Category: Baseball

The Yankees got home runs from Austin Wells and Anthony Volpe early and then survived a shaky outing by new closer Devin Williams in the ninth inning to hold on for a 4-2 Opening Day win over the Milwaukee Brewers at Yankee Stadium on Thursday.

The Yankees are 7-1 in their last eight Opening Days.

Here are the takeaways...

-After excellent pitching got the Yankees into the ninth inning, Williams, facing the team that traded him to the Yankees during the offseason, got into a major jam as the Brewers loaded the bases with no outs on a single, a double, and a walk, while trailing 4-1.

Williams got one out on a deep sacrifice fly by Brice Turang. He then struck out Jackson Chourio swinging at his signature changeup.

Finally, he went to 3-2 to Christian Yelich before striking him out swinging with a 95-mph fastball to end the game.

-Carlos Rodon delivered a strong start, allowing only one run over 5.1 innings on a third-inning home run by right-handed hitting Vinny Capra.

Rodon looked sharp, mixing his mostly 95-mph fastball with a slider and a changeup, as he recorded seven strikeouts and got 13 swings-and-misses. The left-hander allowed two walks, both in the sixth, the second on a 10-pitch at-bat by Rhys Hoskins that knocked Rodon out of the game with his pitch count at 89.

Lefty Tim Hill came on to get out of the inning in what proved to be a crucial moment in the game. After an infield single loaded the bases with two outs, Hill got pinch-hitter Isaac Collins to ground out to short for a force-out, ending the inning with the Yankees leading 2-1 at the time.

-With a little bit of luck off the bat of Aaron Judge, the Yankees added to their lead with two runs in the seventh inning.

With runners at first and second and one out, Judge hit a hard ground ball down the third-base line. Capra was in position to field the ball for at least a force-out at third but the ball bounced off the base and high over Capra’s head, into shallow left field for an RBI double to give the Yankees a 3-1 lead.

Cody Bellinger followed with a sacrifice fly to right to make it 4-1.

The fortunate bounce got Judge off the hook on what was looming as a bad day. He’d already gone 0-for-3 with two strikeouts and would have been looking at an 0-for-4 start to the season.

-The Yankee bullpen dominated until the ninth. Hill, Mark Leiter Jr., and Luke Weaver combined to get eight outs while allowing only two baserunners, on an infield single and a walk.

-Wells was already making history in the first inning by becoming the first catcher ever to hit leadoff for the Yankees, but then he quickly took it a step further when he lined a home run just over the right field wall off starter Freddy Peralta.

In doing so Wells also became the first catcher in major league history to hit a leadoff home run on Opening Day and also the first Yankee player with a leadoff home run on Opening Day.

-Peralta gave up two Yankee Stadium home runs to the short porch in right field but otherwise threw a dominant five innings for the Brewers, racking up eight strikeouts and 14 swings-and-misses in his 92 pitches.

He finished in impressive style, striking out Judge swinging at a 96-mph high fastball, leaving runners at first and second.

-Chourio, the Brewers’ young star outfielder, had a spectacular spring training, hitting .469 in 17 games, but he earned the dreaded platinum sombrero in the season opener, striking out in all five of his at-bats.

GAME MVP: CARLOS RODON

Pitching in what would have been Gerrit Cole’s spot on Opening Day, Rodon gave the Yankees reason to believe they can survive without their ace.

The left-hander pitched a mostly dominant 5.1 innings, holding the Brewers to one run on a home run by Capra.

Highlights

LEADOFF HOMER FOR AUSTIN WELLS! 💣

(via @MLB) pic.twitter.com/PjpKSZ2TWI

— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) March 27, 2025

Anthony Volpe homer! 🔥 pic.twitter.com/XdpbWlXmsf

— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) March 27, 2025

Carlos Rodón strikes out the side in the 5th 🔥 pic.twitter.com/GmZpM6iUay

— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) March 27, 2025

Ben Rice with a base hit off the wall 💪 pic.twitter.com/apdKtj7SeC

— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) March 27, 2025

Aaron Judge with an RBI double! 💪 pic.twitter.com/FI92yhYoET

— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) March 27, 2025

Cody Bellinger’s sac fly brings Oswaldo Cabrera in for a run! pic.twitter.com/QkpD4knASE

— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) March 27, 2025

What's next

After an off day, the Yankees and Brewers meet again for the second of their three-game series in The Bronx. First pitch is set for 1:35 p.m.

Max Fried makes his Yankees debut against former Yankee Nestor Cortes.

(This article was written with the assistance of Castmagic, an AI tool, and reviewed by our editorial team to ensure accuracy. Please reach out to us if you notice any mistakes.)

Gunnar Henderson is gearing up for what could be a defining season in his young MLB career. Coming off a breakout year in 2024, the Orioles' shortstop is striking a pose on the cover of "MLB The Show" alongside two other breakout stars, Paul Skenes and Elly De La Cruz. 

On the latest episode of "Baseball Bar-B-Cast," hosts Jake Mintz and Jordan Shusterman discussed with Henderson how a spotlight moment such as this is both a privilege and a pressure. As Mintz quipped, "You are the first Gunnar in MLB history.” 

While his name might be unique, Mintz and Shusterman both believe that Henderson’s on-field impact is poised to transcend novelty.

[Read more: The top 50 people who will impact the 2025 MLB season]

The art of facing aces and staying cool

Facing off against MLB’s hardest throwers is never easy, a fact Henderson knows all too well. In the episode, he reflected on a memorable matchup against Pirates ace Paul Skenes.

Henderson said his strategy involves maintaining calm under pressure, focusing on timing rather than trying to out-pace the pitcher. This is a vital skill for someone who might face Skenes more often as both players continue to rise. Mintz and Shusterman emphasized Henderson’s disciplined approach at the plate, underscoring his potential to evolve into a key player for the Orioles. 

The trio also discussed the palpable camaraderie within the Orioles’ locker room. Teammates such as Adley Rutschman and Jordan Westburg represent a new wave of youthful energy congregating in Baltimore — something that Shusterman said might be overlooked but is "central to the rebuilding narrative."

Team dynamics and hitting the right notes

Henderson’s off-the-field relationships reflect the kind of ethos the Orioles need. His friendship with the light-hearted Colton Cowser is a case in point. Although the two are polar opposites personality-wise, Henderson said he values their interactions, which bring levity and unity to an otherwise intense environment. 

“It’s easier to face the long season when you’ve got a guy like Cowser who’s eternally optimistic,” Henderson said.

Looking ahead, it’s not only about Henderson's individual accolades but also the role he plays as a catalyst for his team’s performance. Mintz’s bold prediction that Orioles pitchers and hitters might combine for 500 home runs this year puts some tangible numbers behind the hype. If Henderson steps up, the offensive fireworks could be a reality, not just a fantastical prediction.

Is Henderson ready to assume the mantle of the next big baseball star? The Orioles’ hopes might very well hinge on it. As Shusterman put it, Orioles fans, "get ready for a season of surprises." 

Henderson's trajectory is not just about outperforming expectations but also about setting a new standard for rising talent in MLB.

To hear the full interview with Gunnar Henderson, tune in to "Baseball-Bar-B-Cast" on Apple, Spotify or YouTube.

Opening Day is finally here and it didn't take long for some history to be made in The Bronx.

Leading off the bottom of the first inning of the Yankees' season opener against the Milwaukee Brewers, Austin Wells hit a solo home run off Freddy Peralta to give New York a quick 1-0 lead. It was the first time in MLB history that a catcher hit a leadoff home run on Opening Day.

Wells also became the first Yankee with a leadoff home run on Opening Day.

LEADOFF HOMER FOR AUSTIN WELLS! 💣

(via @MLB) pic.twitter.com/PjpKSZ2TWI

— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) March 27, 2025

The ball traveled 348 feet to right field -- caught by a fan in the first row -- and had an exit velocity of 103.7 mph, getting out in a hurry.

What makes the home run even more impressive is it came in Wells' first at-bat hitting leadoff.

Without a true leadoff hitter in the lineup, New York tried Wells at the top of the batting order during spring training and the catcher answered the call well, prompting the Yankees to keep the 25-year-old there, at least for the beginning of the season.

The solo shot came after Opening Day starter Carlos Rodon pitched a 1-2-3 inning in his season debut.

In the second inning, Anthony Volpe hit a solo homer of his own to a similar spot in right field.

Red Sox takeaways: Abreu's HRs help Boston beat Rangers on Opening Day originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

The Boston Red Sox started the 2025 MLB season with a 5-2 win over the Texas Rangers at Globe Life Field, and Wilyer Abreu made it possible.

The Red Sox right fielder hit two home runs, including a three-run blast that broke a 2-2 tie in the top of the ninth inning.

Outside of Abreu, the Red Sox weren’t able to produce much offense against Rangers starter Nate Eovaldi and the rest of Texas’ pitching staff. Boston’s best hitters — Jarren Duran, Rafael Devers and Alex Bregman — combined to go 1-for-12 at the plate with five strikeouts and zero walks.

Red Sox prospect Kristian Campbell made his major league debut and collected his first career hit in the top of the ninth inning. He finished 1-for-3 with one walk and one strikeout.

The team’s marquee offseason addition, left-handed starter Garrett Crochet, pitched five innings in his Red Sox debut. The bullpen took over in the sixth inning and allowed just two hits with zero walks and three strikeouts the rest of the way. Aroldis Chapman pitched a scoreless eighth inning and earned the win in his Boston debut. Justin Slaten threw a 1-2-3 ninth inning for the save.

Here are three takeaways from the Opening Day victory.

Wilyer Abreu shines

The bulk of the Red Sox’s offense came from Wilyer Abreu, who went 3-for-3 with two home runs, a single, three runs scored, four RBI and a walk. Boston had three hits through five innings, and Abreu tallied two of them.

One of those hits was a solo home run in the top of the fifth inning that tied the score at two. Abreu crushed a four-seam fastball from Eovaldi and sent it 415 feet into the right field stands.

Abreu hit a three-run homer in the top of the ninth inning that gave Boston a 5-2 lead:

Abreu played his first full MLB season in 2024 and batted .253 with 15 homers and 58 RBI in 132 games. He really shined on defense and won an American League Gold Glove in right field, becoming the first Red Sox rookie to win a Gold Glove since Fred Lynn in 1975.

If you’re looking for a Red Sox player who could have a breakout season, Abreu should be at or near the top of the list.

Garrett Crochet solid in debut

Crochet’s much-anticipated debut was a good one. He started it in fine fashion by striking out the first batter he faced. He pitched a scoreless first inning but needed 18 pitches to do it.

The Rangers opened the scoring in the second inning when Kevin Pillar hit an RBI double to center field. After a scoreless third inning for Crochet, he allowed a run in the fourth when Kyle Higashioka hit an RBI double to center.

Crochet bounced back with a scoreless fifth inning to complete his day. He ended up throwing 88 pitches (61 strikes) over five innings and allowed five hits, two earned runs and two walks, while striking out four. He had 15 swings-and-misses.

It wasn’t a dominant performance from the 25-year-old lefty, but it was a solid outing against a very good Rangers lineup.

Rafael Devers really struggles

The Red Sox need a bounce-back season from their superstar slugger, and he did not take a positive step forward toward that goal Thursday.

Devers went 0-for-4 at the plate with three strikeouts. He had five swings-and-misses in his first two at-bats and had a lot of trouble with Nathan Eovaldi’s breaking balls (see video below). Overall, the 28-year-old veteran just didn’t look comfortable at the plate.

It might take Devers a little bit to adjust to his full-time designated hitter role. Devers has played third base throughout his Red Sox career, but the offseason addition of Alex Bregman — who is much better defensively — has resulted in Devers shifting to DH.

The Angels have upheld their obligations under their stadium lease, the state auditor said in a report released Thursday, and disputes between the city of Anaheim and the team are largely the result of vague language in a lease that dates to 1996.

“We did not uncover any instances in which Angels ownership violated the terms of the lease agreement,” state auditor Grant Parks wrote in his report.

The only specific financial outcome of the report: Auditors discovered the Angels had overpaid $95,000 in ticket revenue to the city in 2021. The city agreed to refund the money to the team, the report said.

The Angels last month exercised their option to extend their stadium lease through 2032. They have two additional options, through 2035 and again through 2038. The city says there are no talks underway on a new deal with the team.

Read more:Could the Angels lose their Angel Stadium lease? New state audit to probe land deal

The audit, requested last year by state legislators representing the stadium area, was one of several actions pursued by elected officials after the collapse of a previous deal.

In 2022, after the release of an FBI affidavit disclosing a public corruption investigation of then-Mayor Harry Sidhu, the city killed the deal in which Angels owner Arte Moreno would have bought Angel Stadium and the surrounding property, renovated the stadium and built a neighborhood around it.

According to his plea agreement, Sidhu disclosed confidential city information to the Angels at a time when the city was negotiating with the team. He is scheduled to be sentenced Friday.

The collapse of the deal meant the Angels would remain a tenant at the stadium, under the terms of the 1996 lease.

In their audit request, State Sen. Tom Umberg (D-Santa Ana) and Assemblyman Avelino Valencia (D-Anaheim) cited “deep concern” that the team had withheld revenue owed to the city and failed to comply with stadium maintenance requirements stipulated in the lease.

That lease does not allow the city regular access for stadium inspections, meaning that the city “cannot ensure that its own stadium is properly maintained,” according to the report. The city and team have squabbled over access to the stadium for a property assessment authorized in 2023 that has still not been completed.

The city and team also have disagreed on the funding of maintenance and capital expenditures and the interpretation of “first-class stadium” in the lease, which requires Angel Stadium to be maintained on par with Dodger Stadium and Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City but does not define specific requirements or say as of what date those comparisons should be valid.

If the city and team cannot resolve those issues, Anaheim will “face the possibility of litigation,” the report said.

In accordance with the lease, the Angels pay no rent to play at the stadium, and share no ticket revenue with the city unless they sell more than 2.6 million tickets. The city agreed to waive rent because Disney, then owner of the Angels, paid for all but $20 million of a $117-million stadium renovation.

At the time of the 1996 lease, the Angels had sold more than 2.6 million tickets four times since moving into the stadium in 1966. Under Moreno — and in the wake of the only World Series championship in franchise history — the Angels topped 3 million every year from 2003-19. Attendance fell below 2.6 million in two of the last three full seasons; the Angels have not posted a winning record in 10 years.

"The failure of the Angels to put a decent product on the field means that the city is basically paying the Angels to play baseball in their stadium," Umberg said in a statement.

The auditor also noted the lease allows the city to perform an audit twice per year to ensure the Angels’ compliance with the lease. According to the report, the city has conducted two such audits in the last 12 years.

Get the best, most interesting and strangest stories of the day from the L.A. sports scene and beyond from our newsletter The Sports Report.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

The Mets have designated outfielders Alexander Canario and Jose Azocar for assignment, after both players did not make the Opening Day roster, reports Anthony DiComo of MLB.com.

Canario and Azocar, who are out of minor league options, will be available for any team to claim on outright waivers unless the Mets work out a trade within the next seven days.

If one or both players clear waivers, the Mets will be able to outright them to the minor leagues.

The 24-year-old Canario, whom the Mets acquired from the Cubs via trade in February for cash considerations, is an intriguing prospect.

He spent most of the 2024 season with the Cubs' Triple-A affiliate in Iowa, slashing .243/.336/.514 with 18 home runs in just 64 games.

Canario started slowly with the Mets in spring training but got hot late. Overall, he hit .306/.419/.611 with three home runs and two doubles in 36 at-bats over 17 games.

For the Mets, it simply came down to the fact that they didn't have room on the roster for Canario since they opted to go with a four-man bench and eight-man bullpen.

A few hours before Carlos Rodon throws the first pitch of the Yankees' 2025 regular season, manager Aaron Boone gave an update on Giancarlo Stanton's progress.

Stanton, who was placed on the 10-day injured list on Wednesday (retroactive to March 24) with right and left elbow epicondylitis, is making progress, according to Boone, but the team is still not putting a timetable on when the 35-year-old could be back in the lineup.

"He's doing pretty well. I think we've all been encouraged by the last couple of weeks," Boone said. "Still no timetable on anything, but he's been able to swing the bat and feel like there's been some steady improvement day after day. Encouraged by the last couple of weeks, but we've still got a ways to go."

Swinging a bat is obviously a huge step for Stanton, who has received multiple rounds of PRP injections to try to ease the pain in both elbows, an ailment that he played through during parts of last season.

Stanton had a down 2024 regular season by his own standards, posting an OPS of .773 while hitting 27 home runs and driving in 72 runs. His numbers were better in the postseason, but it's clear that if the Yanks want to make a run to the World Series, they're going to need better production from their veteran designated hitter.

What we learned as Wilmer Flores' homer seals Giants' Opening Day comeback win originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

BOX SCORE

CINCINNATI — It was mentioned every day during spring training. Situational hitting, situational hitting, situational hitting. The Giants needed to get better with runners on base. 

It appears all of that work paid off. 

Patrick Bailey tied it up with two outs in the ninth on Opening Day and Wilmer Flores followed with a three-run homer, stunning the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park. With a 6-4 victory, the Giants gave one hell of a birthday present to Buster Posey, who was in the executive’s booth for the first time as president of baseball operations. 

The late rally started with a Jung Hoo Lee walk and included a Matt Chapman single. After Bailey’s single, Flores unloaded on a hanging slider from Ian Gibaut. 

IF NOBODY GOT ME, WILMER FLORES GOT ME 🙏 pic.twitter.com/J2WdtXShAC

— SF Giants on NBCS (@NBCSGiants) March 27, 2025

During the first three innings, the Giants got a reminder of how dangerous it is to trust spring training results. They didn’t face many marquee pitchers while winning 21 games during the exhibition season, but Reds ace Hunter Greene came out sitting at 100 mph and dominated for the first hour. The Giants struck out six times the first lap through the order and 16 overall, but they came through when it counted. 

Greene is a dark horse Cy Young candidate, and he might have the National League’s best four-seamer. He threw it 70 percent of the time, topping out at 101.7 mph and averaging 99.2. The Giants were stuck in the mud until Heliot Ramos took Greene deep in the fourth, cutting the deficit to one. Logan Webb kept it there and the bullpen had a strong day, with Ryan Walker closing it out after Flores’ bomb.

Great American Small Park

Can you lock up at-bat of the year on the first day of the season? It’ll be hard for any Giant to top what Ramos did in his second at-bat.

The Giants had just one hit when he came up in the top of the fourth, but he fouled off five straight two-strike pitches from Greene — all at 98 or 99 mph — before hitting a high fly ball to left that kept carrying and snuck over the wall for a two-run homer.

Ramos gets the Giants on the board with the first homer of the season 💪 pic.twitter.com/9YDrx9AlQ4

— SF Giants on NBCS (@NBCSGiants) March 27, 2025

The first Giants homer of the year came on the 11th pitch of the at-bat. That was the most pitches seen by a Giant before homering since May 12, 2023, when Michael Conforto unloaded on the 12th pitch of an at-bat.

Slow Start

The best time, sometimes the only time, to get to Webb is in the first inning. The Reds did it with a two-out rally and then tacked on two more runs in the third. In his fourth consecutive Opening Day start, Webb was charged with three earned runs in five innings on six hits and three walks. 

Webb struck out five, and his first of the 2025 MLB season came on his cutter, a pitch he didn’t even throw until last May and rarely used before this spring. He threw 13 of them against a Reds lineup heavy on left-handed hitters. 

Webb threw his changeup only nine times, although there were some characteristics there he’ll probably be happy with. He’s trying to widen the velocity gap between his changeup and sinker; the change averaged 86 mph on Thursday and the sinker was at 92.3, topping out at 94.8. 

The New Guy

Willy Adames has 19 career homers against the Reds and he nearly got his 20th. In the top of the fourth, he hit a high fly ball to right that kept carrying the same way Ramos’ did, but Jake Fraley caught it on the track. 

Overall, it was a quiet debut for the longtime NL Central star. Adames struck out in his other three at-bats, including a leadoff whiff in the ninth. The most notable moment defensively was a tricky one. 

Adames made a slick stop of Gavin Lux’s grounder up the middle in the third, but he couldn’t beat Elly De La Cruz to the bag at second and the hesitation cost him a chance to get Lux at first. With the bases loaded, Jeimer Candelario drove in a pair with a single.

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