (with an off-day in-between to recoup), the Giants hitters got right back in the saddle, and promptly tumbled off the other side against young right-hander, Cam Schlittler, in an eventual 3-nil loss. 

It’s not an ideal start…but it could be a symbolic one, because what if I told you that a similar offensive cold snap started the 2002 season? Because what if I told you a similar stumble led to one of the most successful seasons in club history? And what if I told you all of that is a lie? Because of course it is. The Barry Bond-Jeff Kent Giants scored a bajillion runs in the first 18 innings and never lost a game all season.

These 18 offensive donuts — that’s called history folks. The first time the New York Yankees have ever thrown back-to-back shutouts to start a season. The first time the New York/San Francisco Giants have ever been shutout in back-to-back games to start a season.

Add Heliot Ramos’s 2nd inning double — the only knock of the day — to the tally, and we’re still on our left hand. San Francisco’s four hits in these two losses are actually the fewest hit total to start a season in the team’s 144 year history. According to Duane Kuiper on the postgame wrap, that low mark actually tied the 1909 Chicago White Sox’s for fewest in all of Major League history. 

But it’s not like the Giants bats have tripped over their own shoelaces while taking a walk in the park. They’ve had their hands full with these Yankee starters. Fried fried their bats on Wednesday. And Schlittler…well, you can figure out the descriptive name-pun for yourself. 

The 25 year old’s understated and quiet wind-up belies the loud and volatile pitches he unleashes. Schlittler almost looks shy as he starts his delivery. Any movement pre-leg kick is hard to discern. To start, he closes his shoulders off to the plate with the slightest reset of his front foot. He peers down at his shoes, taps his toe on the ground as if to reassure himself it’s there before the knee hoists up and ffoooooommmmpppp… 99 MPH four-seamer, or sinker, or 95 MPH cutter. 

Everything out of Schlittler’s hand is hard, and based on aggressive early swings from Giants bats, hard to lay off. The three variations on heat produced a cruel mix of beguiling movements that avoided barrels like the plague. The confrontations were one-sided and quick. He fanned 8 over 5.1 innings pitched, and I don’t think he broke a sweat doing it, needing just 68 pitches to bag 16 outs before being yanked by Yankee skipper Aaron Boone. But the New York relief was no relief for the Giants offense. Just the same ol’ same ol’ with a stand-out performance from old bud Camilo Doval, who looked as sharp as he ever had in the orange-and-black. He worked quick, established his pitches sinker early, kept his slider tight, and attacked the zone to bag three punch-outs in a 1-2-3 8th. 

One could make a decent argument that the only good thing about the game was the weather, but I don’t think that’s completely fair to Robbie Ray. Though hung with the loss, the veteran lefty ultimately held a potent offense to just two runs, and the only slight against him was leaking a tired four-seamer out over the plate to the best hitter of the decade. 

Back-to-back golden sombreros just wasn’t an option for Aaron Judge, and in a friendly count late in an outing against a pitcher he’s already taken deep three times before, he got a pitch to demolish, and Judge dropped the gavel. 

Other than that offering, Ray has got to be pleased with the way he kicked off his season. The slider he tweaked this spring fetched 8 whiffs on 19 swings (42%) including three of his four strikeouts. And what felt nearly as certain as a Judge bomb was a Ray base-on-balls — but the walk never came (though maybe he should’ve given in to Judge in the 6th). Ray stayed aggressive to the plate and did a solid job keeping the count in his favor. He threw 13 first-pitch strikes, and was 10/14 when starting off an at-bat with his fastball. The lefty didn’t fall into a 1-0 count until the seventh batter he faced — which is a minor miracle and major victory for Ray, who spends the majority of the season battling himself through tough counts and stressful frames brought on by his high walk rate.  

Tony Vitello got his steps in today, making three mid-inning changes, giving us a glimpse of how aggressive he’s going to be with the bullpen. The swaps worked for the most part, though things certainly got dice-y at times. Jose Buttó promptly gave up a monster solo shot to Giancarlo Stanton in the 6th. Erik Miller replaced a runner on from Buttó in the 7th and induced three consecutive ground-outs. Ryan Borucki inherited a one-out, first-and-third situation from Ryan Walker and made it immediately worse by walking Ryan McMahon on four pitches to load bases, before getting out of trouble by coaxing two ground balls from Yankee hitters.  

All in all, it’s nothing. 18 innings. Two games. What’s tough is it’s the first two games. Fans have had a long winter of no baseball, and now we have two days of a different kind of no baseball that has somehow already wrung our souls out like a towel. We know, from an intellectual standpoint, that this line-up is better than the at-bats we’ve witnessed so far in 2026 — we just haven’t seen it yet. We have nothing tangible to grasp and hold tight to. There’s no proof, only mutterings and faint memories that Rafael Devers can, in fact, drive a fastball pumped over the middle of the plate. Little comfort in that hearsay when all we have to go on are the hellacious hacks and fierce uppercuts that have come up empty so far.

The Guardians have released their lineup for tonight:

The quest towards a perfect season continues tonight.#GuardsBallpic.twitter.com/iZFYDIXHVp

— Cleveland Guardians (@CleGuardians) March 27, 2026

And the Mariners decided to release one, also:

Friday night lights. #TridentsUp

📺 @AppleTV
📻 @SeattleSportspic.twitter.com/VDca2yicac

— Seattle Mariners (@Mariners) March 27, 2026

Let’s go, Guardians!

For a pitcher with just 15 career starts under his belt, Cam Schlittler has looked every bit of a veteran on the mound for the Yankees.

It started last season when he made his debut in July, continued throughout the regular season and culminated in the postseason, where he had a start against the Boston Red Sox in which he went eight scoreless innings in a win-or-go-home game with 12 strikeouts.

Schlittler was similarly dominant on Friday against the San Francisco Giants despite being on a pitch count. The right-hander struck out eight through 5.1 scoreless innings and allowed just one hit in a rather dominant performance.

In fact, over his first 15 career regular season starts, Schlittler has shut out his opponent four times and that’s not including his epic playoff start against the Red Sox last year.

Suffice to say, Schlittler has impressed manager Aaron Boone, who was asked after the game about what was so good from the youngster on Friday.

“Everything,” the skipper said. “The power – eight strikeouts there, but being real pitch efficient too. Only going 70 [pitches] with him today, so to get into the sixth inning really set us up really nice and then the pen was outstanding.”

In two games to begin the 2026 season, New York has yet to allow a run and has limited the Giants to just four hits and four walks.

First, it was Max Fried and Co. on Opening Day and then it was Schlittler. Will Warren hopes to keep things going on Saturday.

“It felt good,” Schlittler said. “Just being able to work the four-seam, the two-seam, the cutter and kind of incorporating the curveball towards the end there. Throwing a lot of strikes, limiting the walks is very important.”

Throwing strikes kept the 25-year-old in the game long enough to get the win despite his short leash that stemmed from a strained oblique during spring training that set him back some.

While he wished he could have gone further in the game with how things were going, he understands the process that he needs to take.

“Nothing I can do about it, it’s out of my control,” he said. “… Keep building from this week to next week and then hopefully get up to 90 pitches in a couple starts.”

With the Yankees going with a four-man rotation to start the year, Schlittler’s next start figures to be on Wednesday, April 1, against the Seattle Mariners.

SAN FRANCISCO — Expect changes to the Giants’ lineup after the team was shut out for the second straight game to start its season.

Manager Tony Vitello rolled out the same group after San Francisco was blanked in its season opener Wednesday, but after mustering just one hit off Cam Schlittler in a 3-0 loss to the Yankees on Friday, the rookie manager said he plans to shake things up.

“Wednesday’s lineup didn’t have much to show, but we met on it and left it as is,” Vitello said. “There’s a good chance there will be some variance tomorrow based off the numbers and a new pitcher on the mound.”

In two games against Max Fried, Schlittler and the Yankees’ bullpen, the Giants have produced zero runs, four hits, four walks and 19 strikeouts. It’s the first time in the franchise’s 143-year history that it has been blanked in back-to-back games to begin a season.

Surely, they’ll have more luck against Saturday’s starter, Will Warren, regardless of the batting order. Even a sample as minuscule as 59 at-bats (and the accompanying .068 batting average) is bound for some regression to the mean.

“It’s kind of all about sample size. Over and over, we’ve talked about being in this for the long haul,” Vitello said. “I think that’s where our guys’ mindset is. But there’s also a pressing need in there for some feel-good and also to want to perform for the fans.”

Still, it’s far from the output expected after San Francisco added Luis Arraez and Harrison Bader to a lineup that already included Willy Adames, Matt Chapman and Rafael Devers.

Chapman accounted for both of the Giants’ walks in Friday’s loss, while a softly hit double down the right field line from Heliot Ramos amounted to their only extra-base hit in two games.

Adames struck out three times Friday and is hitless in seven at-bats. Devers also earned a hat trick in their latest loss and is 1 for 8. Bader and Arraez have combined to reach base twice in 14 total trips to the plate.

Adames watched a close strike three that scraped the inside corner after Chapman reached on a walk to begin the seventh, trailing 3-0. Rather than use either of the two ABS challenges the Giants had, he walked back to the dugout visibly upset.

“I think that’s one where if he was disappointed in himself, that’s fine,” Vitello said. “If it was frustration out of [the called strike], that was an opportunity where it could’ve been used.”

The Giants have yet to challenge a pitch on offense, despite watching the Yankees do so twice, including an overturned call a few pitches before Aaron Judge deposited a two-run homer halfway up the left field bleachers that broke a scoreless tie in the top of the sixth.

“I definitely wouldn’t doubt our guys’ efforts, but if you’re trying too hard and things start to move fast on you, maybe you’re a little bit hesitant and you’re not wanting to be the one who makes a mistake,” Vitello said. “I think they’ll settle in and find a little bit more of a comfort zone, but if you analyze the last two days, there were more opportunities to [challenge] than we utilized.”

Effort and emotion were two themes Vitello continued to touch on after the game as he attempted to find answers for the Giants’ woeful start to his tenure in the dugout.

As in: too much of both.

Between Netflix’s Opening Night on Wednesday, the Giants’ traditional season-opening festivities before Friday afternoon’s game and a “fire and brimstone” speech that Vitello gave to the team Tuesday, the manager wondered if emotions were running too high.

“The results, or the numbers, look like there’s not a lot of try-hard,” Vitello said. “But kind of the old baseball adage, there’s probably too much. Maybe that extends to that conversation prior to the season. Or maybe it just stems from all the Opening Day fanfare.”

Robbie Ray, who limited the Yankees to three runners over 5 ⅓ innings besides Judge’s home run and the double from Paul Goldschmidt that preceded it, dismissed that idea.

“We’re all major-league players,” he said. “I think we can handle the ups and downs.”

All the same, Ramos shrugged off the idea of switching up the batting order.

“We’ve just got to get on base,” Ramos said. “We’ve got to execute. … It’s just two games to start the season. We’ve just got to get going.”

Consider it the first true test for the first-year manager, given Vitello at least deployed his bullpen as well as he can while playing from behind. A solo shot from Giancarlo Stanton off Jose Butto amounted to the only run the Giants’ relievers have allowed in 7 ⅔ innings.

The bullpen was considered a question mark. The reinvigorated lineup was supposed to be a strength. That hasn’t been the case, at least through a two-game sample.

“I’d kind of put it on me a little bit,” Vitello said. “Get all fire and brimstone a few days ago. I think some good words were shared. But I also think as of right now, it’s a little emotional in there.”

Detroit Tigers vs. San Diego Padres

Time/Place: 9:40 p.m., Petco Park
SB Nation Site: Gaslamp Ball
Media: Detroit Sportsnet, MLB.TV, Tigers Radio Network
Pitching Matchup: LHP Framber Valdez (0-0, 0.00 ERA) vs. RHP Michael King (0-0, 0.00 ERA)

* Note: Stats in the table below are Fangraphs’ 2026 projections

Player	G	IP	K%	BB%	ERA	FIP	fWAR
Valdez	31	194.0	21.5%	8.0%	3.54	3.56	3.6
King	29	161.0	24.7%	8.6%	3.80	3.99	2.7

Following the Yankees' 3-0 win over the Giants on Friday afternoon, manager Aaron Boone and the players spoke about a number of topics, including Camilo Doval's dominant start to the 2026 season.

---

Camilo Doval dominating to start season

Doval was one of GM Brian Cashman's big acquisitions at last year's trade deadline. He, along with David Bednar, were supposed to shore up the Yankees bullpen for a deep playoff run. Doval, however, struggled in the final months of the 2025 season as a Yankee. Now, a whole offseason with the Yankees behind him, Doval has come out to start the season dominating batters. 

After pitching a 1-2-3 inning in the opener, Doval struck out the side on Friday afternoon.

"Dominant," Boone said of Doval's outing. "The sinker from the side, looked like a split and I thought really good pace and tempo to him filling up the strike zone. That was a dominant 1-2-3 inning of what he can be and what he looks like when he’s rolling. Really excited for that performance, now back-to-back strong outings for him."

After coming over from San Francisco at the deadline, Doval pitched to a 4.82 ERA in 22 appearances in pinstripes. After Friday's win, Doval was asked about how he feels with the team this season.

"It’s like joining a new family. You start adapting to get a good rhythm of how things work out here," Doval said via the team interpreter. "That’s really it. Feeling more comfortable, trying to do my job, really. Focus on the work and it’s going well."

"That’s what he’s capable of," Boone said. "He’s built in really tough on a righty, but he’s capable of getting lefties, too. The sinker was great today, but also landed a couple of sliders in there, cutter in the zone, kinda overmatched them. That’s what he’s capable of when he’s right."

The Yankees hope they are getting the Doval from 2023, when he made his lone All-Star Game as a member of the Giants. That season, he pitched to a 2.93 ERA and picked up a career high 39 saves. 

"We always talk about 2023 and that’s a goal of ours. To be a version of myself from 2023 or better," Doval said. "The mindset is simple. Do your job, put in the work and try to improve as much as you can."

Giancarlo Stanton dialed in

Almost quietly, Stanton is having a good first two games of the season. He picked up two hits in the opener and added another two knocks in Friday's win. One of those hits was a homer that put the Yankees up 3-0. He also narrowly missed another.

It's just a continuation of a pretty good spring for the slugger. In 11 spring games, Stanton smashed four homers and hit .286. 

"Really good ABs. He’s disciplined, develops his plan and goes up there and is executing really well," Boone said of Stanton. "First at-bat where he strikes out, you think, 'yeah he’s got the right plan, the right thought.' Then he hit a pretty good ball to right and then got a wrinkle in the zone that he stuck. Yeah, he’s in a really good place."

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

— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) March 27, 2026

Judge and the ABS

One moment flipped the game on its head, which happened via the new ABS challenge system.

With the score tied 0-0 in the sixth inning and Aaron Judge at the plate, Robbie Ray threw a 1-0 slider that looked to be low. It was called a strike by the home plate umpire, as many of those calls have been to Judge in the past.

However, the Yankee Captain tapped his helmet to challenge the call, the first time he's done it in a real game. Judge's knowledge of the zone was correct, which changed the count from 1-1 to a favorable 2-0. And although Ray fought back to work the count full, Judge would launch an inside fastball over the left field wall to give the Yankees a lead they wouldn't relinquish.

"I thought it was borderline," Boone said of the pitch Judge challenged. "I knew it was going to probably be close. Obviously, it turned into a real leverage-heavy at-bat for him and he hit a moonshot."

Judge called the process "weird" but said he'll get used to the ABS system, but felt that with Paul Goldschmidt on second, he wanted to make sure he had a better chance to drive him in.

"I’m a hitter, I gotta focus on hitting," Judge said of the challenge. "I’m not going to sit here and challenge every single one that I think is close. But it was a big spot that I think I had a chance to flip the count. I still gotta do my job as a hitter. It takes one pitch. Gotta get one pitch, put a good swing on it and good things can happen." 

After going hitless with four strikeouts in the opener, that challenge helped Judge get the pitch he needed to get his first hit and homer of the season. The reigning AL MVP is now 1-for-9 with six strikeouts to start the season.

The Mariners made their first in-season roster move today, placing RHP Carlos Vargas on the 15-day IL with a lat strain and recalling RHP Cole Wilcox from Tacoma.

In December 2020, the Padres acquired Blake Snell from the Rays in a high-profile trade that sent highly-ranked prospect Luis Patiño, catchers Francisco Mejia and Blake Hunt, and 2020 third-rounder righty Cole Wilcox to the Rays in exchange for Snell. The Mariners are now halfway to acquiring all of the players from that trade in some form (Hunt spent time with the organization in 2024 and 2025), acquiring Wilcox—who was the last remaining member of that trade in Tampa Bay’s organization—from the Rays this off-season for cash. For Wilcox, who never threw a professional pitch for San Diego, Tampa Bay was the only organization he’d ever known.

“I’d been with the Rays for so long that it kind of felt like home,” he said this spring. “But I’m always open to a change of scenery…It’s always intimidating, going to a new spot, but there’s a lot of good people here, very friendly, very welcoming. So that made the transition super easy.”

In coming to Seattle, Wilcox had the advantage of meeting a friendly face from day one: fellow pitcher Emerson Hancock, who was Wilcox’s teammate at the University of Georgia, twin 6’5” hurlers who anchored the Bulldogs’ rotation; Wilcox a year behind Hancock, the #2 to Hancock’s #1.

While both Wilcox and Hancock grew up in Georgia, they’re from opposite ends of the state: Hancock’s hometown of Cairo (pronounced “Karo,” like the syrup) is at the very southern edge of Georgia, flat terrain located 45 minutes from Tallahassee. Wilcox grew up in Ringgold, a small town in northeast Georgia nestled in the Appalachians about 20 minutes from Chattanooga (best known to me as where Dolly Parton married Carl Dean in 1966). You can hear the difference in geography in their two accents: Wilcox has the Appalachian accent, twangy with extra y’s and r’s; Hancock’s is a softer drawl.

“I’m from the mountains, he’s a farm boy,” quipped Wilcox, with the good-natured teasing of two people who have known each other for a long time.

Another thing that’s made the transition easier for Wilcox is that the Mariners run their operations very similar to the Rays. Wilcox said the Mariners haven’t asked him to do anything differently, pitching-wise, despite the common perception that the Mariners “overhaul” pitchers when they acquire them.

“It’s the same thing with the Rays,” he said. “Everybody’s like, oh, there’s a ‘magic formula’ or something. But really they just encourage you to compete, which is nice. It makes it simple, and the more you can simplify the game of baseball, just let talent take over and the work take over, it’s a lot easier to play well.”

One of the adjustments Wilcox has had to make is in transitioning to a reliever role, something he started with the Rays, who were hoping to see the stuff tick up after his recovery from TJ surgery in 2021-2022. It was a challenging recovery for Wilcox, whose calling card as a prospect had always been elite velocity.

“I threw pretty hard in college, but ever since the injury, getting that velocity back has been kind of tough. So last year was the first year it kind of came back.”

In the bullpen, the stuff did tick up – maybe more than Wilcox expected.

“I was kind of just like, pedal to the metal, let’s go, let’s do everything,“ he said. “Sometimes it got a little erratic on me…So making that transition, I think it was just getting a feel for that type of intensity. Trying to keep that same intensity, but dialed in, that was the goal this off-season.”

“I just think I was sat on that horse faster than I’m used to, so this off-season, it was good to know my role going into it, knowing what I wanted to do and have something to work towards.”

Even seated firmly on the horse labeled “reliever”, there’s still work to be accomplished on the command front. Wilcox started off the spring strong, but his command slipped a little later in the spring, especially in a game where he was asked to go multiple innings. Like a wild horse, Wilcox’s stuff is difficult to pin down, but majestic in full flight. He has two fastballs, both which come in at an easy 97: a heavy sinker he can use for weak contact and a fastball he’ll try to elevate for whiffs. He pairs that with two hard sliders, a traditional slider and a sweeper.

But rather than focus on refining the pitches individually, Wilcox is focused on big-picture goals, the same things we hear from any member of the Mariners pitching staff: controlling the controllables, getting ahead, getting to two strikes, and putting hitters away. There’s a time and a place for things like changing pitch grips or making mechanical adjustments, Wilcox says, but it’s important not to get lost in those and potentially lose sight of the mission when standing on the mound.

“The simplest cues are the ones that are going to translate the most. You don’t want to make it more complex than it is.”

Wilcox has already had a complex journey to the big leagues – starting with the cancellation of his college season in 2020, a truncated draft year, a trade, a major injury, and a role shift, all before he’s thrown more than one (1) professional inning. Thankfully, he has someone by his side who understands a complex big-league journey in Emerson Hancock, who went through the same early-career challenges of the COVID year, his own injury, and a similar transition to the bullpen. Hancock may have only been a year ahead of Wilcox at Georgia, but his admiration for his fellow pitcher is obvious.

“I know Emerson really well,” Wilcox said. “Since college, he hasn’t changed at all. Super hard worker, super good person, super good leader…for a lot of places around the league, he’s in the rotation, and he just happens to be probably in the best rotation in baseball. But he’s never, ever complained through the whole process. He’s always positive, never negative about anything he’s gone through, any adjustments that he’s made. [At Georgia] we called him The Mayor. He’s a guy you’re just drawn to, with his positive energy.”

Wilcox is once again one of Hancock’s constituents, the two sharing a big-league bullpen now rather than a collegiate dugout. Hopefully he’ll stick around long enough to earn a nickname of his own – maybe the Marshal to Hancock’s mayor, given his affinity for horse metaphors.

The Dodgers look to make it a 2-0 start to the 2026 season as they host the Arizona Diamondbacks on Friday. The Dodgers will be presented with their 2025 World Series rings prior to first pitch (6:20 p.m. PT).

Emmet Sheehan makes his first start of the season against right-hander Ryne Nelson.

Alex Freeland makes his season debut, batting ninth and starting at second base.

Tonight's #Dodgers lineup vs. D-backs: pic.twitter.com/9vvVTVn6nD

— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) March 27, 2026

FRIDAY GAME INFO

• Teams: Dodgers vs. Diamondbacks
• Stadium: Dodger Stadium
• Time: 7:10 p.m. PT
• TV: SportsNet LA, MLB Network (out-of-market)
• Radio: AM 570 (English), KTNQ 1020 (Spanish)

LOS ANGELES — Clayton Kershaw is now retired after 18 seasons pitching for the Dodgers, but 2026 thus far has felt a little like the others. He was part of the NBC pregame show on opening day Thursday, and offered insights during the game broadcast while sitting next to the third base dugout.

“I don’t feel like retirement has really, really started yet,” Kershaw said Friday at Dodger Stadium. “Now that the season started, and I’m going to go home, next week will probably feel like a normal retirement week.”

First comes the ring ceremony on Friday night, during which he will receive his third championship ring.

“For me, it’s just a great ending to my career,” Kershaw said. “I couldn’t have scripted it any better.”

His connection to the Dodgers remains, as he joined the team as a special assistant, which was first reported by Fabian Ardaya at The Athletic.

“I think I’ll be involved somehow. I think I’ll be involved, probably not physically here in LA, but I’m sure I’ll watch games,” Kershaw said on Friday. “I still want to be a part of the Dodgers. So if I can help in some small piece, I will.”

Kershaw will continue doing studio work and an occasional game work for NBC this season, though he told Jack Harris of the California Post that his TV schedule will be light.

After throwing during spring to prepare for the World Baseball Classic, Kershaw did not pitch while active for Team USA. Now, he’s focused on his post-playing days.

“There’s a freedom to retirement. If you don’t want to workout, you don’t have to. If you’re back hurts, it doesn’t matter. If you’re arm hurts, it doesn’t matter,” Kershaw said. “You get to see a lot more stuff, and be around for everything. There’s a lot of great parts. It doesn’t take away from how special this game is, but there’s a lot really awesome about being home and being done.”

I guess we can’t call it Dodger Stadium any more, since the team has sold the naming rights. It is now officially known as Uniqlo Field at Dodger Stadium. What is a Uniqlo anyway? I’m glad you asked. It’s a Japanese clothing designer and retailer, and they just paid more than $125 million for the five-year deal. Just another way in which the rich get richer. That’s almost twice as much as the D-backs got for their naming rights, to what was then Bank One, and became Chase Field after the takeover. Oh, yeah: and that $66 million was for a thirty-year period. On a per-year basis, it’s less than one-tenth of the Dodgers’ income. Basically, their rights pay for Freddie Freeman. Ours pay for Pavin Smith. And speaking of whom…

Pavin Smith and his left elbow are being evaluated now – would not be surprised if he ends up on the IL

— John Gambadoro (@Gambo987) March 27, 2026

If that happens, it’ll be interesting to see how the team replaces him. There is only one available position player on the 40-man roster. Jose Fernandez, and it is perhaps of note that he is not in the starting line-up for the Reno Aces this evening. He performed very well in spring training, but there are a few possible issues. He’s right-handed, unlike lefty Smith. Fernandez has almost no professional experience at first (less than 140 innings). And he hasn’t played above Double-A. If he’s going to be purely used as a DH, then that would mitigate the issue. But it again illustrates the difference between us and LA. Their DH tonight? The guy who is on a $700 million contract.

However, there was also this:

Torey Lovullo says Pavin Smith, who was scratched yesterday with an elbow issue, could play tonight depending on how his early batting practice goes. Smith is not in initial lineup, but that could change.

— Nick Piecoro (@nickpiecoro) March 27, 2026

And it appears that must have gone well, because the D-backs subsequently changed their line-up. It was otherwise going to be identical to last night, bar the starting pitcher obviously. But you know Torey wasn’t going to start running out the same batting order two games in the row. 🙂 So Smith is in, replacing Tim Tawa at DH.

Tonight, we see Ryne Nelson, the player who was the SnakePit’s overwhelming choice for Opening Day starter. After last night, and Zac Gallen’s underwhelming fifth inning, we can perhaps be forgiven for saying, “See? Told you so.” Though more circumspect readers will probably want to wait until after tonight. Not that it makes much difference who is #1 and #2. They both would end up facing the Dodgers. Though Nelson has an excellent record (small sample size) in Dodg… er, I mean Uniqlo Field. He has allowed just two runs over fifteen innings of work. Might need to be on that level of form if Arizona is to prevail tonight, going by last night’s offensive showing. But hey, at least we have scored, eh, San Francisco?

Detroit Tigers (1-0) at San Diego Padres (0-1), March 27, 2026, 6:40 p.m. PST

Watch: Padres.TV

Location: Petco Park – San Diego, Calif.

Listen: 97.3 The Fan

---

Friday night lineup. pic.twitter.com/vxkA13xcnX

— San Diego Padres (@Padres) March 27, 2026

Friday Night Lights. #DNMW

⚾️ 9:40 PM ET
📺 https://t.co/QiAb0jyoyO
📻 @971theticketxyt
🏟️ Petco Park pic.twitter.com/CXYwTFpV33

— Detroit Tigers (@tigers) March 27, 2026

---

Please remember our Game Day thread guidelines.

• Don’t troll in your comments; create conversation rather than destroying it
• Remember Gaslamp Ball is basically a non-profanity site
• Out of respect to broadcast partners who have paid to carry the game, no mentions of “alternative” (read: illegal) viewing methods are allowed in our threads

GB community, this is your thread for today’s game. Enjoy!

Shane Baz is staying in Baltimore.

The talented right-hander, who was acquired by the Orioles this offseason after a lengthy stint with the Rays, has agreed to a five-year extension that will keep him in Baltimore through at least the 2030 season.

The Post’s Joel Sherman confirmed the deal is worth $68 million.

“This agreement with Shane continues our drive to build a championship-caliber roster. We thank Shane for his commitment to Baltimore, the Orioles and our great fans,” team owner David Rubenstein said in a statement. “Thanks also to Mike Elias and the baseball operations group for helping to keep Shane as an Oriole for years to come.”

Baz, who wasn’t scheduled to hit free agency until after the 2028 season, had two more years of arbitration eligibility, which will be foregone with the new extension.

The extension is the largest given to a pitcher in Orioles history.

“We were ecstatic to acquire a pitcher of Shane’s talent during the offseason and are thrilled we could come to a long-term agreement to keep him in Baltimore,” president of baseball operations Mike Elias said in a statement, also reported by MLB.com. “Our ownership group, led by David Rubenstein, continues to provide our organization with support and resources as we pursue consistent success on the field.”

Baz, 26, was traded from Tampa on December 19, 2025, in exchange for prospects Austin Overn, Caden Bodine, Slater de Brun and Michael Forret, as well as a draft pick in the Competitive Balance Round A section of this year’s MLB draft.

Baz had a 4.87 ERA last season across 31 starts.

The righty, who has made 54 career starts, has a career 4.25 ERA with 293 strikeouts through 286 innings.