Category: MLB

TAMPA — As far as spring training games go, Friday was an important one for Luis Gil, given some of the questions lingering around him this camp.

The Yankees right-hander came out and answered them emphatically.

Gil looked more dominant than he has all spring, mowing down the Orioles across five shutout innings in which he struck out seven and showed improved life on his fastball, turning back the clock to his AL Rookie of the Year form.

“That was 2024 Luis Gil right there,” a smiling Aaron Boone said after a 3-1 win at Steinbrenner Field. “There’s been incremental improvements, slowly but surely, through spring. But we hadn’t seen that yet. Hopefully that’s a sign of things to come for him, because that’s what he’s capable of.”

Gil came out firing from the start and averaged 96.8 mph on his fastball — up over 1 mph from the rest of his starts this spring and up 1.5 mph from 2025 — while topping out at 98.8 mph on a strikeout in the third inning.

The uptick in velocity and stuff was thanks in part to Gil spending his bullpen session Wednesday working on his release point — getting it higher than he had been this spring — to have better deception, which paid immediate dividends.

He had struggled to get swing-and-miss on his fastball in recent starts — and for much of last season after coming back from a lat injury — but rediscovered some of it Friday, generating five whiffs on 23 swings against the pitch.

“Right now, I feel as close as I’ve been [to the 2024 version] and I feel like I’m ready for a long season right now,” Gil said through an interpreter

The Yankees will have to decide what the next step is for Gil, who also flashed a new sinker that he has been working on.

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The club is still determining whether it will start the season in a four- or five-man rotation, having the flexibility to do the former because of multiple off-days in the first two weeks.

If the Yankees go with four starters, Gil or Ryan Weathers would appear to be the odd man out, either in a piggyback role or potentially optioned to Triple-A for the first two weeks of the season.

But Gil made a strong last impression.

“I’ve been wanting to see that,” Boone said. “He had their respect with the fastball, which allows the other stuff to play better.”

We’ve reached the point in Spring Training where I must dust off the keyboard and start stretching my fingers out in preparation for my weekly recaps. Tonight’s contest between the Brew Crew and Snakes was originally scheduled to be an afternoon matchup, but due to the unseasonably warm hot weather, the game was flexed to a nighttime slot. The high temperatures certainly seemed to help the balls jump tonight, which didn’t do any favors for the pair of starting pitchers making their final starts of Spring before they next pitch on Opening Day for their respective clubs.

In Zac Gallen’s final tune-up for the season, things got off to a rough start immediately when he gave a leadoff double and then walked the bases loaded and gave up a 2 RBI single to Sal Frelick before getting out of the first inning. Gallen’s second inning went smoother, recording three straight outs to strand a leadoff single, but then the wheels came off and stayed off. After the D-backs’ offense put up a 6-spot in the bottom of the second, Gallen gave up a pair of solo homers and an RBI triple to trim the lead to 1 run in the third. Then in the fourth, Gallen gave up another solo homer to leave his final line at 9 H, 2 BB, 6 ER and 0 K over 4 IP. It was an outing to forget, but Zac left the game healthy which I suppose is the most important thing here. He did make 66 pitches, so should be able to reasonably get to 80-85 pitches next Thursday.

The Diamondbacks starting lineup was about as close as we’ve seen to a possible Opening Day lineup. Ketel, Corbin and Domo were all in the lineup for the first time together this Spring, then Arenado, Santana, Alek and Lawlar rounded out the rest of the expected regulars with the only missing pieces being Pavin at DH and Gabby/McCann at catcher. Lawlar kept his hot Spring going with a pair of hits and Alek, Domo, Arenado, Tawa each got a hit. Ketel Marte didn’t reach base but he had the hardest hit ball of the game with a 111.7 mph screamer. Corbin Carroll earned 2 walks but also fanned twice. All six runs by the starting offense came in the 2nd inning; 4 of those runs were charged to the Brewers just-named Opening Day starter Jacob Misiorowski.

For the bullpen, Phillip Abner allowed 1 run in his inning of work, but was followed by Ryan Thompson, Kevin Ginkel, Bryce Jarvis, and Andrew Hoffman who all put up zeroes. In fact, those last four relievers, who all figure to be heavily involved in the D-backs bullpen plan this season, didn’t allow a single baserunner.

Most of our starting offense exited after the 6th inning, giving way to Tim Tawa and a slew of youngsters. Pedro Catuy played the hero when he provided the go-ahead hit in the bottom of the 8th He roped a double to left to score Jakey Josepha and Carlos Virahonda and put the good guys up by one run.

Well, the next time I recap a game, it will be the regular season! Congratulations everyone, we made it through the dark winter and have emerged out the other side ready to root on our beloved Diamondbacks in another campaign. See you next week!

Baseball season is back — even for broadcasters.

Longtime Yankees announcer and ESPN Radio host Michael Kay pushed back strongly against criticism directed at USA captain Aaron Judge following his lackluster performance in the World Baseball Classic.

Kay called out fans who questioned the star outfielder’s effort and production on the international stage, namely in the championship game, when he went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts.

Kay addressed the backlash during his radio show, taking issue with what he described as an overreaction to a small sample of games.

“We can go up and down that All-Star-laden-Hall-of-Fame-to-be lineup, and they all crapped the bed. Every single one of them except for Harper,” Kay said this week. “But the one guy who’s going to get villainized and scrutinized and criticized, the one guy that everybody decides, ‘I’m going to pile on this guy,’ is Aaron Judge, who if you look at his numbers in the WBC, probably had as good a WBC as anybody that played on Team USA.”

Judge went 6-for-27 with two homers and five RBIs in the tournament.

He hit .222 with an .845 OPS — outside of the team’s top five in each category.

“Derek Jeter has five World Series championships and he’s called overrated,” Kay said. “Aaron Judge has no World Series championships, and he’s called overrated. The haters are out there in full force. That’s just the way of the world right now.”

Kay added, “As I said this [Wednesday], I blame Yankee fans that try to find the warts on this guy. Those are the people I don’t get,” Kay said. “And I know you’re starved for another championship. I get it. [It’s] been since 2009. I understand. But you’re Yankee fans and you see what he does to get you into the postseason on a yearly basis.”

Judge and the Yankees are the favorites to win the American League for the second time in three years this coming season.

The soon-to-be 34-year-old is a career .236 playoff hitter with an .822 OPS.

So it turns out having a fully staffed team makes spring training games a little more fun to watch. The Mariners made Cleveland pitching miserable tonight, stacking a 10-run inning in the second that featured three home runs en route to a 20-8 victory, with most of those Cleveland runs coming in garbage time. If this is a preview of Opening Day, when Seattle will welcome Stephen Vogt and his Guardians to town, it’s safe to say most Mariners fans will take it.

As much as I love our Seattle announcers, I love being lazy more, and so I listened to the Cleveland broadcast team rather than dig out the radio and try to sync things up, and I am glad I did just this once because it was interesting to hear an outside perspective on the Mariners. The Cleveland crew was impressed, to say the least:

“This seems like an offense with a ton of answers.”

“This is what this club can do to you. You don’t bring your A-game against Seattle, you become a punching bag.”

“Canzone and Robles would be starters on other teams. That’s just how deep Seattle is.”

“This offensive machine for Seattle just keeps on clicking.”

“There’s just not a weakness on this club. Top to bottom, there might not be a better ballclub in the American League than Seattle.”

It is thrilling to hear other analysts cooing over the Seattle Mariners – thrilling in the true sense of the word, both exciting and scary – and still a little bit unbelievable, like: the Seattle Mariners? The Seattle Mariners, the baseball team? Our Seattle Mariners?

The Mariners scored the majority of their runs in the second, racking up 10 runs on three homers. It started with a titanic Cole Young solo shot as he continues his hot hitting this spring:

The Mariners then small-balled another pair of runs on a double by Brendan Donovan, a beautiful deep drive to the gap that it’s not hard to imagine overlaid in T-Mobile Park, scoring Andrew Knizner and Leo Rivas, each aboard with singles. Guardians starter Logan Allen then walked Julio Rodríguez, triggering the mid-inning ejector button from manager Stephen Vogt, who brought in Tyler Thornton, who…really struggled with the zone. He hit Randy Arozarena, earning himself a powerful [glaring in Cuban] and loading the bases for Dominic Canzone, who got this pitch and did not miss it:

“You simply cannot throw him that pitch” was the trenchant commentary from LL’s Ryan Blake and I have to say, there’s a reason he’s a SABR-nominated analyst, folks.

Thornton then issued back-to-back walks to Connor Joe and Cole Young, up for the second time this inning and officially fulfilling “batting around” by however you determine it (but does it count if the tenth man walks and thus does not have an at-bat? Much to think about), which set up Victor Robles for his first homer of the spring:

It’s been nice to see Robles’s bat waking up over these last few games of the spring. It’s probably just that he’s past the shoulder stiffness he was dealing with earlier in the spring, but I like to believe he truly is powered by the power of friendship and was sad while all his friends were gone.

The Guardians actually got out to an early lead in this one against Gabe Mosser, who gave up a two-run blast to José Ramírez in the first. The Mariners’ 10-2 lead was imperiled briefly in the bottom of the second when Mosser gave up another two-run shot, this time to Angel Martinez. But the Mariners offense quickly re-established the length of their lead in the third.

Per spring training rules, Logan Allen was able to re-enter the game in the third, and while he didn’t give up a bunch of homers this time, the Mariners cruelly decided to torture him with death by a thousand cuts, racking up four straight singles against Allen to open the inning, making the game 12-4. Young and Robles then teamed up again for back-to-back doubles to stretch the lead to 15-4 and knock Allen out of the game for a second time, as Jay Driver cleaned up the mess.

I have never thought of Stephen Vogt as a cruel man, but bringing Logan Allen out for a third time to start the fourth inning is forcing me to reconsider. Allen was roughed up again in the inning, giving up a two-run homer to Julio, who you know had to get in on the homer parade with his first of the spring, scoring Brendan Donovan, who had singled. Donovan was on base four times with three hits and a walk, and the one out he made was a sac fly in the fifth that scored the Mariners’ 18th run of the game. Oh, but sorry, you probably wanted to see Julio’s first spring dinger:

Meanwhile, Mosser was cruising until the fourth, when with two outs he seemed to get either fatigued or just lost his handle on the zone. He lost a challenge on a close pitch that resulted in a walk to Austin Hedges, then gave up a double to C.J. Kayfus and walked Steven Kwan on five not-particularly-close pitches to load the bases, prompting Dan Wilson to bring in UW alum Stefan Raeth to try to extricate the Mariners from the jam. Raeth fell behind Brayan Rocchio 3-0 but was able to battle back with two well-located fastballs, getting Rocchio to ground out harmlessly on the second one to quell the threat.

Matt Brash had the fifth inning and…the command is still a work in progress at this point. With two outs and one on, he walked Gabriel Arias on four pitches, nibbling a little more than we would like to see, but also our Canadian friend looked mildly uncomfortable in the 98-degree heat. The desert is not his milieu! He managed to get out of the inning without damage, though, getting Angel Martinez to ground out. Now get him onto an air-conditioned flight back to Seattle, please and thank you. Also on that flight, I hope: José A. Ferrer, who pitched a solid scoreless inning with a walk and two strikeouts.

Cole Young pushed this game even further into laugher territory with his second homer of the game in the sixth, scoring Canzone, who had singled for his third hit of the game [he would go on to have four because he played all nine in this one]. This home run came courtesy of former Mariner Matt Festa and if Statcast is to be believed, traveled 478 feet. I’m not sure about that, but I do believe it came off the bat at 109 because that sucker was flying. Tom Hamilton, the Cleveland announcer, was audibly relieved when Young got pinch-hit for in the eighth – “Cole Young’s night is finally done” – and that’s just a wild world to live in. I’m not well-versed enough in non-Mariners young players to know: has anyone had a bigger sophomore spring than Young?

Casey Legumina, mopping up with the Mariners up 20-4, got touched up for three runs to make the game 20-7, and Carlos Vargas pitched the bottom of the eighth and mowed down the Guardians min0r-leaguers, with two groundouts and a strikeout, needing just 11 pitches. He was so efficient Dan Wilson had to bring him back out in the ninth, where he wasn’t as sharp, walking the first man he saw before striking out Luis De La Cruz and ceding the mound to Peyton Alford. Alford let in another run – although it wasn’t totally his fault, as Will Wilson (whose defense seems to actively be getting worse as spring goes on? What’s going on with my defensive loadbearing third baseman?) threw the ball away on what could have been a groundout or at least an infield single – but recovered to strike out his last two hitters and deliver the Mariners a very satisfying palate-cleansing big win. On to Opening Day!

It was reported Friday evening that the Atlanta Braves inked a minor league deal with first baseman Rowdy Tellez. The 31-year-old is set to enter his ninth MLB season. He split the 2025 campaign between the Seattle Mariners and Texas Rangers, where he combined for a .228 batting average.

In his career, Tellez owns a .234 average and has logged 4,523 innings at first base, posting a .995 fielding percentage defensively.

It’s not a headline-grabbing move for Atlanta, but Tellez provides some experienced depth at first base and could prove to be a serviceable option if needed.

More Braves News:

The camp roster now stands at 36 after several reassignments on Friday. Most notably, prospect JR Ritchie was reassigned to minor league camp.

Chris Sale was named the Opening Day starter for the matchup with the Kansas City Royals next week. 

Austin Riley homered in Friday’s 8-1 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates.

MLB News:

Major League Baseball announced that Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz have been placed on unpaid non-disciplinary leave following a sports betting investigation.  

How good is an SEC baseball team without a closer?

The No. 2 Texas Longhorns have a burgeoning back-end problem because Dylan Volantis is no longer walking out of bullpen gates and that’s been a major factor in head coach Jim Schlossnagle’s team blowing a second consecutive ninth-inning lead on a Friday night, with the latest coming in a 4-3 walk-off defeat to the No. 5 Auburn Tigers at Plainsman Park.

A second solo home run from Texas junior center fielder Aiden Robbins broke a 1-1 tie in the top of the inning before the Horns took advantage of a walk, throwing error on a pickoff attempt, balk, and a throwing mistake by the Tigers third baseman trying to cut down senior right fielder Jayden Duplantier at home plate thanks to some slick infield grass in Auburn.

After junior left-hander Haiden Leffew worked out of a jam created by starter Ruger Riojas in the seventh inning and his own jam in the eighth inning, Leffew started the ninth by allowing a full-count double to right center and then issued a four-pitch walk to put runners on first and second.

That was the point at which Schlossnagle and pitching coach Max Weiner made a surprising decision — instead of going to junior right-hander Thomas Burns, the flame-throwing, ostensible closer for the Horns who was unable to close out last Friday’s home meltdown against Ole Miss, it was soft-tossing redshirt junior left-hander Ethan Walker called to the bump.

And it wasn’t just for one batter, either. Walker was able to recover from throwing three straight balls to start his outing to force a grounder into the hole on the left side of the infield that sophomore shortstop Adrian Rodriguez was unable to handle cleanly, but did keep the run from scoring from second base.

Still in the game after a right-handed batter, Walker got a big strikeout looking on a 2-2 pitch with the bases loaded before throwing an 82-mile-per-hour pitch over the middle of the plate on his first offering to Auburn center fielder Bristol Carter, who stayed in the middle of the field by hitting a liner to dead center field.

Trying to field it quickly to keep the game-tying run from scoring from second base, Robbins mishandled it instead, allowing the runner at first to close the plate with the walk-off victory.

Heading into the ninth, it was a classic Friday SEC pitcher’s duel between Riojas and Auburn left-hander Jake Marciano.

For Texas, Riojas didn’t have it early as the Tigers opened the game with a double down the right-field line before following with another to take a 1-0 lead before the Longhorns ace recorded his first out. But after that Riojas was able to find his command, forcing 11 groundouts and striking out six batters over the ensuing innings.

In the seventh, Riojas got into a jam again, allowing two singles sandwiched around a full-count walk, forcing Leffew to escape the one-out, bases-loaded situation, which the Wake Forest transfer accomplished by inducing a double play started by Rodriguez.

In the eighth, Leffew allowed a one-out infield single to shortstop before issuing a five-pitch walk, but recovered by striking out the next two batters.

At the plate, the Horns had a second straight poor outing, struggling to time up Marciano, whose fastball wasn’t overpowering in terms of velocity, as Schlossnagle indicated on Thursday, but the whippy action of the Hokies transfer clearly made it difficult to time as Marciano recorded nine strikeouts with the help of his secondary pitches to keep Texas off balance.

Of the two hits allowed by Marciano, one was the solo home run by Robbins in the fourth inning, a 422-foot bomb at 110 miles per hour off the bat.

In the ninth, the eighth home run of the season didn’t quite travel as far, but it was impressive nonetheless.

But with the loss, Texas will have to win on Saturday and Sunday to secure the series with first pitch on Saturday at 6 p.m. Central on SEC Network+.

ESPN | Buster Olney: Shortstop has not been all that much fun the past few seasons, reaching a nadir in 2025 when Anthony Volpe struggled his way to an 83 OPS+ while also slipping defensively from his first two seasons in the big leagues. But as spring training approaches its end, Buster Olney is optimistic that 2026 could be different. First, José Caballero played really well after the Yanks acquired him and he’s set to hold down shortstop at least until Volpe is healthy. Second, Olney notes that top prospect George Lombard, Jr. waits in the wings. Despite being ticketed to start the season back at Double-A, it’s not impossible he could be part of the plan at shortstop as soon as this summer.

MLB | Thomas Harrigan: Carlos Lagrange has arguably been the best part of Yankee spring training this year. Almost unhittable, Lagrange’s eye-popping velocity and movement have been on display all spring. The fastball peaked at 103.1-mph. Meanwhile, his slider, sweeper, and change all popped. In fact, he recorded more strikeouts with the changeup than with any other pitch. But enough talk. Open the article and watch the embedded Lagrange offerings. Utterly filthy.

The Athletic | Chris Kirschner ($): Did you know there’s been ongoing conversation about whether the Yankees are too analytically-driven? Or maybe it’s that they’re not analytically-driven enough. Skipper Aaron Boone argues that he’s the least analytical of the AL East’s managers. Using platoon advantage as a proxy for the argument writ large, the Yankees have the second-fewest at-bats in the division with the platoon advantage (50.9%), trailing only the Blue Jays. There’s way more behind the paywall, and Kirschner makes a point of identifying the role of analytics with the organization’s pitchers, including the “Gas Station.”

NJ.com: The Voice of the Yankees has had enough with the Aaron Judge criticism. Michael Kay rode to the Captain’s defense on his show Thursday. “I blame Yankee fans that try to find the warts on this guy…” Kay said. “And I know you’re starved for another championship… But you’re Yankee fans and you see what he does to get you into the postseason on a yearly basis.” Callers seemed to support Kay, with one drawing the historical parallel of Yankee fans booing Mickey Mantle for not being Joe Dimaggio, and an octogenarian Yankee fan commiserating with Kay having to explain Judge’s greatness to “the rear end of a horse.” Sounds like a must-listen episode.

The A’s at least won one of these two night games they just had. They came out on top tonight against the Chicago Cubs by a 6-2 final, taking the win and putting their meaningless spring record at 13-15. Lots of good signs from tonight, and we can still finish spring with a .500 record!

It was Luis Severino on the bump tonight for the Athletics as he made his final exhibition start before his Opening Day assignment next week. Looking to put in his work and look sharp doing it, Sevy collected a quick punchout in the first but also missed with a fastball down the middle to Cubs catcher Miguel Amaya that the backstop deposited over the left field fence for a home run. Quick 1-0 lead for the Cubbies.

Things went quiet for the next few innings as both teams traded zeros. Cubs starter Jameson Taillon looked strong over the first four innings tonight, allowing just a few singles while punching out six A’s through the first four innings.

With Taillon on a roll, Max Muncy strode to the plate to lead off the top of the fourth and connected on a 1-0 fastball high and hit it over the wall in left field to tie this game at 1-1:

Muncy came into camp fighting for the starting third base job. That’s a foregone conclusion. Is the former first-round draft pick now primed for the breakout we all had hoped came last year?

That was only just the beginning. Newcomer Andy Ibanez worked a walk against Taillon, which brought up Lawrence Butler for his third at-bat of the game. And what did our right fielder do? Oh, just connect on an opposite-field two-run home run to give the A’s their first lead of the night:

That was Butler’s first home run of his short spring and it gives a bit of hope that all those reps in the batting cages and against minor league pitching wasn’t for not. If Butler and his knee are healthy then he’s a key contributor to this team. If not, we have a giant hole in right field.

That Butler blast also chased Taillon from the game, ending his night before five full innings. And yet the A’s still weren’t done. After a quick groundout Shea Langeliers stepped into the batter’s box and swatted his own home run, a solo blast to up the lead to 4-1:

Not that it means anything, but that was ‘Bangeliers’ seventh home run this spring, putting him into a tie for the league lead with Reds second baseman Matt McClain. There’s no way there was more untapped power in his bat… is there?

Now staked to a three-run lead, Severino was out from this game after going five full innings and reaching 79 pitches while only really making that one mistake to Amaya. Severino has done well in his previous Opening Day assignment and the money is on him shutting down the Blue Jays’ lineup next Friday night.

Speaking of Amaya, righty Nick Anderson relieved Severino to begin the sixth and for the second time tonight, Amaya delivered a solo home run, preventing a shutdown inning and cutting into the new lead the A’s had just built up.

The A’s had an immediate and golden opportunity to get that run back and then some in the bottom half of the frame when they loaded the bases with no outs. A forceout, strikeout, and groundout killed that rally right there however. Hopefully that wasted opportunity wouldn’t come back to bite us.

Righties Mark Leiter Jr. and Michael Kelly each did their jobs with scoreless innings apiece in the seventh and eighth, respectively, bridging the gap to the ninth.

But before that, the A’s wanted some insurance. A pair of singles from some late-game replacement prospects gave Ibanez a chance to do some damage for his new squad. He came through in the eighth with an RBI single to plate the Athletics’ fifth run of the evening. The A’s got a bit lucky on their next run as Colby Thomas hit a pop up to the left fielder than he dropped, resulting in another run for the Green & Gold.

Now with a four-run lead, why not let Kelly finish things off? Kotsay decided to let the right-hander end the game. He collected a couple strikeouts to start the frame before running into a bit of trouble but he managed to finish the game off without allowing a run. A win for the good guys!

We got a bit of it all tonight. A quality outing from our starting pitcher, who is now primed for a big outing on Opening Day. The powerful lineup showed up tonight with three home runs from three separate players. The bullpen mostly did it’s job outside of one pitch. Butler made an appearance in right field and seemed like he made it out feeling fine (though let’s check in tomorrow). Add in the fact we got a win and it was a successful night for the A’s at the ballpark.

We do it all again tomorrow in what’ll be the team’s third-to-last game of camp. We’ll shift back to daytime contests the rest of the way. The A’s head to the Dodgers’ facility to take on the defending champions. It hasn’t been officially announced but it’s expected that it’ll be left-hander Jeffrey Springs for the A’s. The Dodgers meanwhile have no qualms letting people know that it’s Emmitt Sheehan on the bump for them tomorrow afternoon. A glorious chance to get a win against these guys is always a plus.

The regular season is now officially less than a week away. Who else is ready for these games to start counting?

The Brewers announced prior to Friday night’s game that Jacob Misiorowski will be the Crew’s Opening Day starter against the Chicago White Sox. With that spot secured, Misiorowski got five “ups” in his final spring training tune-up before the regular season.

Because of re-entry rules, Misiorowski ends up with 4.1 IP, allowing four hits and four runs with three strikeouts on a blistering hot day in Arizona. He topped out at 100.1 MPH on his fastball and generated 14 swings and misses.

Logan Henderson ended up following Misiorowski and threw two scoreless innings while striking out three.

Offensively, the Brewers got WBC champions Jackson Chourio and William Contreras back in the lineup and they wasted no time making an impact. Chourio led off the game with a double and Contreras smacked a 446 foot home run in the 3rd inning. Jake Bauers followed Contreras’ homer with one of his own, which is his fifth of the spring. Both homers were off Zac Gallen.

Sal Frelick went 3-for-3 on the night with a double and 3 RBIs. In the 4th inning, 9-hole hitter Freddy Zamora led off with a home run that tied the game at 6, his first homer of the spring. In the 5th, Bauers and Frelick hit back-to-back doubles to give the Brewers a 7-6 lead.

In the 8th inning, Jose Nova came in for the Brewers to relieve Henderson and allowed a 2 RBI double to Jakey Josepha to give the Diamondbacks an 8-7 lead over the Crew. Milwaukee had no answer in the 9th inning and didn’t get a single baserunner after the 5th inning.

The Brewers will be back in action on Saturday against the Padres with Robert Gasser scheduled to start.

Yoshinobu Yamamoto was sharp in his final spring tuneup, and the Dodgers had their full complement of regulars in the lineup for the first time all spring in a 4-3 win over the San Diego Padres on Friday night at Camelback Ranch.

There’s a very good chance the Dodgers lineup on Friday will also be their lineup next Thursday on opening day, including Yamamoto on the mound. The only question is whether the right-handed Miguel Rojas would start against Arizona Diamondbacks right-hander Zac Gallen, though perhaps the cachet of the season-saving Game 7 home run and playing his final opening day would outweigh any platoon disadvantage for one night.

Rojas for his part drove in the first run on Friday, jumping on a first-pitch cutter for a double down the left field line to score Teoscar Hernández, who has reached base 23 times in 48 plate appearances this spring for a .479 on-base percentage.

The Padres had a split squad on Friday, and their lineup at Camelback Ranch was not as representative of their season plans, and Yamamoto carved through them like a hot knife through butter, with seven strikeouts in 11 batters in the first three innings.

Yamamoto finished with five scoreless innings and 68 pitches, 44 for strikes (64.7 percent), allowing only three singles and a walk. He’s the first Dodgers pitcher to complete five innings this spring.

Freddie Freeman on Friday had a single in his three-at-bats, bringing his Cactus League tally to 40 plate appearances, all of them at Camelback Ranch, pretty much right on schedule for his roughly 47 planned PA this spring.

Nice to WBC you again

Yamamoto wasn’t the only Dodger on Friday to make his game return from the World Baseball Classic.

Though Shohei Ohtani pitched on Wednesday afternoon, Friday was his first time back in the lineup since returning, and just his second Cactus League game this spring. He was hitless in three at-bats, with two strikeouts.

Will Smith started in his first game back since catching Tuesday night’s championship game for Team USA. Smith caught six innings on Friday and was 1-for-3 at the plate with a double.

Edwin Díaz pitched for the first time since last Saturday for Puerto Rico. On Friday he got two quick outs then allowed a single and two-run home run, his first runs allowed in six games this spring, counting both Cactus League play and the WBC.

Up next

One more day in Arizona for the Dodgers, who host the Athletics on Saturday (11:05 a.m., SportsNet LA) at Camelback, with Emmet Sheehan on the mound. Also on Saturday, Dodgers prospects will face White Sox prospects in the spring breakout on the very same field (6:05 p.m.; MLB Network, Amazon). It will be fun to see which prospects play in both games.

PHOENIX –– The Dodgers finally had their full team back in camp on Friday.

Which meant, after most of their biggest stars were away for the World Baseball Classic the last month, they were able to preview their likely opening day lineup for the first time this spring.

In a 4-3 win against the San Diego Padres at Camelback Ranch, the two-time defending champions showcased the full firepower of their $400 million roster.

Today’s Dodgers lineup probably a preview for opening day pic.twitter.com/TCOwHNykX8

— Jack Harris (@ByJackHarris) March 20, 2026

The team’s batting order boasted a combined six MVP awards, 33 All-Star appearances, 19 Silver Sluggers and eight Gold Gloves –– with Shohei Ohtani and Will Smith rejoining Kyle Tucker, Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman and the club’s other superstar hitters after their WBC absences.

The starting pitcher was Yoshinobu Yamamoto, the reigning World Series MVP, a 2025 Cy Young award finalist, and the team’s 2026 opening day starter –– making his first Cactus League appearance since rejoining camp earlier this week.

“We’ll see,” manager Dave Roberts joked when asked if he’d fill out the lineup card the same way for next Thursday’s season-opener against the Arizona Diamondbacks. “It’s some good players.”

The only real change Roberts might contemplate for opening day is who plays at second base. On Friday, it was Miguel Rojas. But the team could opt for a left-handed hitter in that spot against projected Arizona starter Zac Gallen.

For now, the Dodgers haven’t decided which left-handed-hitting second baseman will make the team in that spot as they prepare to break camp Saturday. Hyeseong Kim and Alex Freeland remain the final two candidates. Roberts said a decision would come by this weekend.

“It’s one of those things that you could argue both sides of either decision, as far as Alex or Hyeseong,” Roberts said. “I just don’t think it’s clear-cut.” 

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Roberts noted that the team hasn’t seen Kim much this spring, after he was also away at the WBC. Freeland, however, failed to take advantage of Kim’s absence, hitting just .108 in the Cactus League despite taking “great at-bats,” in Roberts’ opinion.

“There’s just deeper conversations that are going to be had,” Roberts continued.

Not that the final choice, of course, will change much about the overall starpower of the team.

Yama-mojo: In his final spring tune-up, Yamamoto already looked like he was in midseason form. In five scoreless innings against the Padres on Friday, the Dodgers’ opening day starter struck out seven batters, walked just one and scattered three singles. Several times, he appeared to be nodding to himself in approval, as he got 14 whiffs with his six-pitch mix.

“He came out with a purpose,” Roberts said. “Everything was good and very efficient. Pretty effortlessly got through five.”

Will returns: Will Smith marked his return to Dodgers camp with an extra-base hit, leading off the fourth inning with a double. It was a good sign for the catcher, who went only 3-for-13 in the WBC with one double and one RBI –– but still raved about the experience after his second career appearance in the tournament. 

“Those games were a lot of fun,” Smith said. “You’re playing for your country. There’s a lot of passion going into it. There’s a lot of excitement. The crowds are awesome. So definitely grateful for those experiences.”

Smith’s only wish: That Team USA would’ve won, having fallen short in the final for the second-consecutive tournament.

“It still stings right now,” Smith said. “But luckily we get our rings in a couple days from the World Series last year, so I think that’ll change my mind.” 

Pick to click: In recent years, Dave Roberts has named an annual “pick to click” before the season. Sometimes it has worked (Teoscar Hernández in 2024). Other times, not so much (Michael Conforto a season ago). This year, he opted for Andy Pages, predicting the third-year outfielder to take another step coming off his 27-homer campaign a year ago, and once again praising his mature approach to this spring’s camp.

“He was a young player a few years ago that didn’t like the weight room, really didn’t work with intent,” Roberts said. “But now offensively, defensively, he’s very consistent and on par with our superstar players. And on top of that, he’s learned to be a better hitter, a major-league hitter, and not just a slugger.”

Up next: The Dodgers wrap up their time in Arizona on Saturday with an 11 a.m. game against the Athletics. Emmet Sheehan will start, but few other big-league regulars are expected to play.

Box Score

The Milwaukee Brewers’ top prospects prevailed in their first Spring Breakout game on Friday evening, as they beat the Seattle Mariners’ prospects by a 7-3 final behind a big homer and a solid day from the bullpen.

With Bishop Letson on the mound, the Mariners got out to a quick lead in the first. Jonny Farmelo started the game with a single before a pair of groundouts — including an impressive play from Cooper Pratt at short — pushed him over to third. With two outs, Lazaro Montes hit a soft tapper in front of the plate, but Letson was unable to field it cleanly, and Montes reached with an RBI single, giving Seattle a 1-0 lead.

Against Ryan Sloan, the Brewers’ top prospects failed to get anything going in the first, as Jett Williams struck out, Jesús Made popped out, and Luis Peña grounded out.

Letson stayed in for the second, inducing a flyout before giving up a single and a walk. That marked the end of his day, as Brian Fitzpatrick took over. Fitzpatrick walked the next batter to load the bases with one out, but he got a 4-6-3 double play from Farmelo to escape the jam.

Milwaukee went down in order again in the second, and Bryce Meccage entered for Fitzpatrick in the third. After recording a lineout and a strikeout, Meccage gave up a single, a stolen base, and a walk to put runners at first and second. He wouldn’t allow any runs across, though, as Luke Stevenson flew out to end the threat.

The Brewers continued to struggle against Sloan in the third, going down in order for the third straight inning to begin the game.

In the fourth, the Mariners once again threatened on offense. Yorger Bautista hit a one-out triple, but he was cut down at the plate on a 4-2 fielder’s choice one batter later. After a wild pitch by Meccage, he once again got out of the inning unscathed with a strikeout.

After three perfect innings from Sloan, the Mariners replaced him with Kade Anderson. Anderson was much more to Milwaukee’s liking, as Williams doubled and Made brought him home with a single one batter later, tying it up at 1-1. Peña lined out, Made stole second, and Pratt reached on an infield single to put runners at the corners with one out. Unfortunately, Milwaukee was unable to take the lead, as Pratt was caught stealing and Jeferson Quero struck out to end the inning.

Seattle retook the lead in the fifth with some help from Milwaukee’s defense, as Michael Arroyo singled and advanced to second on a throwing error by Williams. He moved over to third on a groundout before coming around to score on a single from Montes, his second RBI of the afternoon. Meccage induced a double play one batter later, but the score was now 2-1 Seattle.

After a leadoff walk by Luis Lara in the fifth, Josh Adamczewski struck out. A passed ball moved Lara to second, and Brock Wilken followed with a walk of his own to put two runners on with one out. A bad-luck liner off the bat of Braylon Payne (it left the bat at 108.1 mph!) turned into an unassisted double play, though, as first baseman Luis Suisbel caught it and stepped on first to end the inning.

Will Childers took over for Meccage in the sixth inning with the deficit at 2-1, working a perfect 1-2-3 frame with a pair of flyouts and a groundout. In the bottom of the inning, the Mariners replaced their entire defense, and Anderson proceeded to allow each of the first four batters to reach, as Williams and Made both walked before Peña slugged a big three-run homer to right center, flipping the scoreboard to 4-2 Milwaukee. Pratt followed with a walk, and that marked the end of Anderson’s day.

Charlie Beilenson replaced Anderson and didn’t fare much better. He started with a strikeout of Quero, but he then allowed a pair of singles to Lara and Adamczewski to load the bases for Wilken. Wilken went down looking, but Payne followed with a walk to make it 5-2 before Williams popped out to end the inning.

Jaron DeBerry replaced Childers in the seventh for the Brewers, and Milwaukee also substituted a good chunk of the defense. After Aiden Taurek led off the inning with a single, DeBerry induced a double play and a strikeout to end the frame.

Mason Peters took the bump for Seattle in the seventh and, after recording a pair of outs to start the frame, he hit Brady Ebel with a pitch before walking a pair to load the bases. Unfortunately, Adamczewski struck out, and the bases were left loaded.

DeBerry worked around a single and a wild pitch in the eighth, and the Crew tacked on two more runs in the bottom of the inning with a trio of doubles by Eric Bitonti, Andrew Fischer, and Daniel Dickinson.

With a 7-2 lead, Ryan Birchard took the ninth inning, and he allowed a solo homer to Bautista but nothing else, as the game ultimately ended on a successful challenge by Brewer catcher Darrien Miller, who got an 0-2 pitch overturned from ball one to strike three.

It was a solid day all around for the prospects, as Milwaukee scored seven runs on nine hits while the pitching staff scattered three runs and 10 hits. No player finished with more than two hits for the Brewers, though five of the nine hits were of the extra-base variety, including four doubles and Peña’s homer.

On the mound, Meccage lasted the longest, spanning three frames with one unearned run allowed on four hits and a walk while striking out a pair. Childers got the win with his scoreless inning, while DeBerry went two scoreless with three strikeouts.

The Brewers’ prospects will take on the A’s prospects in their second and final Spring Breakout game on Sunday afternoon at Hohokam Stadium. First pitch in that one is slated for 3:05 p.m. CT.

Observations from Yankees spring training Friday:

Back in blank

David Bednar and Tim Hill made their returns from Team USA following the World Baseball Classic, each tossing a scoreless inning of relief.

Tech support

The scoreboard at Steinbrenner Field was not working through the first four innings, forcing public address announcer Paul Olden to give the count every few pitches.

It finally turned on in the fifth inning.

Caught my eye

Giancarlo Stanton played five innings in right field Friday, his first game action in the outfield this spring, and it was indicative of how well he is doing physically this camp.

While he likely won’t play much outfield during the regular season, the Yankees want to keep it in play in case they need to use someone else in the DH spot from time to time.

Saturday’s schedule

Cam Schlittler makes his final tuneup as the Yankees visit the Tigers for a 1:05 p.m. game at Joker Marchant Stadium.

Observations from Mets spring training Friday:

Still cruising

Carson Benge went 1-for-2 with a walk in the 4-3 exhibition loss to the Cardinals at Clover Park.

The 23-year-old outfielder is batting .412 this spring in his bid to secure the starting job in right field.

Fruitless spring

Mark Vientos went 0-for-3 with a strikeout as the DH and saw his average dip to .032 in the Grapefruit League.

Caught my eye

Luke Weaver pitched a scoreless third inning with one strikeout and still has not allowed an earned run this spring.

Saturday’s schedule

The Mets will split the squad and face the Astros at Clover Park and Nationals in West Palm Beach, Fla.

PORT ST. LUCIE — Jorge Polanco finally got to talk shop with one of the top all-time defensive players at his new position.

He left the conversation encouraged by the message.

That chat with Keith Hernandez occurred last weekend, following the former Gold Glove first baseman’s final spring training broadcast.

“[Hernandez] is a very nice guy and very humble,” Polanco told The Post on Friday.

Polanco, the new Mets first baseman — he had only one inning of major league experience at the position before camp began — said Hernandez found him in the home clubhouse at Clover Park and opened the dialogue.

“We talked about how important it is to be confident over there,” Polanco said. “Don’t [press] to be too good: You are going to be good because you used to play middle infield, so it’s, ‘You’re used to ground balls, all you have to do is try to be on time to the base and stay confident, stay positive.’ ”

Polanco said the big theme was arriving on time to the base on grounders hit to the infield.

“Know your infielders’ arms and what the balls do to them,” Polanco said. “It’s so you can be early to be a target, so being on time to the base is the most important thing. And I agree, because sometimes you might be looking and you might be late to the bag. Just get to the bag. The middle infielders, they have to wait for you, but you have to be on time. Don’t worry about looking before you get on the base.”

Hernandez won 11 straight Gold Glove Awards at first base for the Cardinals and Mets.

He was a key part of the last Mets team to win the World Series, in 1986.

“It was really good to hear from him,” Polanco said. “He’s a great man. I am going to see him again in New York, so I am looking forward to keep talking.”

In the meantime, Polanco is focused on these final few days of camp — the Mets will leave Florida following a workout Monday — ahead of Thursday’s season opener against the Pirates at Citi Field.

Polanco, after a slow start in the Grapefruit League, owns a 1.013 OPS this spring with two homers.

He arrived on a two-year contract worth $40 million after Pete Alonso’s departure through free agency.

“I am really happy with my spring so far,” Polanco said. “I am feeling really good. My body is feeling really good. I am really happy with the work we are doing over there in the training room.”

Last season, Polanco spent time working out at first base during pregame instruction, but only got into one game at the position, as a defensive replacement.

“I like how he’s using the whole bag, the footwork,” manager Carlos Mendoza said. “The communication, getting used to his right and seeing where the second baseman is playing. But overall I think he’s making the transition smoothly and he’s in a good place.”

Polanco last season posted a .265/.326/.495 slash line with 26 homers and 78 RBIs.

In his new situation, he will likely hit cleanup, but in a lineup that also includes Francisco Lindor, Juan Soto and Bo Bichette, he won’t necessarily be considered a focal point.

“I feel really good to be part of this lineup,” Polanco said. “We have got a special group, special hitters, special lineup.”