Category: MLB

The San Deigo Padres got back in the win column with a 4-3 win over the Chicago White Sox at Camelback Ranch in Glendale, Ariz. on Tuesday. It was good for the Padres to get a win, but the best part of the day was seeing Nick Castellanos connect on a two-run home run to left field in the top of the third inning to put San Diego up 2-1. It was no secret that the veteran outfielder was brought into the Padres organization with the expectation that he would provide some of the power the team severely lacked in the 2025 season.

Castellanos drove in Miguel Andujar, who was also added to the roster this offseason to provide additional pop, and both players had solid offensive days at the plate. Andujar walked in the first inning and Castellanos followed with a double. In the top of the third Andujar singled before Castellanos homered. Andujar singled in the fifth, but Castellanos grounded into a double play. Castellanos finished the day 2-for-3 with a home run, a double and two RBI with a run scored. Andujar finished the day 2-for-2 with two singles, a walk and a run scored.

The Padres entered the top of the eighth inning with the game tied, 3-3. Rodolfo Duran worked a one-out walk and was followed immediately by Francisco Acuna who doubled to left, which allowed Duran to score to put San Diego ahead by a run. Back-to-back groundouts ended the inning, but Padres reliever Bradgley Rodriguez and Francis Pena combined to work two hitless and scoreless innings. The only runner to reach for the White Sox in the final two innings was Matt Hogan who drew a five-pitch walk off Rodriguez.

Nick Pivetta made his second start of the spring season and finished three innings. He allowed two runs on six hits with one strikeout and one walk. The third run scored by Chicago came off Adrian Morejon who threw one inning and allowed a run on two hits, but he did have two strikeouts.

The Friar Faithful will get to see the return of Joe Musgrove when the Padres play an exhibition game against Great Britain at the Peoria Sports Complex on Wednesday at 12:10 p.m.

Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across the MLB. Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Rockies fans and fans across the country. Sign up here to participate in the weekly emailed surveys.

Spring training is in full swing, and now with the World Baseball Classic happening over the next few weeks, we’ll likely get to see more prospects get playing time in hopes of cracking the Opening Day roster.

The Rockies have a few names who are looking to make their mark on this team — which one has the best chance to do so?

Let us know!

Please keep in mind our Purple Row Community Guidelines when you’re commenting. Thanks!

TAMPA — Ryan McMahon is entering his 10th season in the majors. He spent five-plus years in the minors.

In that time, he’s played a total of 9,451 innings at third base, nearly 2,182 innings at second base and 1,845 innings at first base.

And only a few more than you at shortstop.

With Aaron Boone eyeing his third baseman for the backup shortstop role to start the season, McMahon got much-needed reps at the position during the Yankees’ 11-1 exhibition win over Panama, but displayed the need for more while flubbing a relatively straightforward grounder.

With José Caballero set to start the season at shortstop — and Anthony Volpe still recovering from shoulder surgery — McMahon could provide the Yankees with roster flexibility as the backup. But before Tuesday, McMahon had only played three innings at shortstop as a pro, coming in 2020.

“It feels, it looks so much different for me,” said McMahon, who was pulled after five innings. “There’s a lot more space. I think I gained a little bit more respect for what these shortstops have to deal with on a daily basis. But it was fun getting out there. I botched one, but I feel like if I see that one a couple more times that would be no problem.

“I feel pretty comfortable out there. I think of myself as a baseball player. I think if I just take some more reps I’ll be able to handle it. I think I’ll get better at it.”

McMahon, who has received five consecutive Gold Glove nominations at third base, turned an inning-ending double play in the first, but fumbled a chance to end the fourth when he bobbled a grounder toward the middle. He then recovered to handle another opportunity in the fifth.

“It’s just getting reads off the bat,” said McMahon, who went 2-for-3 with two RBIs and a run. “The angles are different. You get so used to seeing it from the spot you’ve been at. You just step into a different area and I think that’s something reps can definitely fix. 

“It’s baseball … Just getting it to where it’s second nature. At third base I don’t think about it, I just do it.”

Boone plans to have McMahon, 31, work exclusively at shortstop Wednesday, then put him back there for Thursday’s spring training game against the Twins.

“It was good to get him out there,” Boone said. “The error kind of took a bad hop on him, although it’s one he’s probably gotta attack if you read it perfectly or you can give a little more ground, especially with his arm, and put yourself in a better position to handle that hop. But watching him in pregame on the back field, he looks really good there. I definitely think he can handle it. Obviously the arm really plays. He’s just so natural picking up a ground ball.”

Tigers owner Chris Ilitch had some rare comments on Tarik Skubal’s impending free agency this week. 

Asked by The Athletic whether the team might look to extend the two-time reigning American League Cy Young winner before he hits the open market this winter, Ilitch didn’t have much to add on the topic. 

“I would say Scott Harris is always looking to make smart baseball decisions,” Ilitch said. “Whether it’s acquiring players or investing in infrastructure. I hope it’s clear I want to support our team to make sure that we are a championship-caliber organization.

“So let’s let Scott evaluate and decide what he’d like to do, but I think I’m going to do everything I can to continue to support our team and make sure we’re a championship-type club. So let’s see how it all plays out.”

Skubal, 29, and the team have been far apart on extension talks all offseason, with The Post’s Jon Heyman reporting a jarring $250 million gap between the two sides in November. 

The southpaw is expected to garner a massive, perhaps record-setting, payday if he goes into free agency after the 2026 season. 

Ilitch’s comments come just weeks after Skubal earned a record-breaking $32 million salary for this season after a hard-fought arbitration process with the Tigers — who countered with a $19 million arbitration filing — that went the pitcher’s way. 

Skubal will take the mound against Great Britain in his lone start for Team USA on Saturday, although he is only expected to throw 55 pitches as he prepares for the MLB season. 

Over the last two seasons, Skubal has enjoyed historic success, posting a 2.30 ERA with 469 strikeouts in 387 2/3 innings, and has added two new trophies to his award closet. 

He will be joined by fellow left-hander Framber Valdez, who signed a three-year, $115 million free agent contract with the Tigers last month, forming one of the best 1-2 starting rotation punches in baseball.

In my game threads post I suggested that a fifteen run route of Team Brazil was one I very much desired. Fourteen runs later, the A’s walk away with a win, one run short of my predicted run total but just as offensively sweet.

Let’s get into it…

Aaron Civale took the bump today, for the first as a member of The Athletics. Last season was a bit of a let down for the righty. Sixty-seven innings with the White Sox left him haggard, his ERA bumping up against six (5.37). He’d be claimed off of waivers by the cross town Cubs where, in the small sample size of five games and thirteen innings – – he kind’ve got dirty with it. Most probably remember his four plus innings of no run baseball against the Milwaukee Brewers in the NLDS. Clearly David Forst and the A’s took notice because they threw him a one year contract of major league proportions (I’m assuming his other offers capped out at an invite to camp).

Things didn’t go great for Civale. Yes, it was his first outing but he was playing against a bunch of scrubs. Team Brazil got going early in the first. A pair of singles out of the gate, including one by Lucas Ramirez (son of 2012 A’s Spring Training legend Manny Ramirez), allowed for a Leonardo Reginatto sac fly to put the WBC club up early.

That lead, thankfully, would be short lived. In the bottom half of the first, Jeff McNeil turned on an off-speed pitch, pulling it down the right field line for a two-run home run and scoring shortstop Jacob Wilson in the process. The runs didn’t stop there. A batter later, Austin Wynns connected for a home run of his own. According to Statcast, Wynn’s solo pimp job traveled 433 ft!

A Brett Harris double made it 4-1. Tommy White’s ground out paired with a Ryan Lasko fielders choice brought in two more runs, making it 6-1 A’s, followed by another appearance by Jacob Wilson in the bottom of the first, in which he knocked in Clark Elliott on a sacrifice fly piece.

Wilson collected another RBI in the third inning, scoring outfielder Ryan Lasko who had just knocked in three via a triple.

The last gasp of life for Team Brazil took place in the fifth inning, when a Jack Perkins throwing error put runners in scoring position (second and third) with less than two outs. Lucas Rojo’s sacrifice fly made it 11-2 A’s. Perkins would walk Victor Mascal with two outs, setting up pinch hitter Gabriel Gomes for a bases clearing triple.

That would be it on the scoring end for Team Brazil and I have to say – – they got to Jack Perkins. This surprised me a little bit as the righty was coming off a pretty solid showing against the Rangers. Maybe the five day break in between appearances left him a little rusty? If so, I think that’s a great example of why he should be coming out of the pen. Let’s keep the kid hot and constantly in the loop.

Speaking of the pen, everyone after Perkins did a great job of holding down the fort. The newly acquired duo of Scott Barlow and Mark Leiter Jr. provided an inning and a third of shutout ball. No hits. One strikeout for Leiter Jr. Gambling icon Michael Kelly collected a pair of strikes of his own, including the two fastest pitches of the game (97.6 and 97.0).

The last three runs for the A’s all involved Bryan Lavastida as he’d get things going in the bottom of the fifth with a two-run single and score on Joshua Kuroda-Grauer’s base hit.

After seven innings of blow out baseball, we’d have ourselves a travel ball-style mercy rule.

“That’s ball game!”

“good game” “good game” “good game”

SCathletics pointed out in response to Banana Shoes’ comment regarding Joshua Kuroda-Grauer that he is currently five for eleven with zero strikeouts so far this spring. Yes, we’d have to go in and investigate who those hits were against and what the circumstances were but still – – at the very least it’ll breed confidence in the young prospect as he makes his way through the minors. Him and fellow 2024 draft pick Tommy White have been putting on a solid show. Something tells me we’ll look back fondly on that 2024 draft class and marvel at all the talent it brought us.

Weird to think that the last Oakland A’s draft class might’ve been the big one that set them up for success in Las Vegas.

No rest for the wicked! The A’s will be back at it against the Arizona Diamondbacks tomorrow afternoon. Same time. Same place. Let me know what other players you’re geeking on in the comments and if you’ve got any TV show recommendations. Because most of these games aren’t available to watch, I’ve been listening to them on A’s Cast whilst watching TV like a sicko. Today’s visual entree was that ridiculous Brent Shield’s romdram Cupid and Cate starring Mary Louise Parker (babe) and Peter Gallagher (zaddy). Maybe it’s because I was also listening to a full on A’s game but the whole movie felt like it was missing two innings. There’s that big fight between Mary Louise Parker’s dad and her and her sisters and then it just…ends? Aren’t we missing a few beats with the whole Gallagher storyline? I feel like we are! Whatever :/ Jokes on me for expecting more from a Hallmark Movie.

I, like Team Brazil, should be thankful they called it early.

TAMPA — The only thing louder than the recent hullabaloo regarding Giancarlo Stanton’s ability to open the snack of his choice was a baseball screaming off his bat at 114.3 mph.

The Yankees slugger could not do that at this time last year, when he missed all of spring training to deal with a painful bout of tendinitis in both elbows.

But he looked like himself in his spring debut Tuesday afternoon, going 1-for-2 with a hard single and a walk as he continued to chip away at his preparation for the regular season.

“A nice prototype first day,” said Stanton, who also tagged up from third to score on a sacrifice fly in an 11-1 win over Team Panama at Steinbrenner Field.

The Yankees had eased Stanton into Grapefruit League action, having him get his work in behind the scenes and on the backfields over the first week-plus of games as they continually try to find ways to keep the 36-year-old as healthy and fresh for as long as possible.

He has consistently said that the pain in his elbows is not going away as long as he is playing, but it has gotten to a point where it is now manageable.

That he was able to get into an exhibition on Tuesday showed how “different entirely,” he is feeling this spring compared to last, when he did not play in any spring games for the first time in his career.

• CHECK OUT THE LATEST MLB STANDINGS AND YANKEES STATS

The tennis elbows — which date back to the 2024 season — made it impossible for him to do much in the way of baseball activities last camp, when he was relegated to daily treatment before making his season debut on June 16.

Asked Tuesday how many at-bats he needed this spring to feel ready for the regular season, Stanton quipped, “Last year I had about six, so more than that.”

He was slightly undershooting the 12 plate appearances he got on a rehab assignment before joining the Yankees midseason, and while that may have forced him to play catch-up early on, he still found a way to put together one of his most productive regular seasons in a while, batting .273 with a .944 OPS and 24 home runs in 77 games.

“You can’t look at it as, ‘Give me time to settle in,’ or whatever,” Stanton said. “You got to come in and make an impact. I just tried to be impactful right away, not worry about, ‘Hey, I only had this.’ Whatever. No one cares. Get it done.”

That attitude has been typical of Stanton during his time in New York, caring little for excuses and only wanting to talk about the black and white of whether he helped the team.


Of course, that is one of the many reasons why the former NL MVP is highly respected by his teammates.

“He’s just a great leader,” Max Fried said. “He’s someone that is very knowledgeable about the game. You’re not that good for that long just by accident. He has the physical tools but the mental game and the way he approaches it is extremely high-level.”

For that reason, Stanton appreciates that he should have close to a normal buildup this spring if he continues to bounce back well from game action. He likes that he can immediately make adjustments with his timing or his swing from one at-bat to the next in a game, or at least have something tangible to work on in the next day’s batting practice.

Stanton, who is likely to play again Thursday or Friday, has been getting at-bats in live batting practice, or off the Trajekt pitching machine (which mimics the speed and movement of pitches from real major leaguers). Aaron Boone said he could end up getting around 30 to 35 game at-bats if all goes well.

“Nothing, at the end of the day, is like seeing a live arm,” Stanton said. “Just being in a position in a game, fans, that extra — you can’t simulate it. You can visualize, but until you do it, it’s different.”

After striking out on a full count in his first at-bat Tuesday, Stanton smoked a 114.3 mph single — the 12th-hardest ball hit across the majors this spring — off Panama right-hander Erian Rodriguez. The exact exit velocity was not as important to him as simply hitting it hard.

“Just squaring up a heater tells me where I’m at, more than miles per hour,” he said. “Pulling a heater, it’s good. Good timing, good adjustment from a couple swing-throughs or foul-offs with heaters at-bat one and three. There’s still the seesaw that’s normal right now.”

The Atlanta Braves have officially released a statement on outfielder/designated hitter Jurickson Profar’s 162-game suspension for a second positive test for a performance enhancing substance.

The statement, which was issued on the team’s official social media account, expressed disappointment in the player but their support for MLB’s Drug Prevention and Treatment Program. The full statement is below.

We were incredibly disappointed to learn that Jurickson tested positive for a performance-enhancing substance and is in violation of MLB’s Drug Prevention and Treatment Program. Our players are consistently educated about the Program and the consequences if they are found to be in violation. The Atlanta Braves fully support the Program.    

The news of his suspension was broken earlier this afternoon by ESPN’s Jeff Passan.

Major League Baseball also issued an official statement about Profar’s suspension, which begins on March 6, 2026.

The Office of the Commissioner of Baseball announced today that Atlanta Braves outfielder Jurickson
Profar has received a 162-game suspension without pay after testing positive for Exogenous Testosterone
and its metabolites, a performance enhancing substance, in violation of Major League Baseball’s Joint Drug
Prevention and Treatment Program.
The suspension of Profar will become effective on Friday, March 6th.

Profar, whom the Braves signed as a free agent prior to the 2025 season, was suspended during the first week of the regular season for a positive PED test and missed 80 games. The Braves will not have to pay his 2026 salary, or the tax associated with it, and he is also ineligible for the post-season.

This morning, MLB Pipeline released its list of the top 30 Brewers prospects in anticipation of the upcoming season. The full list can be found here.

I’m not going to overview each player on the list because BCB’s Dave Gasper just released his list of the top 50 Brewers prospects, complete with bios on each player. Pipeline also does its own write-ups on each of the prospects. However, plenty has changed since Pipeline released its last list at the midpoint of the 2025 season. Let’s take a quick look at some of the notable prospects who rose — and fell — since then.

The Top 10:

Despite a fair amount of movement further down in the rankings, Pipeline’s top 10 Brewers prospects have stayed relatively static since the end of last season. The top four (Jesús Made, Luis Peña, new acquisition Jett Williams, and Cooper Pratt) stayed exactly the same. Jeferson Quero (more on him later) fell from No. 5 to No. 8. Taking his place is another recent acquisition, Brandon Sproat. Andrew Fischer (who Pipeline recently ranked the No. 1 third base prospect in baseball), Logan Henderson, and Quero slot in behind Sproat. Rounding out the top 10 are Bishop Letson (also ranked No. 9 at the end of last season) and Marco Dinges (up two spots).

Risers:

Blake Burke is the biggest riser on this year’s list after altering his swing and approach late last season, discovering his power stroke in the process. Baseball America grades his raw power at 70, but it didn’t translate into home runs until late last season. Once Burke began “generating more loft and catching the ball out front,” the results began to speak for themselves. After hitting five home runs in 350 High-A at-bats, Burke ended up hitting 11 over just 140 with Biloxi.

Josh Adamczewski finished last season at No. 15, but he’s now just one spot from the top 10. Despite missing time with injuries, Adamczewski had a breakout season last year (.320 batting average, .910 slugging percentage) and impressed in the post-season Arizona Fall League — probably the main reason he slid up a couple spots. He’s 2-for-7 this spring with a double. Other notable risers include Tyson Hardin, Ethan Dorchies, and Robert Gasser, who all rose three spots since the previous list. Shane Drohan isn’t really a riser because he wasn’t in the Brewer organization until this offseason, but he finds himself sandwiched between Josh Knoth and Eric Bitonti at No. 25.

Fallers:

Quero’s standing as a top-five Brewers prospect was always mainly due to his defensive ceiling. His best tool behind the plate was always his rocket of an arm, but his arm strength hasn’t fully recovered from a labrum injury suffered early in 2024. Luke Adams also dropped three slots to No. 13, although that’s more due to the players above him — Dinges (No. 10), Adamczewski, and Luis Lara (No. 12) all impressed last season. Adams only hit .231 last year, but posted an OPS just north of .850 in 72 games.

Craig Yoho slid down the rankings from No. 18 all the way to No. 29. He struggled with command (and in general) in limited time with the Brewers despite consistently performing in the minors. Yoho’s given up three hits and an earned run in three innings this spring. With Milwaukee adding pitching depth over the offseason, he’ll need to impress to earn an extended look in the big leagues.

Bitonti finds himself down at No. 26 despite hitting 19 home runs last year in Low-A. Bitonti’s a super talented prospect with a lot of raw power, but he still has entirely too much swing-and-miss in his game. His 33.5% strikeout rate was the fourth-highest in Low-A. Bitonti will need to significantly improve that part of his game to make the big leagues. Brailyn Antunez, a top international signing just last year, fell off the list entirely after a rough showing in rookie ball (.215 AVG, .632 OPS).

Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across MLB. Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Cubs fans and fans across the country. Sign up here to participate in the weekly emailed surveys.

The Cubs have several potential backup outfielders in camp.

Dylan Carlson had a great rookie year with the Cardinals, then injuries have ruined the rest of his career. He’s only 27 and is a switch-hitter.

Michael Conforto was the Mets’ No. 1 pick in 2014, chosen six spots after the Cubs took Kyle Schwarber. He had some good years with the Mets, but last year with the Dodgers was pretty much a disaster for him.

Chas McCormick has also had good years, with the Astros, but they chose to let him go after 2025. He might be the only one of the trio who could play a good center field.

With the injury to Tyler Austin, it seems likely that two of these three players will make the Opening Day roster. Which two do you think will make it? Or will it not be two of them?

Respond to the survey and I’ll post the results later this week.

Box Score

The Milwaukee Brewers took on Team Great Britain on Tuesday afternoon in Phoenix, and a rough fifth inning from Jared Koenig buried Milwaukee in a 7-3 loss.

With Jacob Misiorowski making his spring debut, he started the game with a pair of strikeouts wrapped around a walk to Jazz Chisholm Jr. He then gave up back-to-back singles, the second of which brought Chisholm home for a quick 1-0 lead.

Milwaukee went down 1-2-3 in the first, and Misiorowski set GBR down in order in the second. Across two innings (38 pitches), Misiorowski recorded five strikeouts, allowing the run on a pair of hits and a walk. Not a bad spring debut for the flamethrower.

Jake Bauers drew a leadoff walk in the second, but the next three batters went down in order, and the Brewers remained in a 1-0 hole.

Aaron Ashby replaced Misiorowski in the third and allowed a two-out single but got three flyouts around it for a scoreless frame. In the bottom of the inning, Milwaukee was able to tie it up, as a walk, a single, and a throwing error by Chisholm at second got a run across to make it 1-1.

Ashby’s fourth didn’t go as smoothly as the third, as David Hamilton made an error at short that eventually scored after a wild pitch and a single. Once again, though, Milwaukee knotted it up, as Hamilton made up for his error with his first homer of the spring, a 414-foot shot to right.

The fifth inning is where things got ugly.

Jared Koenig came on in relief of Ashby and, after recording a flyout to start the inning, allowed a walk, a two-run homer, a ground-rule double, a pair of singles, and another walk. By the time he exited, the bases were loaded, and Britain had a 5-2 lead.

Kaleb Bowman replaced Koenig and allowed a single to score two more, but he got the next two out to get out of the inning with a 7-2 deficit. Not an ideal day for Koenig, as his ERA now sits at a nice, round 135.00.

Akil Baddoo got one run back with a leadoff bomb in the seventh — this one traveled 433 feet to center — but that was all Milwaukee could do in a disappointing 7-3 loss.

The Brewers recorded just five hits and three walks in this one, but they only struck out six times (remember, Misiorowski recorded five in the first two innings alone — Milwaukee’s pitching staff finished the day with 11, though they allowed 12 hits and five walks).

The Brewers are back at it on Wednesday, as they’ll host the division rival Cubs. First pitch is slated for 2:10 p.m. CT.

Note: While I’ve got you here, if you’ve noticed that our X/Twitter account is posting weird cryptocurrency endorsements, yes, it is a scam, and we’ve been hacked. We’re working on getting back in. In the meantime, you can still find us on Facebook and Bluesky.

If this were the regular season, back-to-back one-run losses might sting a little more. Thankfully, it’s not — and Chicago’s 4-3 loss to the San Diego Padres doesn’t carry much weight beyond the box score.

Since it is Spring Training, let’s focus on the positives for now. The South Siders outhit the Padres, 9-8, struck out fewer times (five to seven), and collected five extra-base hits: three doubles, a triple, and a homer. The bullpen was also fairly solid despite blowing the save, allowing just three hits in the final five innings while recording six strikeouts.

Sean Newcomb was slightly better in his second start, and the lefty maneuvered through some tough situations with runners in scoring position to remain scoreless through two, seemingly handling the adversity better than his last time out. Unfortunately, the Padres got to him in the third, and Newcomb gave up two runs on five hits; the two earned runs came on a two-run blast from Nick Castellanos, putting the Dads up 2-1. Castellanos definitely had Newcomb’s number on Tuesday as he opened the top of the first with a double to center, but the Padres couldn’t bring him around to score. He later added his homer for good measure.

Offensively, Miguel Vargas and Derek Hill accounted for three of the five extra-base hits, as well as two of the three RBIs that the Sox tallied Tuesday. The first run driven in came from Austin Hays, who pushed a base hit up the middle as the last of a three-hit rally to score Vargas and give Chicago an early 1-0 lead. After the Castellanos bomb, Vargas followed that up the very next inning with a 406-foot, solo shot to left center to tie it back up at two.

Lefthander Chris Murphy took over for Newcomb in the fourth, and he cruised through three innings, giving up just one hit, walking one batter, and striking out four. As the bullpen kept control of the game, the Good Guys grabbed the lead back in the sixth. LaMonte Wade Jr. smacked a two-bagger, and one out later, Derek Hill ripped an RBI double down the left field line to score Wade and put the White Sox back on top, 3-2.

You guessed it, though, that lead lasted not even half an inning. Earlier, we were focusing on the positives, but numerous areas within the pitching staff need improvement, especially regarding consistency with command in the zone and walking batters. Wikelman González was next up out of the pen, but he blundered through the fourth. He struck out the first batter he faced, and everything snowballed from there. Prior to being yanked out of the game, he loaded the bases and walked in the tying run, 3-3. González was called to the dugout after the third walk and left the game with lower back tightness, which could have contributed to his lack of control.

Once it was all tied up, the White Sox offense died down for the last few innings. Darren Baker attempted to get a two-out rally going after doubling to put runners on second and third, but Jeral Perez couldn’t get it done, and the two-bagger from Baker was the last hit of the game for the Good Guys.

Out for the eighth was Alexander Alberto, and he, too, recorded the first out but then proceeded to give up the lead after a walk and double combo attack from the Padres to officially put them up, 4-3. Righthander Tyler Davis tossed for his second appearance this spring and made it interesting by walking the first two batters. Still, he was able to get out of it and redeem himself from his previous outing, where he allowed three earned runs in 2/3 of an inning.

The White Sox have an off day on Wednesday, but will be back at Camelback Ranch on Thursday for a nightcap at 7:05 p.m. CT against the Guardians. Broadcast availability is still TBD, so stay tuned for an update on how to watch, but in the meantime, there’s plenty of World Baseball Classic fun taking place this week!

The San Francisco Giants knew their part on Tuesday and they played it well. Perhaps a little too well, if you ask me. The Giants hosted a star-studded Team USA on Tuesday at Scottsdale Stadium, serving as the tune-up appetizer before the World Baseball Classic starts later this week.

And an appetizer they were. A tasty one, it seemed, as the Americans plated enough runs to win the game before recording a single out, while cruising to a 15-1 win in a game that was exactly as competitive as the score suggests.

It was over as soon as it started. Not just because Team USA was rolling out a lineup befitting an All-Star Game, while the Giants were missing Rafael Devers, Luis Arráez, and their entire starting outfield, and not just because it was a battle of the best starting pitcher in the National League vs. San Francisco’s fifth starter.

No, it was over because, on the second pitch that Adrian Houser threw, Bobby Witt Jr. smacked a 99-mph single. Five pitches later, Bryce Harper roped a 110.3-mph double. Exactly one pitch later, Aaron Judge scored them both with a 108.5-mph two-run single. It was clear, then, what kind of day it would be.

To Houser’s credit, he settled down quite nicely. After giving up those back-to-back-to-back hits to open the game, which he promptly followed up with walk issued to Kyle Schwarber, he got Alex Bregman to ground into a double play (with huge help from Willy Adames), before striking out Cal Raleigh. He set down the side in order in the second inning, and in the third, he handled the top of the lineup much more comfortably, allowing just one baserunner (a walk to Judge) while retiring Witt, Harper, and Schwarber, the latter by way of strikes.

But suffice to say, the offense was not flowing on the other end, as the Giants got a very up close and personal look at just how dominant Paul Skenes can be. Adames opened the first inning with one of the more impressive Giants at-bats of the day, hitting a double into the corner, but Skenes would then retire the next (and final) nine batters that he faced. Still, it was enough to score a run against the ace, as Matt Chapman and Patrick Bailey followed Adames’ double with a pair of productive groundouts, resulting in San Francisco’s lone run scored on the day.

Things really started to fall apart for the Giants when Houser left the game and was replaced by fellow righty Blade Tidwell. It’s been an excellent spring for Tidwell, one of the top pitching prospects in the organization, and one outing against a group of MVPs and All-Stars doesn’t change that. But while no team outside of Los Angeles possesses the talent of the American WBC squad, this game was still a reminder that there’s a difference between facing Spring Training teams and honest-to-goodness MLB teams. And for Tidwell, that reminder was painful.

The rookie took the bump to start the fourth, and the second pitch he threw was tattooed over the fence by Alex Bregman, who cleared the wall with ease on a 437-foot dinger. He recovered to retire the next three batters, but couldn’t miss bats in the fifth inning, when he gave up four consecutive singles to open the inning, with Brice Turang, Witt, Harper, and Judge all doing damage that resulted in a two-run inning.

The sixth inning would also get away from Tidwell, who issued a leadoff walk to Raleigh, before ceding a towering home run to Roman Anthony. He would get two outs, but then be pulled from the inning.

In all, it was a rough game for a player trying to prove that they should be tasked with getting key outs in meaningful MLB games. Tidwell gave up eight baserunners and five earned runs in just 2.2 innings, while inducing just five swings-and-misses in his 45 pitches (though his final two pitches of the night were whiffs). Still and all, it’s not every day that you get to face Harper and Judge back-to-back, on national television, and it surely was both an exciting and instructional experience for Tidwell. And while the results may have been humbling, it does nothing to dampen the shine of his prospect.

After all, baseball is baseball, and anyone can get the better of anyone. And for further evidence of that, we turn to the top of the seventh inning.

Matt Gage took the bump to open the frame, and we’d reached the part of the game where both teams were starting to replace their regulars, and speckle in some Minor Leaguers. As is customary for these exhibitions, Team USA had some Giants prospects on loan from Minor League camp, since they don’t exactly carry players fit for mop-up duty on the American WBC team.

Those players came to bat in seventh, facing Gage, who will almost certainly be on San Francisco’s Opening Day roster, perhaps as their top lefty out of the bullpen given Erik Miller’s health status. And that’s when baseball got to baseballing.

It started in more normal fashion, as Gage was first tasked with facing budding superstar Pete Crow-Armstrong, who reached on an error by Bryce Eldridge, and then stole second base. And then came the friendly fire from the prospects.

First up was Charlie Szykowny, a ninth-round pick in 2023 who spent last year in High-A. He doubled off of Gage, scoring PCA. We then paused for some honest-to-goodness Team USA members — Ernie Clement drew a walk, and Raleigh flew out — and then back to the Minor Leaguers. Dakota Jordan, who is one of the team’s top prospects but who hasn’t advanced past Low-A yet, singled to score Szykowny. Gage then struck out Scott Bandura — a seventh-round pick in 2023 who made it to AA last year — before facing off with the Giants 2025 first-round pick, Gavin Kilen. It was an impressive at-bat by Kilen, who, in an 0-2 count against a fellow lefty, hit a 100.9-mph single to plate a pair of runs, and end Gage’s night.

Slightly conflicting times for Giants fans!

While that ended Gage’s rough outing, it didn’t end the tough inning. As happens in spring, the Giants turned to a Minor Leaguer to clean up the mess of an inning, preferring to give clean innings to the players fighting for roster spots. Greg Farone, a 2024 seventh-round pick who finished last year in High-A, entered only to find out that the string of fellow Minor Leaguers was done, and he now had to face a star. That star, Gunnar Henderson, ripped a 105.7-mph double on the second pitch that Farone threw, plating a pair of runs. Paul Goldschmidt then walked, and Crow-Armstrong brought the inning full circle with an RBI double. At long last, Farone retired Szykowny on strikes, putting an end to the 11-batter, six-running inning that broke the game wide open, and ended any dreams the Giants harbored of competitiveness.

Some other highlights and lowlights from the game:

• On paper, Eldridge had a poor game, as he hit 0-3 with two strikeouts and committed the aforementioned error. In reality, though, he did a lot of impressive things. Most notably, he had a phenomenal third-inning at-bat against Skenes, in which he hit an absolute rocket to center field which, were it not for the all-world defense of Byron Buxton, would have been a double. Instead, it served as the most impressive out of the day, tattooed at 111.9 mph and traveling 397 feet. In a game featuring Judge, Harper, Raleigh, and so many other stars, Eldridge managed to have the hardest-hit ball of the entire game.
• But it was’t just on offense! While Eldridge did commit an error, I was extremely impressed by his defensive outing. He ended the second inning by snagging a tough hopper down the line, and opened the third with a remarkably rangy diving play, and later in the game facilitated the never-easy 3-6-1 double play. He looked good out there.

• In the bottom of the seventh inning, All-Star closer David Bednar took the mound for Team USA. When his stint ended, and the eighth began, it was his brother on the mound: Giants relief prospect and NRI Will Bednar. The Bednar Bros both pitched scoreless innings in what was an extremely cool moment.
• For perhaps the last time in baseball history, this was a 15-1 game that went 10 innings. Obviously that didn’t happen due to a tie and a 14-run extra inning, but Team USA needed to get a handful of pitchers some reps, so the game extended to 10 innings. That’s doubly funny since teams normally don’t play a 10th inning in Spring Training even if there’s a tie. Nothing like early March baseball!
• The final count on the Minor Leaguers that the Giants loaned to Team USA: Szykowny, who was the designated hitter, went 1-3 with a double and a strikeout; Jordan, who played left field, hit 1-3 with two strikeouts, including a good morning, good evening, and good night, three-pitches, three swings, and three misses showing against Bednar; Bandura played right field and hit 1-2 with a walk and a double; Kilen slotted in at third, where he went 1-3; catcher Zach Morgan got in the game as a defensive replacement, but didn’t have an at-bat; and right-handed pitcher R.J. Dabovich faced two batters, and gave up a double to Bailey, while retiring Victor Bericoto.
• Trent Harris pitched the ninth for the Giants and had an odd outing. He gave up three hits, a walk, and two earned runs, but struck out the side.
• Since it was an exhibition, the broadcast spent a lot of the game talking to various people, including Logan Webb, Buster Posey, and Tony Vitello. Webb’s segment was especially funny, because it coincided with Anthony’s home run off of Tidwell, while Webb playfully talked about being happy that his teammate hit a home run, but upset that his teammate allowed one.
• It seems that the stars of the game hold Eldridge in high regard, and that’s awesome:

• The Giants now get back to Cactus League play. They return to action Wednesday night, when they host the Seattle Mariners at 6:05 p.m. PT on NBC Bay Area. Team USA, meanwhile, heads to pool play, which begins on Friday against Brazil, with Webb on the mound.

PHOENIX –– Last year, Dalton Rushing felt like he was playing on “thin ice.”

As a rookie back-up catcher with the juggernaut Dodgers, he spent most of his debut season almost walking on eggshells.

Maybe on another team, or in a less star-studded clubhouse, his big-league introduction would’ve felt different. In many organizations, his arrival as a top-ranked, power-hitting catching prospect would have been a very big deal.

But with the Dodgers, the former first-round draft pick got a reality check. 

While he would’ve liked to stand out, he instead needed to learn how to blend in.

“I was told to view it as an internship,” Rushing said of his rookie season, in which he batted just .204 over 155 plate appearances while spending most of his time riding the bench and building a rapport with pitchers behind the scenes.

“I don’t like viewing it like that, I don’t like viewing this game as an internship,” he added. “But at the same time, I see the perspective they were coming from, and the idea of what they wanted to do last year. They wanted to make sure I understand these guys as much as possible moving forward.”

Now, the 25-year-old is ready for the next step.

“I by no means anticipate being a role player like this for my whole career, and I don’t think they do either,” he told the California Post on Monday. “But I think last year was a really good learning year for me … I learned a lot about myself and understand the game a little better now.”

Where Rushing fits into the Dodgers’ long-term plans, of course, remains up in the air.

His primary position is blocked, with All-Star backstop Will Smith under contract for the next eight years. Other pathways to playing time also appear complicated, with everything from first base to DH to even the outfield –– a position Rushing said he volunteered to play again this season, before the team signed Kyle Tucker –– occupied by established MLB stars.

His name has been in trade rumors before. It’s likely such speculation will percolate again.

But for now, Rushing is doing the only thing he can: Embracing his reality as a part-time player, and preparing himself for unforeseen potential opportunities.

“I think there could be avenues and opportunities where I get on the field more regularly this year,” he said. “And it’s up to me to take advantage of that and show them what I can do to help this team win.”

On the field, Rushing failed to capitalize on the chances he did get last season, after being called up to replace Austin Barnes as the team’s backup catcher in mid-May.

Download The California Post App, follow us on social, and subscribe to our newsletters

He started swinging too hard, losing the simple mechanics that helped him post a .933 OPS with 54 home runs in his minor-league career. He chased too many pitches, resulting in a 37.4% strikeout rate that ranked fourth-highest in the majors among players with 150 plate appearances.

As a result, he was passed over when the doorway to more playing time finally did open, supplanted by trade deadline acquisition Ben Rortvedt early in the playoffs while Smith was out with a hand fracture.

And in hindsight, Rushing acknowledged, “I worried too much about how sporadic the playing time was, instead of worrying about the consistency of where my body is at, where my swing is at.”

“It felt,” he continued, “as if I had to step in the box and show these guys I could hit.”

That’s why Rushing has tried to reframe his mindset this spring.

He feels like he has now forged strong relationships with the team’s pitching staff, something he hopes will “take some stress off the bat” and “let it do its thing a little better.”

He has also adopted a new mindset at the plate.

“Just be a hitter,” he said. “I’m blessed enough to not have to try and hit a homer to hit a homer, or try and hit a double to hit a double. My goal this year is, let’s see if I can hit 200 singles.”

That’s an exaggerated number, of course. If everyone stays healthy, Rushing might be lucky to get 200 total at-bats.

But it’s the mentality he knows he has to have to carve out a place on the team –– to be more of an impact player now, and remain a key part of the club’s future as well.

“At the end of the day, doing damage every week will keep me in the lineup,” he said. “And I’m gonna do whatever I have to do to try and find myself in the lineup as much as possible.”

Observations from Mets spring training on Tuesday:

What a relief

The two major additions to the bullpen were in good form against Team Nicaragua, as Luke Weaver and Devin Williams each pitched a scoreless inning in a 6-3 win. Weaver struck out one in his inning, while Williams fanned three.

Tough start

Craig Kimbrel allowed a run on three hits. Carlos Mendoza remains impressed with Kimbrel’s stuff, though, as the 37-year-old looks to find a place in the pen on his eighth team in the past six years.

Caught my eye

Mark Vientos was back at third base, this time for Team Nicaragua, as they prepare for the WBC.

Vientos has mostly been working at first base this spring, as the Mets look to use him, Brett Baty and newly signed Jorge Polanco there this year.

Facing the Mets on Tuesday, Vientos went 1-for-3.

Wednesday’s schedule

David Peterson will make his first Grapefruit League start, facing Team Israel in an exhibition game before the start of the WBC at 1:10 p.m. at Clover Park.

Nolan McLean and Luis Robert Jr. are also slated to play in a minor league game on a back field. 

The Mariners lost another tough one in the later innings in today’s spring training game against the Angels, who staged a three-run comeback in the ninth inning to snatch victory away from the Mariners, who now stand at 3-7 on the spring.

Angels starter George Klassen looked tough today in his three-inning sample, busting fastballs up to the plate at an average of 97.5 mph, paired with a changeup that was his actual whiff-getting weapon: all four of his whiffs (and therefore all four of his strikeouts) came on the changeup. You might have read about Klassen in our writeup of the Angels’ farm system; John’s analysis of Klassen is there are questions if he’ll be a starter or reliever due to his limited repertoire and occasional command outages. Three spring training innings isn’t enough to judge, but we’ll certainly see him in some form when facing Anaheim this season.

Two Mariners did get to Klassen: Patrick Wisdom ambushed a first-pitch fastball for a well-struck solo home run in the second inning, and two batters later Rhylan Thomas dropped the barrel on a slider for a turn-and-burn pull solo homer.

The Mariners couldn’t hold that lead, however. Bryan Woo was good-not-great in his second outing of the spring, with four punchouts of his own over 2.1 innings. The first two innings went smoothly, but he opened the third inning with a walk followed by a single off the bat of Bryce Teodosio and then used up the remainder of his pitch count for the day on a nine-pitch battle with Chris Taylor that ended up with Taylor striking out chasing a fastball off the plate. Michael Rucker, called in to polish off the inning, couldn’t keep his inherited runners from scoring, eventually walking off the mound to a 2-2 tie.

The Angels went ahead in the following inning. Casey Legumina got into another lengthy battle with an Angels hitter, eventually walking Kyren Paris on ten pitches. He then fell behind Jeimer Candelario, who is apparently an Angel now, 3-1 before serving up a 93 mph fastball right in the lefty loop zone for a two-run homer to make the game 4-2. No, Casey! Don’t do that, Casey! It’s an unfortunate step back for Legumina, who has looked better this spring, but as they say, growth isn’t linear.

Seattle got one of those runs back in the fourth; Brent Suter walked J.P. Crawford and Ryan Bliss doubled him over to third (the crowd was very unhappy with third base coach Carlos Cardoza’s refusal to send J.P. home; friends, this is spring training). 19-year-old Colt Emerson then came up with a sacrifice fly off the 36-year-old Suter, a fact that amuses me and also feels very appropriate for a player who, as Ryan Divish says, was “a 27 year old when he came out of the womb.”

The Mariners were able to tie things up in the fifth thanks to Brendan Donovan, doing his best Josh Naylor impression by walking, stealing second, and then taking third on a wild pitch from Ryan Zeferjahn, which I spelled right on the first try, thank you. Brian O’Keefe walked and moved to second when Zeferjahn hit Jakson Reetz with a 92 mph sinker, and Patrick Wisdom singled to bring home both the tying and go-ahead run.

The second line added another insurance run in the sixth. Rhylan Thomas singled off old friend and Tacoma teammate Tayler Saucedo and moved to second on a wild pitch before scoring on a Spencer Packard single, making it 6-4 Mariners.

It wasn’t pretty but the bullpen held the line <— a line from another, more fun recap I was writing before Michael Morales, after barely escaping the eighth inning, went back out for the ninth and gave up a double followed by a walk, forcing Dan Wilson to call on one of his “jicky” (Just In Case) players in Reid Easterly, who is someone I didn’t know was a Mariner until today. Maybe faced with a clean inning Easterly would have gotten out of the jam, but as it was, he immediately gave up a game-tying double followed by a go-ahead single. The Mariners had one last chance—Carson Taylor hit a two-out double and Cole Young worked a walk behind him—but Brock Rodden popped out to end the game.

Pitching Pile Update:

Today’s clear winner was Cole Wilcox, who pitched a sterling 1-2-3 inning and looked dominant, needing just nine pitches, eight of which he threw for strikes—a big development for a player whose bugaboo has been command. Wilcox spammed his off-speed today: six of those nine pitches were the slider/sweeper (although only one a sweeper, per Statcast); the other three were sinkers. It seems like each of Wilcox’s innings has been stronger than the last; I’m very intrigued by him and what he does next.

Robinson Ortiz technically worked a scoreless inning, but it should be noted he got bailed out by a dazzling double play from Will Wilson at third base, who handled a very sharply-hit ground ball (105.5 EV) on a tricky hop for a seamless double play. While Brennan Davis has sucked up most of the post-hype-prospect redemption-arc attention, I am intrigued by Will Wilson, who soothes the ache somewhat of losing the surehanded Ben Williamson at third (although the Rays are apparently using Williamson as a utility infielder, playing him at second, third, and short this spring).

Fringe Friends Update:

Speaking of Brennan Davis, he had another loud single today. You know how they say “it just sounds different off his bat”? I experienced that firsthand with Davis, as the contact he made on a single that came off the bat at 111 mph was so loud in the press box I literally gasped out loud like I was in a telenovela. On a team that is pretty well settled as far as position battles go, following the Brennan Davis storyline is one of the most fun things about this spring.

Cole Young Appreciation Post:

Cole Young played the back half of this game in order to give Ryan Bliss a chance to play at second, which is a little like your teenage cousin being forced to sit at the kids’ table, but Young handled it well. He worked a walk to extend the ninth inning with yet another polished plate appearance, and he also showed off what’s becoming a theme this spring of improved infield defense. Hobby horse alert: you will be seeing something on the site soon about Young’s improved (re-proved?) defense. Look at the ground he covers on this bunt!