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

The Cubs lost to the Angels 5-4 in Tempe Thursday, but the big story of this one was Cubs left-hander Matthew Boyd. Boyd had allowed five hits in less than two innings in his first spring start earlier this week.

Thursday afternoon in Tempe, Boyd was much better. He retired all nine Angels he faced — many of them expected to be on their Opening Day roster — and struck out three. He threw an efficient 34 pitches (23 strikes) and here’s how he struck out Mike Trout:

Boyd had seven swings-and-misses and looked really sharp. This is likely his last outing before heading to Team USA for the World Baseball Classic. Team USA is having a workout next Monday in preparation for an exhibition game against the Giants in Scottsdale next Wednesday. Then they will head to Houston to begin WBC pool play against Brazil a week from tomorrow.

The Cubs took an early lead on doubles by Jefferson Rojas and Dylan Carlson in the first inning, although Carlson got himself picked off second to end the inning.

Then the Cubs added a pair in the second. Chas McCormick doubled and went to third on a single by James Triantos. McCormick then scored on a sac fly by Pedro Ramirez. A double by Justin Dean and walk drawn by Scott Kingery loaded the bases, and the Cubs’ third run scored when Michael Busch was hit by a pitch.

Unfortunately, Jaxon Wiggins got knocked around in an inning and a third of work. He faced 10 batters and six of them had hits. The Angels scored one off Wiggins in the fourth and four in the fifth to take the lead, with five runs overall charged to Wiggins. So Wiggins’ first spring outing was… not one he’ll want to remember, except for learning purposes.

After that a lot of the Cubs regulars departed. Riley Martin took over in the sixth and there was a brief delay while Craig Counsell and the Cubs trainer had a look at Martin after a pitch, but Martin stayed in the game. He threw a scoreless sixth.

Minor league plate umpire Louie Krupa had four calls challenged in this game and all four were overturned.

And that’s pretty much it from this game. Dylan Carlson had two hits and is 4-for-8 in the early spring going with three walks. It’s really hard to tell whether Carlson or McCormick has the “lead” in the fourth outfielder race, given the very small sample size. You can be sure, though, that both will get more opportunities, especially with Pete Crow-Armstrong departing soon for the WBC.

The Cubs return to Sloan Park Friday afternoon to take on the Cleveland Guardians. Game time Friday is 2:05 p.m. CT. Edward Cabrera will make his first spring start for the Cubs, and Logan Allen will go for Cleveland. No TV or radio coverage for Friday’s game.

There were a lot of firsts in Thursday’s game against the Chicago White Sox, and all of them were good and promising.

Tyler Glasnow had his first outing of the season and is just another starter that looks like they are in mid-season form. He struck out the side first inning and had a ground out and two more K’s in the second inning.

Glasnow started the day with a two-inning/30 pitch limit. Since he finished the second inning with 29 pitches, he came out to start the top of the third where he gave up a base hit and called it a day.

Most promising was his fastball velocity. Last year, Glasnow’s fastball velocity averaged 95.7mph. In the first inning of Thursday’s game, it was sitting at a 97.1 average. Overall, for his 33 pitches, he averaged 96.7mph.

After his outing, Glasnow remarked that the uptick in velocity is something he had been working on over the offseason and has been very intentional about it. He feels like his mechanics are in a much better place and is feeling fully healthy. All that and the addition of 20 pounds on Glasnow’s long frame having him looking like he’s in a great spot to start the season.

In his first start of the season, Max Muncy grounded out to third in the first inning, followed by line drive base hit in his next at bat. He ended up going 1-3 on the day.

Muncy talked to reporters after the game and commented on why some of the older Dodgers are taking a slower approach in Spring Training. He noted that there was a conversation with several players, and it was “give your body as much rest as possible” mentality going into the season. The Dodgers have had to start back-to-back seasons with trips across the Pacific and have played more postseason games than any other team in the last two seasons. A slow start for the veterans is well deserved.

Blake Treinen also had first outing of spring where he set the White Sox down 1-2-3, with two strikeouts and a groundout using only 15 pitches.

The team finally broke their home run drought, with Will Smith hitting the first home run of Spring Training. He was followed later in the game by Keston Hiura and Hyeseong Kim who went back-to-back with solo homers of their own.

What the Dodgers did not have their first of, however, was a loss. They beat the White Sox 7-6 to remain the only undefeated team in spring. Does this mean anything? Of course not but it makes it a lot more fun.

Yoshinobu Yamamoto will have his second outing of the spring on Friday against the San Francisco Giants, before heading out to join Team Japan for the World Baseball Classis.

The Yankees’ bullpen has a little bit of everything. It has All-Star fireballers, sinker specialists, a splitter maestro, a couple of guys who rely on finesse rather than pure stuff, a pitch-to-contact lefty, and a few flawed, but talented arms vying for a couple of spots. It’s not hard to see that a few guys, barring an unexpected turn of events, have a spot locked up already. This is the case of David Bednar, Camilo Doval, Fernando Cruz, and Tim Hill. One has to think that Ryan Yarbrough and Paul Blackburn will be in there, as well.

After that, there are as many as six or seven pitchers with at least an outside chance of making the roster, not to mention the fact that the team usually takes a long look at the post-spring training cuts to add names, as well. The likes of Jake Bird, Cade Winquest, Kervin Castro, Osvaldo Bido, Ángel Chivilli, Brent Headrick, and Yerry De Los Santos are actively competing to see who makes the roster, and most of them are looking good if we combine their offseason, their early-camp work, and the first few days of Grapefruit League games.

It’s still February, though, so it’s too early to even think about who makes the roster of this group and who gets left behind. What we are seeing, however, is that at least a couple of interesting names from that list could be on the outside looking.

Just because of the assets invested in them, one can conclude that Winquest, as a Rule 5 Draft pick, and Bird and Chivilli, as trade pieces that required the organization to give away prospects, could have a leg up in the competition. It’s important not to rule out a guy like Headrick, though, owner of a 3.13 ERA and 30 strikeouts in just 23 innings with the Bombers last year. His swing-and-miss stuff could definitely boost the Yankees’ bullpen and give it another lefty to complement Hill.

Yes, there is still the feeling that the Yankees are one or two quality relievers short of boasting a high-flying bullpen, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t talented hurlers in the organization with enough juice to win a spot and contribute.

Bird himself is a solid bounce-back candidate after last year’s disaster, and he has thrown 2.1 scoreless innings this spring with no walks and three strikeouts. Chivilli has big fastball velocity and two breaking balls, his changeup and slider, that had a whiff rate over 40 percent last year. Sometimes, it’s a matter of bringing in guys one or two adjustments away from unlocking the full extent of their potential, and Chivilli could be that guy.

And if the Grapefruit League ends and the Yankees are still not happy with their group of arms for the bullpen, they can always review other teams’ cuts and bring in a useful pitcher. That’s exactly how they got Yarbrough last year, and he went on to put up a 4.36 ERA in 64 frames in 2025 with long stints of dominance. On top of it all, the Yankees’ relief corps could also get some reinforcements in the form of starters, if and when Gerrit Cole, Carlos Rodon, and Clarke Schmidt rejoin the rotation. The first two are expected back in April, while Schmidt is more of a second-half play.

Other unexpected names might join the bullpen mix eventually, such as Carlos Lagrange. Yes, pitching coach Matt Blake revealed on Wednesday that moving him to relief is a possibility later down the road.

There are multiple avenues for a great bullpen, and having several talented guys taking the ball in spring training and showing off the improvements they made in the postseason in a healthy competition is definitely one of them. The Yankees may not have a top-five bullpen this year, but internal competition is strong and that’s always a positive.

Max Scherzer’s 8-year-old daughter got her wish.

After the news that the veteran right-hander and the Blue Jays agreed on a one-year, $3 million deal Thursday, his wife Erica shared a handwritten letter that their daughter, Brooke, wrote to the club, making a case for Toronto to run it back with her dad after their crushing World Series loss to the Dodgers.

“Dear Blue Jays, I am so sorry that you didn’t win the World Series. I hope that you win next time,” Brooke wrote, as seen in an image of the letter shared on Instagram.

“I hope my dad is back on the team. My whole family loves spending time in Toronto with our dad. We loved the aquarium, CN Tower and of course, the stadium. I am looking forward to coming back next season. Love, Max Scherzer’s daughter.”

Despite the Game 7 loss, Erica explained that last season with Toronto left a mark on their family.

“Back in December Brooke wrote this letter, put it in an envelope and asked us to mail it to the Blue Jays. Looks like she gets her wish! ” Erica captioned her post.

View this post on Instagram

“Last season had an amazing impact on our entire family and we couldn’t be more excited to be back in Toronto!! Season 19 here we go! ”

The three-time Cy Young winner is returning to Toronto after the club’s 5-4 defeat in 11 innings to the Dodgers in Game 7 of the 2025 World Series.

Scherzer, 41, posted a 3.77 ERA and a 1-0 record across three starts in the postseason.

He had a 5.19 ERA across 85 innings last season.

The Blue Jays and Scherzer had been in communication through the offseason.

“We’ve known him for a while now, and last year, when you meet a guy of that caliber and that personality, you want to take time to get to know them. We know him,” manager John Schneider said of Scherzer.

“He can still help us win games. All of the other stuff that he does, too, everyone appreciates — and I appreciate it.”

Scherzer, an eight-time MLB All-Star, won World Series titles with the Nationals (2019) and the Rangers (2023).

The Mets cruised to victory in a road game as they visited the Astros in West Palm Beach this afternoon, and Nolan McLean was unsurprisingly the star of the show in his first spring training appearance.

• McLean struck out six, walked one, and gave up just one hit in four scoreless innings of work.
• Robert Stock was nearly as impressive as McLean, as he blanked the Astros for three innings himself as he took over for McLean. And he struck out six batters without walking anyone and gave up just one hit.
• Anderson Severino and Ben Simon threw a scoreless inning each to finish the shutout.
• Tyrone Taylor hit a three-run home run early in the game as he got the start in center field.
• Marcus Semien went 2-for-3 with a run scored and a run batted in.
• Bo Bichette went 1-for-3 with a double.

The Mets’ next Grapefruit League game is set for 1:05 PM EST tomorrow as they visit the Cardinals in Jupiter. Freddy Peralta is set to make his spring training debut in that one, and your only option for tuning in will be the Cardinals’ radio broadcast if you are so inclined.

The main offseason talking point concerning the Yankees has concerned the phrase “running it back.” Is it a good thing? Is it the greatest misstep in franchise history? Well, a nearly Opening Day-vintage Yankee lineup looked more than ready to do damage this afternoon, as they plated five runs in the first inning en route to a 7-3 victory over the Braves. Jazz Chisholm Jr., Paul Goldschmidt, and Spencer Jones hit home runs, while Elmer Rodríguez provided three more quality innings on the mound.

If you blinked, you may have missed Rodríguez’s first inning. He got Brett Wisely to pop to left on his first pitch of the afternoon, induced a grounder to first from Nacho Alvarez Jr. two pitches later, then got Triple-A Scranton alum Dom Smith on a check-swing tapper in front of the mound. The whole affair took seven pitches.

Unlike his first start, the Bombers gave Rodríguez substantial run support in the home first. Chisholm faced old friend Carlos Carrasco with two men out and Aaron Judge on first, and sent a sky-high drive out to right field. In right field, long-ago Baby Bomber Ben Gamel had a shot to make the catch, but it bounced off the top of the wall and into the stands for a two-run homer.

Goldschmidt and Austin Wells kept the inning alive with consecutive base hits, giving Ryan McMahon a run-producing opportunity. Carrasco kept getting to the precipice of leaving the inning, but strike three was elusive. From 0-2 down, McMahon worked the count full, then slashed an opposite-field double down the line to plate both runners and double the Yankee lead.

McMahon also made third on an errant throw to the cutoff man. That only made the trot home easier when José Caballero spanked an offering from alliterative new pitcher Shay Schanaman in a similar spot for a double of his own. All run-producing hits came with two strikes and two outs. Ninth-place hitter Seth Brown finally popped out to conclude the frame.

After such a quick top half and lengthy bottom half, it could have been easy for Rodríguez to lose his command a bit in the second inning. Not so for the steady righty, who struck out the leadoff hitter Gamel. After a nice pick from McMahon at third, Rodríguez got DaShawn Keirsey Jr. to swing through a low fastball to retire the side.

Carrasco went right back out in the second thanks to the myriad delights of spring training. Go figure, he retired the top of the Yankee order on eight pitches. That included a backwards-K on Judge, who unsuccessfully challenged the third strike pitch. Much hay has been made about low strikes on Judge, but he certainly had no case there.

Rodríguez got into a jam in the third, allowing runners on the corners with one out. Back-to-back brilliant changeups struck out Wisely, then faced Alvarez with a chance to wiggle out unscathed. But a 1-2 sinker caught too much plate, and Alvarez roped it to right for a double to score both baserunners and end Rodríguez’s scoreless spring. He rebounded quickly to retire Smith and preserve a 5-2 lead.

Thankfully for Rodríguez, the Yankees offense came to play today. Paul Goldschmidt got one of those runs right back by taking Elieser Hernández deep to left for his second home run of the spring.

Camilo Doval got some work in the fourth inning replacing Rodríguez, whose line closed at three innings, two earned runs on two hits, four strikeouts, and a walk. Doval was greeted rudely by Gamel, who connected for a home run to right field to restore the three-run margin. Doval pitched around a pesky Keirsey, who stole second and took third on a wild pitch.

Rule 5 draftee Cade Winquest was called upon to pitch the fifth, as this hodgepodge Braves lineup tried to find its footing. They started well, picking up consecutive singles against Winquest, but the righty forced a key double play before setting Smith aside for a scoreless frame. He grabbed two more outs in the sixth without incident before being relieved. It looks like the Yankees would love to use him in a multi-inning role; that flexibility would be useful, especially considering that some of the Yankees’ rotational arms aren’t famous for pitching deep into ballgames.

No February party at Steinbrenner Field without a nuke off the bat of Spencer Jones. However you feel about his chances to stick in the majors, his power remains tantalizing. And with his new Shohei Ohtani-style toe tap, he looks the part. This particular blast traveled 401 feet out to right field and into the parking lot, giving the Yankees a 7-3 lead in the seventh.

That would be our final score from Steinbrenner Field, as Michael Arias retired the Braves in order in the ninth to seal the Yankees’ fifth win of the Grapefruit League schedule.

Tomorrow, Luis Gil will leapfrog Carlos Lagrange and make his second start of the spring as the Yankees hit the road to face the Twins. Cole Sands will be his opponent, with first pitch set for the usual 1:05 pm ET timeslot on the Gotham Sports App.

Box Score

One month from today, the journey to immortality will officially begin.

Announced today, single-game tickets for the 2026 season are officially on sale. It’s the opportunity for fans to watch MLB’s modern-day dynasty attempt for a historic three-peat as World Series champions and secure the ever-elusive bobbleheads to help commemorate the season.

On March 26, beneath the palm trees of Dodger Stadium, the Dodgers will open their 2026 season against the Diamondbacks at Chavez Ravine. First pitch is set for 5:30 p.m., and tickets go on sale today. 

#OpeningDayLA tickets are on sale now!

: https://t.co/DZQkfNeXIjpic.twitter.com/D8KT7lWcKZ

— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) February 26, 2026

Fresh off their back-to-back World Series titles, the Dodgers look to make history by becoming the first team to three-peat since the Yankees did if from 1998-2000. 

Shohei Ohtani has won back-to-back National League MVPs, and this year he has a Cy Young Award in his sights. But so does his teammate Yoshinobu Yamamoto.

The Dodgers also welcome two newcomers to the team in closer Edwin Diaz and outfielder Kyle Tucker. Two former All-Stars who signed as free agents to chase greatness. 

The Dodgers Ring Ceremony will not take place on March 26. Instead it will be on Friday, March 27, so if you’re looking for those tickets, Opening Day might not be for you. 

After three games with the Diamondbacks from March 26-28, the Dodgers welcome the Guardians from March 30-April 1.

But understand this: The season is not about March or April. It’s about immortality.

The Braves didn’t really intend to make Thursday afternoon’s exhibition contest in Tampa a competitive one — they sent a bunch of backups as their position player contingent, gave Carlos Carrasco the start, and had a pitching slate of “guys who complete innings because the regular crew can’t add a full month of workload to their ledgers and hope to survive the season.”

It went basically as expected against a lineup that started with a bunch of Yankees regulars.

Carlos Carrasco was, well, kind of what you’d expect against a lineup with a bunch of Yankees regulars. He walked Aaron Judge, gave up a cheapie lofted-down-the-line homer to Jazz Chisholm Jr., and then got knocked around, ball-in-play variety. The Braves lifted him when it was 4-0 and fill-in Schay Schanaman was greeted with another double that made it 5-0.

Carrasco actually came back to pitch a clean second, where he struck out Judge on an ABS-confirmed changeup that was very plainly in the zone. Still, it wasn’t exactly a resurgent outing for the veteran, given the 1/1 K/BB ratio, the early exit, and the fact that was mostly just tossing it over to get whacked in his first inning of work.

The rest of the Atlanta pitching slate was pretty boring: Elieser Hernandez, Taylor Scott, Austin Pope, and Anthony Molina. Hernandez ate three innings, striking out just one batter (but walking none), though he was taken deep by Paul Goldschmidt. A few innings later, Spencer Jones absolutely obliterated Austin Pope’s mislocated 93 mph four-seamer for a majestic 400-plus-foot blast to right. All in all, Atlanta pitching had just a 4/2 K/BB ratio and got tagged for three longballs — but none of these guys are really in the running to make the roster or serve as anything other than emergency depth in 2026, so whatever.

Offensively, the Atlanta backups-slash-fringy-guys-that-maybe-make-the-roster-if-someone-else-gets-hurt at least had a few nice moments. Nacho Alvarez Jr. knocked in a couple with a hard-hit grounder double down the right-field line. Ben Gamel absolutely unloaded on a pitch from Camilo Doval for a no-doubter solo shot. Chadwick Tromp reached base twice (though he was thrown out — maybe — trying to stretch his hit into a double). Yankees pitching put together an 11/1 K/BB ratio, which isn’t necessarily surprising given the lineup the Braves sent over to Tampa.

Tomorrow, the Braves will host the Red Sox, and the newly-sworded Chris Sale will get another tune-up against his erstwhile club.

Phillies ace Zack Wheeler takes important step in post-surgery buildup originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

CLEARWATER, Fla. – Five months after having surgery to alleviate thoracic outlet syndrome, Phillies ace Zack Wheeler threw his first bullpen session Thursday.

Twenty-one pitches.

All fastballs.

All good.

Wheeler still has weeks to go before he’s ready to pitch in a big-league game – he won’t be ready for opening day – but this was an important step, nonetheless.

“It was very good,” manager Rob Thomson said. “He’s been recovering pretty well. A couple days ago, we identified today as possibly the day. He came in, he felt good, so we went after it. The velo was good, the ball flight was good. Just four-seamers and two-seamers. He hit the glove. It was good. He felt great.”

Depending on how Wheeler feels Friday, he could throw another bullpen session as soon as Saturday. It’s still going to be a methodical buildup for the right-hander. If all goes well, he could get some work in a minor-league game before the Phillies break camp March 23. Everything is dependent on how Wheeler feels physically from day to day. Late April to early May still seems like a general timetable for his return to the big-league rotation.

“He’s worked awfully hard,” Thomson said. “He worked harder than ever in the off-season. He’s strong. His shoulder is stronger than it’s ever been and we feel really good about that.”

In other injury news, infield prospect Aidan Miller continues to be sidelined with lower back soreness. He is not doing baseball activities and has yet to play in a Grapefruit League game.

“He’s getting a little better every day,” Thomson said.

PITCHING PLANS

Aaron Nola will make his first Grapefruit League start Friday afternoon in Clearwater against Miami. Cristopher Sanchez will start Saturday against Toronto in Dunedin. Andrew Painter will pitch against the Yankees in Clearwater on Sunday.

Former Phillies center fielder Shane Victorino is in camp as a guest instructor. He was a popular interview subject Thursday.

Spring Training is the time of the year where players knock off the frost from the offseason and prepare for the 162 games marathon that is the regular season. For hitters, it means getting used to seeing big league velocity and breaking balls, as well as getting live fielding reps, and for pitchers it means tinkering with new pitches and refining old ones. While the majority of baseball fans understand that stats during Spring Training don’t necessarily matter all that much, it can still be difficult to not overreact when a player is struggling, especially very close to Opening Day.

An example of a player who currently has the Nationals fanbase anxious is Dylan Crews, who went 0-2 with 2 strikeouts and an error in last nights game to bring him to 1-7 on the spring. To some, this start to the spring for Crews isn’t worth discussing, as he could be working on any number of things to improve his approach for the season, which means some hiccups now. For others, this start is concerning because it is a continuation of the struggles we’ve seen from Crews for quite some time against big league pitching.

So, what numbers that come from Spring Training should fans pay attention to, and which ones should they just throw out? It’s important first to understand that early in the spring, especially in a year like this one for the Nationals where it’s an entirely new coaching staff, players are going to struggle.

Stars like James Wood and CJ Abrams aren’t going to be hitting at their usual clip for a few weeks or so, and that’s because they’re likely being challenged by this new coaching staff to try new things at the plate, such as a more refined plate approach for Abrams or pulling more fly balls for Wood. In general, it’s best to just ignore statistical performance in Spring Training, as there is no proof of any significant correlation to regular season success, but especially this spring, when every player has something new they are attempting to add or change in their game.

What fans should care about during games this spring is for players to make sharp improvements in categories such as exit velocity or metrics, as those are quantifiable ways to show an improvement in their game which could translate to the rest of the year. A recent example of this is Ben Rice, first baseman for the New York Yankees, who put himself on the radar last Spring Training by eclipsing his previous career high exit velocity multiple times in one spring.

Whether it was by adding strength to his frame or a mechanical adjustment, this boost gave the Yankees the confidence to make him their Opening Day first baseman, and he’s done nothing but rake since for them, with one of the cleanest batted ball profiles in the sport.

Pitching wise, fans should be on the lookout for pitchers adding new pitches to their arsenals or making velocity or movement improvements to their other ones, as those are skills which could translate to regular season action, unlike their ERA in those spring outings. An example of this would be to watch out for Cade Cavalli and his new sweeper, which he did not debut quite yet in his first, or for another Nat to come out and add a few more MPH on their fastball than they’d previously had.

If there’s one piece of advice I could give, it would be to not worry too much about how players are performing over the course of the next month. One month of games where these hitters take 2 at bats or starters pitch 2 innings is not a large enough sample size to draw any conclusions from, especially when almost all these players are trying new things that they hope to incorporate into their game come April. Leave the overreactions for Opening Day, and enjoy baseball being back for the next few weeks.

Recap disclaimer – this may be more a random observations list than a specific blow-by-blow of the game. Spring training results are unimportant, right? It’s the process, after all.

Pre-Game Notes

From my wanderings around the back fields. And introductory tour of the media service room, et. al., as I picked up my press pass.

• Pitching plan – Liberatore starts today, to be followed by Shuster, Romero, Raquet, Romero
• I note that Dobbins is out of the rehab group and in with a pitching group now. Suspecting he has gotten full clearance then?
• Herrera at DH, Sags in LF today
• Bit of a local connection to this game … a kid from my neighborhood, Kellen Strahm, is starting RFer for the Astros. Total trivia … he was the QB for Sheldon High School (we put 5 kids through there) just before … Justin Herbert (you may have heard of him), another neighborhood kid. Kellen made a couple nice catches out there.

Pre-game w/ Oli

• On camera
  • Sags – will get some time in left and center.
  • Walker – sees/hears more productive and mature communications, positive on his direction
  • Spring culture … overall this is a more connected group, many in the same boat and will play together for a while
• Off camera – way more informal
  • Talked super utility role – Zobrist/Figgins/et.al., personality, staying and being ready for multiple positions, more intentional about fitting this role now than before. Once a guy realizes he is not going to be that everyday guy at a single spot, then the drive to stay drives a guy to adapt
  • Update on Herrera throwing … throwing to all bases. Good carry on his throws. Getting better. Hope to DH today, catch on Sunday.
  • Discussed six-man rotation logistics through spring. Will need backfield games to do this.
  • Urias should be on the field tomorrow for his first spring exposure.

Game Observations

• Libby looked pretty well. 51 pitches in 3 innings. Command was not totally sharp (typical for February). Ball seemed to being coming out of his hand really well. Used a good variety of pitches.
• Walker got plenty of business in right. Continues to look more fluid out there. Displayed a strong arm.
• Winn with a couple nifty defensive plays. We’ve come to expect that as routine from him. He seems to be moving well after off-season knee surgery.
• Romero dispatched the Astros quickly in the 4th.
• Pozo golfs a wind-aided homerun. There is a new 2-deck club area built around the LF foul pole that appears to introduce some new wind dynamics down there. LFers beware!
• Burleson crushes a 3-run HR.
• Late inning power, with a lot of pop from Jon Jon Gazdar boosted the Cardinal offense.

Post-Game Notes

• Final score 9-4 Cardinals. 4 home runs (Pozo, Burleson, Crooks and Gazdar).
• Raquet, Blewitt and Shuster each game up runs in relief. Moreno had pretty nice 9th inning.
• The catcher Yerzy seemed pretty strong defensively, especially his arm. I haven’t seen him before, but will watch for more now.
• Game temp in the high 70’s. A few clouds, but a great day all around.

With their being no A’s baseball yesterday, my afternoon was spent cranking out all four episodes of FX’s Love Story. Not sure if any of you are tuning in to the dramatized retelling of JFK Jr. and Carolyn Bessette’s relationship, but I must admit – – not terrible. Definitely not great by any means, but it’s got an aesthetic that I think a lot of people have been wanting to see more of in TV and film. I also wasn’t alive in the 1990s so I totally missed the moment it’s looking to capture. Which makes it more interesting to me. All I knew about JFK Jr. going in was that he dressed cool, had great hair, and died in a plane crash at the end of the decade. July 16th 1999 was the day that, according to my Nana and resident Shea Langeliers fan, the world stopped and cried at the news of JFK Jr. and Carolyn Bessette’s passing. Now I’m not saying she’s wrong or misinformed by any means, but July 16th 1999 was also a day worth celebrating. Why you ask? Well, a trip to baseball reference taught me that the A’s beat the Giants that day, 4-2, in Oakland, in front of a crowd of about 45,000 people. Jason Giambi went deep off of Russ Ortiz. So did Ben Grieve. Gil Heredia provided 7.1 innings of one run ball. The relief tandem of Buddy Groom and Billy Taylor held down the fort from there, securing the series win against the Giants.

Sounds like a pretty good day to me. For the Kennedy family? Not so much. Unless they were A’s heads like the rest of us.

I tried to locate the broadcast of that game, to see if there was any mention of the plane crash, but had no success. If any of you taped it, and still have that tape in your possession, do not hesitate to reach out. In the meantime, I’ll have A’s vs Rangers fired up, anxiously anticipating not only tonight’s episode of Love Story, but the A’s first win of the spring!

Going into today’s game, the A’s have been outscored 33-4! Yikes! Not want you want to see, especially when the biggest narrative around the A’s going into the Cactus League was how the offense was going to be potent, but the pitching staff lackluster. One of those things has been true. Not the one you want unfortunately. Thankfully today’s a new day, the team is well rested, and my boy Jack Perkins is on the bump. I’m curious to see how they handle Perkins this spring. Chances are he’ll spend the bulk of the regular season coming out of the bullpen, possibly even closing. Today, however, will be a chance for him to run through his starting pitching rituals. That being said, I can’t imagine he’ll go more than a couple of innings.

Let’s check out the lineup behind him!

As you can see, the Stickman Nick Kurtz lead-off experiment is in full effect today. Everyone that follows is expected to make the big league club, so let’s see how they fare against Cal Quantrill and the Texas Rangers.

It’s a split squad day for the Rangers. Some of their heavy hitters such as Wyatt Langford, Corey Seager, and Josh Smith will be off facing the Milwaukee Brewers. Look closely at their lineup against the A’s and you’ll catch a trio of familiar faces. Leading off is Tyler Wade, who was with the club in 2023. Jonah Bride, who the A’s drafted in the 23rd round back in 2018, is occupying the DH spot. Former A’s first rounder Richie Martin Jr. mans the hot corner. It’s been a rough decade for Martin Jr. A cup of coffee with the Baltimore Orioles has been his only real taste of the show. Even then, he hasn’t donned a big league uni since 2022. The Texas Rangers are club number six for the infielder. He’ll be looking to get a little revenge against the A’s today, on this beautiful Thursday afternoon in Mesa, Arizona.

Live from Hohokam Stadium – – it’s the (0-4) A’s against the (4-2) Rangers!

Make yourself a sandwich and enjoy the game. I’ll be putting a Philly cheesesteak to work, hanging onto every Jack Perkins sinker like it’s Game 162.

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Baseball betting is massively popular with casual fans and die-hard seam heads for a few key reasons.

For starters, it is one of the only professional sports played during the summer sporting calendar, running from late spring to its postseason in October. During that span, the schedule is stacked each day with teams playing as many as six or seven games a week.

Baseball is also a numbers game, with every contest, inning, and at-bat measured by metrics. That leaves baseball bettors with stacks of data to take advantage of when betting the MLB odds.

• Moneyline
• Run Line
• Over/Under

Betting on Who Will Win the Game

The moneyline represents a set of odds for a baseball game based on each team’s implied probability of winning.

These are most often displayed in American odds (hundreds) with a negative value (-) assigned to indicate the favorite, and a positive value (+) to indicate the underdog. The moneyline is bet by wagering on the team you think will win, however, since some teams are stronger than others, the amount of money you can win depends on the risk involved.

For example, the favorite to win the game has a moneyline of -150. That means for every $1 you want to win you must bet $1.50 since the risk involved is lower because the favorite has a greater probability of winning the game. A wager of $150 at -150 has a potential win of $100.

If the underdog for that game has a moneyline of +130, that means for every $1 you bet you can win $1.30, because the risk involved is higher since the underdog has a smaller probability of winning the game. A wager of $100 at +130 has a potential win of $130.

Find out how much money you could win using our easy odds converter & moneyline calculator.

Baseball Spread Betting

The run line is baseball’s version of the spread, in which the number of runs is designated as a handicap between the two teams. The most common run line is 1.5 runs with the favorite to win set at -1.5 and the underdog at +1.5.

That means that the favorite must win by two or more runs to cover the run line and the underdog can win outright or lose by less than two runs to cover the run line. Attached to each team’s run line is a set of odds known as the juice or vig. This is the cost of placing those run line bets.

For example, if a run line favorite is -1.5 and the juice on that is +150 it is shown as -1.5 (+150). That means for every $1 bet on that -1.5 run line you could win $1.50. The run line underdog is +1.5 and that bet has juice of -170, displayed as +1.5 (-170). That means for every $1 you want to win on +1.5 you would need to bet $1.70.

Betting on Baseball Totals

Over/Under betting in baseball is extremely popular with oddsmakers, who set a projected total of combined runs scored in a game by both teams and bettors pick whether the final score will go Over or Under that total.

The Over and the Under both have odds attached, known as juice or vig. The juice is based on the implied probability of the final score going Over or Under the total.

For example, if a game total is 8.5 runs with the Over 8.5 (-120) and the Under 8.5 (+100). Due to a higher probability of the final score being 9 runs or more, the juice on the Over is set at -120, which means for every $1 you want to win you must risk $1.20. With the probability of a final score of 8 or fewer runs being smaller, the Under is set at +100 which means you win $1 for every $1 risked.

New school MLB rules

Major League Baseball continues to tinker with its rules following sweeping changes a year ago aimed at speeding up games, making base paths safer for runners, and ending infield shifts. Here's what you need to know about how the game is played in 2026:

• The pitch clock was implemented in 2023. The pitch clock initially had a 15-second limit between pitches with no runners on base and a 20-second limit with runners on base. But in 2024 the MLB reduced the pitch clock from 20 to 18 seconds with runners on base.
• If a pitcher is not ready by the end of the pitch clock they will be assessed a ball. And if a batter is not ready in the batter's box with five seconds left on the pitch clock they will be assessed a strike.
• A pitcher entering a game must face at least three batters or pitch to the end of a half-inning. If a pitcher faces one batter to end an inning, he may be removed, but if he is brought back for a second inning, he must still face two more batters for a total of three.
• A pitcher sent to warm up for an inning must face at least one batter.
• Managers and coaches have four mound visits per game.
• The runner's lane has been widened to include the dirt between the foul line and infield grass.
• Defensive shift rules require that the defensive team have no more than two infielders on the dirt on either side of the second base prior to a pitch being thrown. If there is a violation, the batting team can accept the result of the play or the batter will be granted a free base if the violating player was the first to touch the ball in play.

Four more ways to bet on baseball

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Surprise! No, really: Surprise. That’s where the D-backs are playing once again today, returning to the scene of the recent victory over the Texas Rangers, to play the other inhabitants of the complex, the Kansas City Royals. Never mind, it’s at Salt River Fields. The D-backs pitching has still left a bit to be desired, even though our ERA dropped down below seven yesterday – mostly because five of the ten runs allowed were unearned. Hooray for pitching! Boo for defense! That shoddy performance may be why Torey Lovullo was working with the infield defense this morning. Especially since just last week, this was being touted as a focus for 2026.

Other pitchers: RHP Yilber Diaz, RHP Tom Hatch, RHP Ryan Thompson, RHP Kade Strowd, RHP Junior
Fernandez, RHP Landon Sims and RHP Shawn Dubin. Our first look at E-Rod, whose importance to the team is certainly increased, if the Merrill Kelly injury lingers for long [so much for “minimal” concern, eh?] But we should at a look as several serious candidates for bullpen spots. Thompson and Strowd are potentially on the A-list, but I may be most interested in Diaz. He had a terrible case of the yips last year, and couldn’t throw a strike. But his winter ball numbers were considerably better: if he IS fixed, he could be a potential breakout candidate.

No broadcast of this game on the schedule, so might be quiet in here. 🙂