SCOTTSDALE, AZ - FEBRUARY 20: Jordan Beck #27 of the Colorado Rockies greets manager Warren Schaeffer #4 as teams are announced on the opening day of Spring Training games at Salt River Fields on Friday, February 20, 2026 in Scottsdale, Arizona. (Photo by Kyle Cooper)
Tomorrow is Opening Day for the Rockies, which means we can officially close the door on spring training 2026. However, it’s still worth reflecting on in hopes of predicting what they might do in the regular season.
On Tuesday, we asked you to grade the Rockies’ spring training. More than half of you gave them a solid B, but 95% of you had them passing the test (C or better). Zero people gave them a failing grade, which I think is a good indicator of fans’ views of the team compared to a year ago.
However, the games start counting today and we will finally get to see how much the Rockies are able to improve after their new and improved spring training regimen and front office refresh.
Are you surprised by the results? Do you still agree with how you voted? Let us know in the comments!
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LOS ANGELES, CA - MARCH 26: Los Angeles Dodgers second baseman Miguel Rojas (72) and first baseman Freddie Freeman (5) hold onto the 2024 and 2025 World Series Commissioner's trophies as they drive along the outfield warning track before the game between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Arizona Diamondbacks at Dodger Stadium on Thursday, March 26, 2026 in Los Angeles, CA. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES — Part of winning the World Series, let alone two in a row, is that you get two days’ worth of pregame ceremonies to open the season. It’s not exactly the routine baseball players are used to, but this might be a nearly literal case of what Dodgers manager Dave Roberts likes to call champagne problems.
Opening day ceremonies included introducing the entire team, with the players entering on a blue carpet from center field. Two members of the starting lineup — Freddie Freeman and Miguel Rojas — were conspicuously absent when their names were called, but they were part of a planned skit with actor Will Ferrell.
A overly long video played on the scoreboards at Dodger Stadium with Ferrell taking a stadium tour, with the lone saving grace team historian Mark Langill doing yeomen’s work as a tour guide in the piece. The video ends with Ferrell finding the championship trophies from 2024 and 2025, with Freeman and Rojas finding him.
After the video, Ferrell drove a blue convertible onto the field at Dodger Stadium, with Freeman and Rojas each holding a trophy to complete the production.
In all, the festivities, which included raising the championship banner and 2025 World Series emblem at the stadium, took 45 minutes before starting on time at 5:30 p.m. PT. The Dodgers will have another ceremony on Friday to deliver all the championship rings. That will start at 6:20 p.m., 50 minutes before first pitch.
“Hopefully the clubhouse is staying present, and just trying to win a game that night. It’s out there, but you’ve kind of got to try and block it out and focus on playing,” manager Dave Roberts said before Thursday’s game. “But understandably so, we put ourselves in a good spot that people want to talk about it, and that’s a good thing.”
Roberts was asked about the video before the game.
“The organization did that? Alright, well they said that we’re the bad guys. That’s self-proclaimed, so I guess I’m going to embrace it,” he said with a smile. “I don’t know. I guess people like a villain.”
Following the Mets' 11-7 Opening Day win over the Pirates, manager Carlos Mendoza and the players spoke about the game...
Paul Skenes' tough day at CitiField
What was supposed to be a pitcher's duel between Freddy Peralta and Skenes was not to be.
While Peralta gritted his way through five innings, the Mets lineup did not let Skenes get through one.
Although the Mets offense was aided by some defensive mishaps, the lineup did its thing against the reigning NL CY Young winner. Skenes allowed five earned runs on four hits, two walks and a hit batter while picking up just two outs.
After the game, Skenes could only applaud the Mets for how they handled him on Thursday.
"They did a really good job," Skenes said. "In the moment, maybe a little frustrating, just gotta execute earlier. They did a good job."
Skenes threw just 37 pitches before manager Don Kelly pulled his ace. The Pirates skipper told Skenes that it's too early in the season to push it although the right-hander believed he could have gotten out of the inning, but understood his manager's logic.
So, what exactly went wrong for Skenes?
"I walked the leadoff guy," Skenes said matter-of-factly. "Didn’t execute with two strikes when I needed a punchout or a double play there. Yea, a few things."
Skenes said he'll just flush the loss moving forward and pointed out how there was a lot of soft contact by Mets hitters in the first inning that ultimately led to runs.
"You've gotta look at it for what it is, there wasn't a ton of hard contact," Skenes said. "Leadoff walk is not great. Some balls landed, the Polanco groundball. You know, stuff like that. The batting average on balls in play thing was super high today, that'll go down as the season goes on."
He's not wrong.
Two of the four hits had exit velocities lower than 89 mph, while the other two hits were a result of Oneil Cruz's defensive misplays. But still, the Mets lineup made Skenes work with long at-bats, working walks and putting the ball in play, causing the worst start in the youngster's MLB career.
"Just competitive," Bichette said of the at-bats in the first inning. "The goal of our team is to be the most competitive at-bats you see every day. And we did that for sure."
Paul Skenes does not get out of the first inning on Opening Day against the Mets pic.twitter.com/4qaZs9P3uB
Bo Bichette and Jorge Polanco's new positions were a big storyline this offseason, and their defensive abilities were put to the test for the first time on Thursday.
Bichette, starting at third base, and Polanco at first base, started at their respective positions for the first time in a real game and they did well. There were no errors or misplays by either, and in fact, they made it look routine for the most part.
Mendoza was asked about both players' first games in their new positions after the win.
"I thought both were pretty good," he said. "The few chances that they got, that one-hopper to Bo, the way he reacted, got up, set his feet, made a good throw. The one that he came in…threw it on the run, little off line up the line, but it was good for Polanco to come off the base, apply the tag.
"Routine groundballs for Polanco, couple of hard ones. The whole thing, the positioning, the ability to communicate from pitch-to-pitch was good to see."
The additions of Bichette and Polanco were part of president of baseball operations David Stearns' offseason plan to be better defensively. And while on paper, flipping the positions of two starters counters that philosophy, it worked out at least for one game.
FORT MYERS, FL - FEBRUARY 22: Spencer Miles #62 of the Toronto Blue Jays pitches during the game between the Toronto Blue Jays and the Boston Red Sox at JetBlue Park at Fenway South on Sunday, February 22, 2026 in Fort Myers, Florida. (Photo by Kathryn Skeean/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
Much has been made this preseason about Daniel Susac winning the backup catcher role for the San Francisco Giants. Susac, a northern California native whose older brother, Andrew, won a World Series as Buster Posey’s backup, entered camp as the presumptive favorite due to his Rule 5 status. As a Rule 5 selection, Susac needs to stay on the active roster for the entirety of the year, and cannot be optioned. If the Giants wish to move him off the active roster for any reason other than an injury, he’ll be returned to the Athletics system.
Susac did, indeed, win the job, beating out veteran Eric Haase and contact-maven prospect Jesús Rodríguez. He’ll be the backup catcher for the foreseeable future, and the Giants will surely hope that he can hang onto the role all year, and stay in the system.
But while Susac got the bulk of the attention, he wasn’t the only Rule 5 pick whose fate impacts the Giants. You might remember that San Francisco lost a pair of right-handed pitchers in the Major League portion of the December draft, Spencer Miles and Ryan Watson.
And both of those players made their respective teams’ Opening Day rosters, meaning they won’t be returned to the Giants … not yet, at least.
With respect to Watson, Miles is the notable name of the pair, and was taken by the defending American League champion Toronto Blue Jays. A fourth-round pick in 2022 out of Missouri, talent has never been an issue for Miles … but health has. He pitched 7.1 innings in ‘22 after getting drafted, but missed the entirety of the 2023 season. He pitched 7.1 more innings in 2024 — all at the Complex League — but lost all of 2025. As such, the 25-year old has just 14.2 innings of professional baseball to his name, and none above Low-A. But a fantastic showing in the Arizona Fall League — with mesmerizing metrics to back it up — earned him a look from the Blue Jays.
He ran with it in the spring, striking out 11 batters in 9.2 innings, with a 3.72 ERA. It came down to the wire, but he made the Opening Day roster, and now will become the rare player to appear in the Majors before playing in AAA, AA, or even High-A.
But that’s only the first step. There were warning flags in Miles’ performance: he walked five batters, hit another, and ceded a pair of home runs. And he’s joining a Blue Jays roster that has four pitchers on the 15-Day Injured List, plus another on the 60-Day IL. Making the roster was one thing; sticking on it will be another one entirely.
As for Watson, he was taken by the Athletics and traded to the Boston Red Sox. The 28-year old has had a long career as he prepares for his Major League debut: he was drafted out of high school in the 39th round in 2016 by the Los Angeles Dodgers, but didn’t sign. He chose instead to play at Auburn, and went undrafted in the pandemic-shortened 2020 draft, but signed with the Baltimore Orioles. They traded him to the Giants for cash considerations in late 2024.
Watson didn’t pitch particularly well for the Red Sox this spring, with a 5.56 ERA, a 4.62 FIP, and just seven strikeouts in 11.1 innings. But he impressed his new coaching staff, and gets the excitement of joining a Major League roster.
Miles and Watson will be worth paying attention to in the coming days, weeks, and months. Should the Blue Jays or Red Sox decide they don’t want to keep them, they’ll be placed on waivers. Any team that claims the relievers will have to abide by the same Rule 5 restrictions. If they clear waivers, they’ll be returned to the Giants for a small fee, and they’ll head back to the Minor Leagues, without taking a spot on the 40-man roster.
The Giants were heavily involved in the Rule 5 draft this year, as Miles, Watson, and Susac represent three of the just 13 players who were taken. As for the other 10 (all pitchers), six made the Opening Day roster for their new teams, while three were returned to their original organization. One, RJ Petit of the Colorado Rockies, will open the year on the Injured List.
Dodgers executive Stan Kasten, Uniqlo chairman Tadashi Yanai, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts and team owner Mark Walter. (Beth Harris / Associated Press)
On their way into the clubhouse Thursday, Dodgers players were greeted by the World Series championship trophies they won in 2024 and 2025. In center field, Dodgers fans were greeted by oversize replicas of those trophies, the better for taking a selfie.
On social media, the Dodgers unveiled their opening day hype video. These were the first words: “What’s wrong with being the bad guy?” At Dodger Stadium, the three-peat hype video was a movie trailer with this tagline: “Great sequels build legendary trilogies.”
To the rest of that country, all that winning and all that spending makes the Dodgers the bad guys. For more than a year, the owners of other major league teams have telegraphed their desire to restrain all that spending, preferably through a salary cap.
How does the owner of the Dodgers feel?
Does baseball truly have a problem?
Sit down, Dodgers fans. You might expect the owner of the Colorado Rockies to say that revenue disparity among teams is so great that competitive balance has been destroyed, and he did.
You might not expect Dodgers owner Mark Walter to say this:
”Here’s what the problem is: Money helps us win. We can’t win all the time. We’ve got to have some parity,” Walter told me.
“So we’ve got to come up with something that will give us some parity.”
Don’t take this the wrong way: Walter will always want to win. But the owners, Walter included, are increasingly united in the belief that revenue disparity is the primary explanation why a small-market team has not won the World Series in 11 years.
The Dodgers are making more money from Uniqlo in naming rights this season than some teams are making from local television rights and the Dodgers also are making 10 times as much on their SportsNet LA deal.
The Dodgers generated an estimated $850 million in revenue last season, according to Forbes. Their opening day opponent, the Arizona Diamondbacks, generated an estimated $324 million.
If Walter were to support the pursuit of a salary cap, the owners could be unanimously in favor. For now, negotiations with the players’ union have not started, and owners have not considered the language of whatever bargaining proposal they might make, so there is nothing for Walter to approve or reject.
“We’ll have to see what it is,” Walter said.
The players’ union does not dispute the revenue disparity. The union believes the owners should solve that issue among themselves, by sharing more revenue and adding incentives for lower-revenue teams that win. The union also believes “competitive balance” is a fig leaf for “cost control that increases owner profits.”
In the NFL, which has a salary cap, either the Kansas City Chiefs or the New England Patriots has played in the AFC championship in each of the last 15 years.
And, even if the Dodgers are the bad guys, they are not bad for business. The Dodgers hold five of the top 12 spots on baseball’s list of best-selling jerseys: Shohei Ohtani at No. 1, Yoshinobu Yamamoto at No. 2, Mookie Betts at No. 5, Freddie Freeman at No. 7 and Kiké Hernandez at No. 12.
The last two World Series, in which the Dodgers beat the New York Yankees and Toronto Blue Jays, juiced television ratings across the country and around the world. The World Baseball Classic dominated headlines and social media content at what is usually a sleepy time for baseball.
All of that momentum would be at risk if owners shut down the sport in “salary cap or bust” collective bargaining, crossing their fingers that players would surrender as soon as they started missing paychecks next spring.
It is against that backdrop that Dodgers manager Dave Roberts encouraged fans to appreciate this season opener. With potential armageddon looming in negotiations for a new collective bargaining agreement, who knows when the next season might actually open?
“I understand that,” Roberts said Thursday, “in the sense of, this is where the CBA is at, as far as the expiration. And I do agree: Enjoy it, because nothing is guaranteed. It’s going to be a great year and I hope everyone pours their spirits and their joy into this season, because it’s going to be a great one. We’ll just figure out where it goes after that.”
And, if it goes haywire after that, the Dodgers inevitably will be blamed.
“That,” Roberts said with a laugh, “seems like it’s always been the case recently.”
What would Walter tell Dodgers fans concerned that what might be in the best interest of baseball might not be in the best interest of the Dodgers?
“I don’t want to hurt us,” Walter said. “We’ll be fine.”
Carlos Mendoza called Luis Robert Jr.’s 10-pitch walk the biggest at-bat in what turned out to be the Mets’ rather stunning first-inning takedown of Paul Skenes, the best and most imposing pitcher in the National League.
And afterward, the manager was practically giggling as he tried to explain it.
“I mean, historically he’s been chaser, right?” Mendoza said. “We know he’s going to chase. But then you watch that at-bat. For him to lay off that 3-2 breaking ball…for me, that whole inning was about that Luis Robert at-bat.”
As it turned out, Robert Jr.’s unexpected plate discipline loaded the bases and set the table for the Brett Baty triple - albeit, thanks to a misplay by Oneil Cruz - that led to Skenes’ first-inning knockout and eventually a feel-good 11-7 Opening Day win over the Pittsburgh Pirates at Citi Field.
It was a win that featured the Mets’ new-look offense that prioritizes making contact, the deliberate result of David Stearns desire to, as he said during spring training, “have more competitive at-bats 1-through-9” in the lineup.
The first-day results say the plan could work wonders for an offense that has been too feast-or-famine in recent years, and way too inconsistent with runners in scoring position.
Yet not even the Stearns would have dreamed of his team giving Skenes the earliest knockout of his career. And though the NL Cy Young winner’s defense was partly to blame, tough at-bats by the Mets’ hitters led to long counts that pushed his pitch count to 37, at which point Pirates’ manager Don Kelly decided not to push his young superstar too far on Opening Day.
“He was missing arm side and he was trying to make us chase,” said Mendoza. “We controlled the strike zone. We executed the game plan. We were going to make him come to us - and be aggressive if we get pitches to hit.”
From the offseason blueprint to the ballfield. At least on Day One.
Yet the weird part is Robert Jr. wasn’t really part of that blueprint. The Mets gambled on him in a trade with the Chicago White Sox, willing to take on his $20 million salary this season, because of his elite athleticism, both as a center fielder and a hitter, and the hope that he could stay healthy and deliver on the hit tool that still makes scouts drool.
But suffice it to say, nobody ever accused Robert Jr. of being a grinder at the plate.
Indeed, as Mendoza referenced, Robert Jr. has been the definition of a chaser throughout his career. Even during his All-Star season in 2023, when he hit .264 with 38 home runs, he had a whopping 172 strikeouts and ranked in the bottom third percentile among all hitters in chasing pitches out of the strike zone, according to MLB Statcast.
One year earlier, in 2022, he ranked in the bottom one percent. The very bottom. By 2025, he’d improved a bit but still ranked in the bottom 20th percentile, which means that, at least statistically, Robert should have had little to no chance of winning an at-bat like the one against Skenes on Thursday, from falling behind 1-2 in the count to working out such a consequential walk.
Or as a scout I reached out to after the Mets’ win said:
“At 1-2, I thought there was a 90 percent chance Skenes would strike him out. Then, honestly, as he was fouling off tough pitches and taking sliders off the plate, I almost couldn’t believe it was the same guy I watched in Chicago.”
So then logic would tell you the 10-pitch walk was just some sort of happy accident for the Mets.
To that point, according to Sports Info Solutions, the 10-pitch walk was tied for Robert’s longest at-bat in his last three seasons, along with one in 2025 against Taijuan Walker, who, no offense, is hardly Paul Skenes.
Ok, but what if this is some new-and-improved version of Robert Jr.? He did go 2-for-4 in addition to the walk on Thursday, even if one of his two singles was a slow roller in the infield.
More significantly, Robert Jr. is still only 28, after all, and theoretically younger than that, baseball-wise, considering all the time he’s missed due to injuries during his career, only once playing more than 110 games in a season.
In addition, there has been much speculation from people around baseball, even going back to last season when the Mets were interested in him at the trade deadline, that he’d been worn down by years of losing with the White Sox and even somewhat undeveloped in an organization considered lacking in modern analytics/technology.
Stearns himself said after trading for him, “We’ve all seen it before. Sometimes guys just need a change of scenery to bring out the best him.” Here’s how the scout translated that quote when I read it to him Thursday:
“That’s a nice way of saying he thinks the White Sox weren’t equipped to get the most out of Robert’s talent,” he said. “And he might be right about that. We’re talking mostly about one at-bat against a great pitcher but it’s something that you wouldn’t think was possible unless the guy has taken to whatever the Mets may have been working with him on this spring.”
Mendoza, for one, wants to believe that such work in spring training is already beginning to pay dividends.
“I give credit to him and the coaches,” said the manager. “Behind the scenes, they were working with him on laying off tough pitches and doing damage with the pitches he can handle. I think you saw some of that in that walk.”
It opened some eyes among his teammates as well.
“That was super impressive,” Bo Bichette said. “To get to 1-2 against a guy like that, and then work the count to 3-2, that’s not easy to do. Then to lay off a slider on 3-2…you’ve got 100 (mph) in the back of your mind, and you also want to drive in a run there…to wind up taking the walk is so impressive.”
So if it’s more than a happy accident, well, Robert could be an X-factor that gives the Mets a significant power dimension in the No. 5 spot, in addition to the contact, plate discipline, and consistency in RBI spots they want to be their identity.
“We know how talented he is,” was the way Mendoza put it. “We know what that could mean for us.”
To which the scout added: “Keeping him off the injured list is a big part of it, but if the Mets get a better version of Robert, especially with his approach and discipline, that could be a deep and dangerous lineup.”
At least for one day, a first-inning TKO of the best pitcher in the National League was proof of that.
Mar 26, 2026; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; St. Louis Cardinals second baseman JJ Wetherholt (26) hits a solo home run for his first major league hit during his major league debut in the third inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images | Jeff Curry-Imagn Images
Busch Stadium was an exciting place to be today as the St. Louis Cardinals opened up the 2026 season against the Tampa Bay Rays. The parade of St. Louis Cardinals Hall of Famers, the proud Budweiser Clydesdales and a stadium packed with plenty of fans wearing red. The game had plenty of highlights and it was a close game until the sixth inning when the Rays jumped out to a big lead, but the Cardinals put together a furious comeback to beat Tampa Bay.
The St. Louis Cardinals struck first when JJ Wetherholt came up for his second at-bat and hammered a 2-strike pitch into Freese’s Landing in center. JJ’s homer traveled 425 feet with an exit velocity of 101.7 mph.
Nathan Church made an incredible catch in the fifth inning bringing a potential home run back from over the left field wall.
It was the sixth inning when both teams would go wild. Matt Svanson relieved Matthew Liberatore who gave up 3 singles before being removed by Manager Oli Marmol who brought in Justin Bruihl. Chandler Simpson pinch-hit for the Rays singled past Masyn Winn to knock in a run. Aranda followed that with a sacrifice fly to center to give Tampa Bay a 3-1 lead. Bruihl was taken out of the game and replaced by Chris Roycroft who gives up 2 dribble singles. By the time the Tampa Bay sixth inning was done, the Rays lead was 7-1.
The Cardinals answered with one of the most exciting innings the team has had in recent years. Masyn Winn doubled followed by a RBI single by Nolan Gorman. Jordan Walker slammed a ground rule double over the center field wall with Gorman stopping at third base. Nathan Church then singled in both Gorman and Walker making it 7-5. Tampa Bay responded by bringing in Cleavinger in relief who immediately surrendered a single to Pedro Pages. Victor Scott II laid down the perfect bunt to load the bases. JJ Wetherholt flied out to deep right field bringing in Nathan Church to reduce the Rays lead to 7-6. Victor Scott II then stole 2nd base. Great situational hitting continued as Ivan Herrera’s sacrifice fly tied the game. It was Alec Burleson who brought Busch Stadium to its collective feet when he destroyed a ball into the right field stands as it traveled 432 feet.
One additional sixth inning note: The Rays catcher Fortes took a ball to the worst possible place, but miraculously managed to stay in the game. Chuck Norris would have been so proud of such courage. Seriously.
The St. Louis Cardinals shined on defense in the 8th inning when JJ Wetherholt made a fine play on a backhanded grab and Alec Burleson robbed the Rays on a line drive he grabbed that was screaming down the first base line. In the bottom of the 8th, Victor Scott II reached base on a broken bat single to center then was granted 2nd base when he drew three throws over to first base, but it was all for naught when Masyn Winn lined out to left field to end the inning.
The Cardinals brought in Ryan Stanek in the 9th inning to shut down the Rays, but he allowed unneeded drama allowing the Rays to load the bases, but St. Louis held on for a thrilling 9-7 victory after former Cardinal Palacios made the final out.
The energy in Busch Stadium today was amazing. Even when the Cardinals fell behind 7-1, the team did not lose its intensity. This was the first time the Cardinals have overcome a 6-run deficit since 2019 when they did it against the Cincinnati Reds. Matthew Liberatore threw a solid, if not spectacular 5 innings giving up 7 hits.
Los Angeles, CA - March 25: The Los Angeles Dodgers and UNIQLO announced a partnership renaming the Dodger Stadium playing field to UNIQLO Field at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles on Wednesday, March 25, 2026. (Photo by Keith Birmingham/MediaNews Group/Pasadena Star-News via Getty Images) | MediaNews Group via Getty Images
If Opening Day were a prophecy, instead of merely a beginning, the Mets should start planning for a late October destiny.
If they can replicate for a whole season what they did Thursday afternoon -- when they were a patient, pitch-eating juggernaut that pushed reigning Cy Young winner Paul Skenes from the game before he could record a third out -- they can rewrite history. Suddenly, that 2025 debacle could look more like a painful-but-necessary learning experience, one that nudged David Stearns to remake his lineup into the relentless, dynamic force last year’s team never found a way to be.
Because for one sunny afternoon in Flushing, everything went perfectly for a new-look Mets lineup that included five players who did not appear for them in 2025. By taking close pitches and fouling off uncomfortable strikes, they picked apart one of the best pitchers of this generation so completely that he left the game before finishing one inning, by far the worst start of his career.
“Look, that first inning was pretty impressive,” Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said. “Not gonna lie.”
That first inning was a masterclass in all the things the Mets could not do last year – creating sparks, then igniting them into a full-fledged flame.
Francisco Lindor worked a walk. Juan Soto blooped a hit into short center, at which point Lindor hustled to third base, challenging Oneil Cruz’s cannon in center to take an extra base.
That brought up Bo Bichette, the former American League batting champion, heralded as a runners-in-scoring-position savant the Mets sorely needed. He fell into a two-strike count. He fouled off a pitch up and in. Then he muscled a fly ball just deep enough to right field to score a run, giving the Mets a walk, a bloop, a sprint, and a chip shot. Something out of nothing.
Jorge Polanco, another new addition, singled. Then, Luis Robert Jr. – known as an avid chaser of strikes and balls, alike – worked a walk in just the second 10-pitch plate appearance he has had in the last three years. A batter later, Brett Baty delivered a go-ahead triple. He said seeing so many Skenes offerings to Robert helped.
“That’s what we harp on. We’re a complete lineup,” Baty said. “And if you wear the pitcher down, somebody is going to get a mistake and do some damage with it.”
Now, of course, any team can have a good inning on any given day. And many teams can even have that good inning against Skenes, though it must be said the Mets were helped by two misreads by Cruz that turned Baty’s ball from a sacrifice fly to a triple and Marcus Semien’s bloop into a double a batter later.
But what was encouraging for Mendoza, he said later, was that the Mets put together a similar inning in the fifth inning. Carson Benge reached base for the first time in his career with a walk. Francisco Alvarez singled. Lindor walked for the third time in five innings to load the bases. At that point, Soto poked a ten-hopper through the left side, the kind of hit that can materialize when hitters put the ball in play with runners in scoring position instead of prioritizing big swings and damage.
A batter later, Bichette worked a 13-pitch at-bat that ended in a strikeout.
“I wrote that down,” Mendoza said later. “Even though he struck out, then we see a four-pitch walk right away, right behind him. He’s going to make him work. We’ve got a lot of guys who are going to grind at-bats. Even if we didn’t get the exact result we wanted in that particular situation, the other guy benefitted from it.”
Ironically, Bichette was the only player in the lineup who did not reach base Thursday. But that 13-pitch at-bat preceded a walk and another single that helped the Mets add on after the Pirates started climbing back.
“I know he might have had a couple strikeouts today or something, but he was grinding,” Baty said. “The strikeouts I had too, I was trying to grind, get the pitch count up. All through the lineup, I think we were super scrappy today.”
Unfortunately for the Mets, the keyword in that sentence is “today.” Whether Thursday was a harbinger or aberration will be clearer in time. Small sample sizes cannot be trusted – though they do not always lie.
“It’s 162,” Mendoza said. “There’s gonna be times where it’s gonna be hard. That’s the nature of the business. But just to see it out of the gate against one of the best pitchers in the league, it goes to show you that we’ve got some dangerous guys.”
And indeed, Thursday did demonstrate that when this remodeled lineup is at its most focused (and, perhaps, gifted a few lucky breaks), it is capable of being one of the game’s more productive groups.
Perhaps Benge will look more like the rookie who struck out in his first two at-bats Thursday more often than he looks like the guy who homered in his fourth. But the fact that he could follow two tough at-bats in his first big league game with two solid ones suggests he will not disappear when at-bats go badly.
CHICAGO — Cubs second baseman Nico Hoerner has agreed to a six-year contract, according to a person familiar with the details, marking another major deal for the franchise.
The person spoke to the AP on Thursday on condition of anonymity because the agreement was pending a physical.
The long-term contract for Hoerner comes after All-Star center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong agreed to a $115 million, six-year deal with the Cubs. The team announced Crow-Armstrong’s contract after Thursday’s 10-4 loss to Washington on opening day.
The 28-year-old Hoerner was selected by Chicago in the first round of the 2018 amateur draft out of Stanford University. He is in the last season of a $35 million, three-year contract that was finalized in March 2023.
Hoerner was a key performer last year as Chicago won 92 games and reached the playoffs for the first time since 2020. He batted .297 with seven homers, 61 RBIs and 29 steals in a career-best 156 games. He also won his second Gold Glove.
SCOTTSDALE, ARIZONA - MARCH 23: Kevin McGonigle #85 of the Detroit Tigers warms up before a spring training game against the Colorado Rockies at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick on March 23, 2026 in Scottsdale, Arizona. (Photo by Chris Coduto/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Well, it doesn’t get a whole lot better than that. Kevin McGonigle suited up for the first game of his major league career, and when the smoke cleared he had four hits, two RBI, two runs scored, and had a solid day defensively at third base.
McGonigle stepped in against the Padres’ Opening Day starter, right-hander Nick Pivetta, in the first inning with the bases juiced. That could set a rookie’s knees a-quakin’ but instead McGonigle said he knew he’d get something up in the zone, with Pivetta hunting for a pop-up or shallow fly ball to keep the run from scoring at third, and he was correct. Pivetta tried to jam him with a 92 mph cutter up and in, and the young batsmith smoked it down the right field line for a two-run double.
With that out of the way, McGonigle could settle in and do his thing, and his thing is raking. Three more hits followed, one a little infield squibber that he beat out, one a solid single to right centerfield, and one a third inning double off the top of the wall in right field that was followed by a two-run homer from Dillon Dingler. McGonigle became just the 15th player to collect four hits in an MLB debut going back to 1900.
Of note is that fact that McGonigle had hits on four different pitch types, a fourseamer, a sinker, a cutter, and a changeup. Guaranteed he’ll see a lot of breaking balls the next two days in San Diego.
It didn’t take long after draft day for Kevin McGonigle to seize the top spot in the Tigers’ farm system rankings, and by last year he was already near the top of top 100 lists around the game. On draft day, there were minor concerns about the small framed infielder’s raw power projections and ability to stick at the shortstop position. There were never many doubts that he would hit, and hit a lot.
He’s methodically erased the other concerns along the way. McGonilgle has launched numerous tape measure shots over the past year, and while he had work to do to develop his footwork and become more efficient in his actions defensively, he’s clearly put in the work to make that a reality. Hall of Famer Alan Trammell has put in a lot of time working with him on his defensive actions since last season, and that work has paid off big this spring. McGonigle looks a lot slicker anywhere you put him on the field, and while his arm is just average for a shortstop, and not geared to make crazy throws from deep in the hole, his range, quick transfer, and accuracy make up for a lot. I’ve thought he’d be an average shortstop for a while now, but his work this spring has him tracking more like an above average defender.
The final note of the day was the 30.2 feet per second sprint speed he posted on Opening Day in beating out an infield single. We’ve mentioned that his speed is underrated, but frankly that was a shocking number to see. Only Trea Turner averaged a higher sprint speed in the major leagues last year, and he averaged 30.3 feet per second. Stealing bases has been a more modest part of McGonigle’s game in the minor leagues, but the opportunity is clearly there for him to steal a lot more bags than expected. He stole 22 in 2024, but only 10 last year in a somewhat abbreviated season caused by a sprained ankle on Opening Day that cost him six weeks. Perhaps he didn’t push the ankle last year, but he’s clearly back to full speed and apparently one of the fastest players in baseball to go with his rather outrageous gifts in all other aspects of the game.
We didn’t see a home run, but it won’t be long. The other aspect of his game the Tigers’ faithful didn’t get a chance to see was his plus power. Here’s a sampling from earlier in the spring. Only Riley Greene and Javier Báez have more raw power than Kevin McGonigle, and he’s going to get to all of it once he settles in fully as a major leaguer. He makes tons of hard contact, and his swing and approach are already built to pull a lot of balls in the air.
All around, a very good day for the Detroit Tigers and Kevin McGonigle. Every player’s major league debut is special, but for a talent like this, it was a real coming out party that showcased to the Tigers’ fanbase just how good a player they’ve got here. By day’s end, McGonigle had the balls he hit for doubles in his locker, and was anxious to meet up with the family who helped get him here, saying “I didn’t do this. WE did this together.”
Good stuff. We’re going to have a fun time watching this young man’s major league career unfold, and his buddies in the farm system will be chomping at the bit this year to join him.
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - OCTOBER 27: A general view during the playing of the national anthem before game three of the 2025 World Series between the Toronto Blue Jays and the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium on October 27, 2025 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Today’s Lineups
DIAMONDBACKS
DODGERS
Ketel Marte – 2B
Shohei Ohtani – DH
Corbin Carroll – RF
Kyle Tucker – RF
Geraldo Perdomo – SS
Mookie Betts – SS
Gabriel Moreno – C
Freddie Freeman – 1B
Nolan Arenado – 3B
Will Smith – C
Carlos Santana – 1B
Max Muncy – 3B
Jordan Lawlar – LF
Teoscar Hernandez – LF
Alek Thomas – CF
Andy Pages – CF
Tim Tawa – DH
Miguel Rojas – 2B
Zac Gallen – RHP
Y. Yamamoto – RHP
The season kicks off for the Diamondbacks, in Los Angeles against the World Champion Dodgers. The game is scheduled to start at 5:30 pm, and I’d probably recommend tuning it as close to that point as possible, unless you want to see the Dodgers getting their World Series rings and all that malarkey. [Hey, we are still the last team to beat Los Angeles in a post-season series] Mind you, with tonight’s game being a national game on NBC and Peacock, I’ve a feeling the broadcast is going to skew quite Dodgers heavy. If they mention us before the fourth inning, I’m going to call that a win.
It has been twenty-five years since the D-backs last beat the Dodgers on Opening Day. So it’s clearly about time, amIrite? That was a 3-2 victory in 2001, behind Randy Johnson, with a two-run shot from Luis Gonzalez in the seventh inning giving Arizona a come from behind victory. Since then, there have been four defeats and, to be honest, it has rarely been close. Only one of those losses has been by a margin less than six runs, with an overall run tally of 8-31. The last time we saw LA on Opening Day was in 2023, when Zac Gallen couldn’t get through five innings and took the L in an 8-2 loss. Still, that season ended up not too bad, didn’t it?
That’s definitely something to remember. It’s very easy to over-react – especially if you get pummeled, like the Giants did last night, or your ace and reigning Cy Young winner can’t get through one inning, like Pirates’ fans had to witness earlier today. But there’s a reason the baseball season is 162 games. It’s almost certain this team will lose sixty of them and win sixty of them. It’s what happens over the remaining forty-two – barely a quarter of the season – which will determine whether this year is a success or failure. So the odds are that today, in and of itself, won’t “matter” in the grand scheme of things.
Still, we hope for the best. There’s a lot of changes to look at here, with half the Diamondbacks line-up different from Opening Day last year:
1B: Naylor > Santana
3B: Suarez > Arenado
LF: Gurriel > Lawlar
CF: McCarthy > Thomas
DH: Grichuk > Smith
On the mound, while Gallen remains the starting pitcher, none of the three relievers to come out against the Cubs (Ryne Nelson, Jalen Beeks and Bryce Jarvis) are in the 2026 version of the Arizona bullpen. All told, of the 26 players on the 2025 Opening Day roster, only eleven are also on the roster today. That feels low, though I haven’t checked to see how it compares to other teams. There may not have been a lot of high-profile changes over the winter – re-signing Kelly and Gallen were far and away the biggest moves – but there has certainly been a significant amount of roster churn. We’ll start to see how it works out tonight! Try and not over-react. 😀
PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA - MARCH 26: Cristopher Sánchez #61 of the Philadelphia Phillies pitches in the first inning on Opening Day against the Texas Rangers at Citizens Bank Park on March 26, 2026 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Emilee Chinn/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Thursday’s Opening Day game against the Texas Rangers had everything a Phillies fan could want: A Schwarbomb, an impressive debut from a rookie, filthy pitching from Cristopher Sanchez, and a way-too-interesting ninth inning. Put it all together, and the Phillies improved to 1-0 on the season with a 5-3 win.
After Sanchez worked around two ground ball singles in the first, the Phillies scored their first runs of the season with the old bloop-blast combination. Trea Turner beat out an infield single, and Kyle Schwarber went opposite field.
In the fifth, Crawford improved to 2-2 in his career with another single, and when Turner followed with another hit, it looked like the Phillies were ready to pile on. But Eovaldi struck out Schwarber and Bryce Harper, which left things in the hands of Alec Bohm.
There were a lot of complaints about Bohm serving as the team’s cleanup hitter, but for one game, it certainly worked out well.
Sanchez was faring far better than Eovaldi. He looked to be in midseason form as he tore through the Rangers’ lineup. He even seemed to be getting stronger as the game went on, striking out the last four batters he faced.
There are some questions about the Phillies’ bullpen, and manager Rob Thomson tried to cover the final three innings with middle relievers Jonathan Bowlan, Zach Pop, and Kyle Backhus. Bowlan and Pop were able to get through their innings – including the Phillies’ first ever ABS challenge.
I question why Thomson didn’t use closer Jhoan Duran in the ninth. Yes, you normally don’t want to use your closer with a five-run lead, but it’s Opening Day: You’ve got an off day tomorrow, so why not give the festive crowd what they want to see? Not to mention, this would have been an excruciating loss, so why mess around?
Instead, we got Backhus, and the Spring Training darling did not look good. Two batters in, and the lead was cut to 5-2.
After another single, Backhus was finally able to retire a batter, but a poor fielding decision by Bryson Stott and an errant throw by Bryce Harper, put a runner at third base.
Duran belatedly entered the game, and although he allowed the tying run to reach the plate, he eventually got Even Carter to ground out to secure the win.
Sadly, the Phillies’ momentum will be stalled by tomorrow’s off day. I understand why they schedule the break, but it’s one of the most annoying things in sports. On the bright side, we get an extra 24 hours to celebrate the big days by Schwarber, Bohm, Crawford, and Sanchez There are certainly worse fates in the world!
NEW YORK, NY - MARCH 26: Oneil Cruz #15 of the Pittsburgh Pirates is greeted by teammates during the pre-game ceremony prior to the game between the Pittsburgh Pirates and the New York Mets at Citi Field on Thursday, March 26, 2026 in New York, New York. (Photo by Dustin Satloff/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
The Pittsburgh Pirates season appeared to get off to a great start after Brandon Lowe hit a two-run homer in his first Bucco at-bat.
Then the bottom of the first happened.
For the first time in his career, Paul Skenes failed to pitch out of the first inning.
Everything that could have gone wrong went wrong for the Pirates in their 11-7 loss to the New York Mets on Thursday afternoon.
Skenes allowed five runs on four hits and two walks. He only recorded two outs and was pulled after 37 pitches.
One major reason why is because of two major defensive lapses by Oneil Cruz.
Leading 2-1 with the bases loaded and one out, Skenes induced a fly ball to center field off Brett Baty. Cruz started in a few steps and misplayed what should have been the second out and a sacrifice fly.
Instead, Baty cleared the bases and wound up at third. One batter later, Marcus Semien hit a fly ball to center that Cruz couldn’t find in the sun.
Another run scored. The inexcusable errors immediately erased a great start in the top of the first inning and the Pirates couldn’t battle all the way back.
Skenes and the Pirates trailed 5-2. Skenes punched out Carson Benge but hit Francisco Alvarez. His day was over.
Oneil Cruz with two of the worst center field plays you'll see in a big league game
Yohan Ramirez responded with an impressive 2.1 innings and three strikeouts in relief, but the bullpen allowed another six runs.
Mason Montgomery, Isaac Mattson, and Justin Lawrence each allowed two runs.
The Pirates’ offense totaled 10 hits and showed some positive signs for the year.
In his team debut, Lowe etched himself into the history books. Lowe hit his second homer of the game in the top of the third and became the seventh Pirate to homer twice on Opening Day.
Henry Davis doubled down the left field line in the fifth for his first hit of the year to score Nick Gonzales, who recorded two hits.
Ryan O’Hearn hit his first round-tripper as a Pirate in the sixth. It was an impressive opposite-field shot by the new Buc, who hit 17 a year ago.
Lowe, O’Hearn, and Gonzales each recorded two hits.
The Pirates and Mets will battle in game two of the series on Saturday, with Mitch Keller taking the mound, looking for a bounce-back performance from the staff.
PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA - MARCH 26: The Texas Rangers stand on the line for introductions on Opening Day against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park on March 26, 2026 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Emilee Chinn/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Texas Rangers scored three runs but the Philadelphia Phillies scored five runs.
The last time the Rangers began a season against the Phillies, they won the World Series. That’s certainly a positive omen as we begin this 2026 season journey.
Those kinds of vibes didn’t last very long, however, as the Rangers whiffed on a scoring opportunity in their first half inning and then trailed 2-0 five pitches into Philadelphia’s first crack at the new campaign.
Opening Day starter Nathan Eovaldi has been excellent over his career in games where there are a lot of eyeballs on the action. He’s been great during his time in Texas. He won the franchise a dang World Series. He was enjoying arguably the best season by a starting pitcher in franchise history last year before it was derailed by ailments. Eovaldi is good for days like this. You feel comfortable with him as your Opening Day guy.
Despite all that, Eovaldi allowed a two-strike, two-run dong to Kyle Schwarber just two batters into this one.
Whoopsadoodle.
Throughout the 2025 season, Eovaldi allowed 25 earned runs total in his 130 innings of work. He allowed two before collecting an out in 2026.
Before his day was over, without even making it through five frames, Eovaldi allowed five runs on eight hits with zero walks and seven Ks. A back-breaking two-out, three-run shot off the bat of Alec Bohm ended Eovaldi’s afternoon in the bottom of the fifth.
Meanwhile, at the plate, the Rangers looked a lot like the group we left behind in 2025 for much of the game. Which is to say, *gulp*
The oft-maligned bats had a makeover over the winter, and they enjoyed some feel-good press for improved stat lines in Arizona, but that translated to all of four hits through the game’s first eight innings with scant few chances to score until a too-little, too-late ninth inning rally.
Granted, the lineup had the unenviable task of trying to get off on a good foot against arguably the National League’s best left-handed starter. Cristopher Sanchez took the mound for the Phillies and he shoved, continuing where he left off last season when he led the NL in bWAR (8.0) and produced a 2.50 ERA on his way to finishing second behind Paul Skenes for the Cy Young award.
In the end, Sanchez struck out ten Rangers in his six innings of scoreless work with lineup waiting for the ninth inning to finally get on the board via a two-run home run from Jake Burger. At the very least, they made things mildly intriguing by getting the tying run to the plate.
Ah well, there’s six months of baseball ahead of us for better days than this one. As far as Opening Days go, though, this one was a stinker.
Player of the Game: Rule 5 pick Carter Baumler deserves a nod for making his MLB debut and pitching a scoreless — albeit shaky — inning with his family hanging on every pitch in the stands.
But Jake Burger collected three of Texas’ eight hits, including the ninth inning home run that prevented Philly from enjoying an Opening Day shutout.
Up Next: The Rangers will take a day off on Friday before resuming this series on Saturday in a rematch of the 2023 opener with RHP Jacob deGrom on the mound for Texas opposite RHP Aaron Nola for Philadelphia.
The Saturday afternoon first pitch from Citizens Bank Park is scheduled for 3:05 pm CT and will be carried on the Rangers Sports Network.
