Category: Baseball

The Mets were defeated by the Washington Nationals 3-2 on Saturday afternoon at Clover Park. 

New York is now 4-3 in Grapefruit League play.

Here are some takeaways...

- Brett Baty was able to make his spring training debut after being slowed by a hamstring issue early in camp. He looked smooth in what was his first appearance at first base, and went hitless over his two at-bats, but did make good contact on a 108.7 mph lineout to right in the bottom of the second. 

- Francisco Alvarez was also in the lineup for the first time this spring, after the Mets opted to play things safe with him early on. The young backstop caught four innings and went hitless as well, but he did win an ABS challenge to overturn strike three to ball four in the second. 

- Saturday was Mike Tauchman's turn to make his mark in the Mets' crowded right field competition. The veteran lined a double down the right field line in his first AB, then made a nice sliding grab in the right-center gap to rob Nasim Nuñez of extra bases in the fifth.

- Ronny Mauricio showed good instincts at shortstop, cleanly fielding a grounder while playing in with a man on third and nobody out, then throwing home to gun down a runner trying to score. Mauricio worked deep counts in each of his two at-bats, but struck out each time. 

- Tobias Myers was strong in his second outing, his first start, of the spring. The righty struck out three as he retired six of the first seven batters he faced, only issuing a two-out walk in the second. He did fall into some trouble after back-to-back hits put two in scoring position in the third, but was able to escape with one run in on a groundout. 

His final line: one run, two hits, one walk, four strikeouts and 46 pitches (34 strikes) over 3.0 innings of work.

- Craig Kimbrel made his first appearance in his attempt to carve out a role in the Mets' bullpen. Bo Bichette was beat for a double down the line on the second pitch Kimbrel threw, then a groundout and flyout to bring home the Nats' second run of the game. The veteran walked the next two, but escaped without further damage. 

- Luis Garcia put together his second consecutive 1-2-3 inning to start the spring.  

- Hitless on the spring, Mark Vientos was finally able to break through in his third at-bat of the day, going the other way for an RBI double off the right field fence. Vientos is among the contingent of Mets who will be leaving the team on Sunday to start preparing for the World Baseball Classic. 

- Among those players is outfield prospect Nick Morabito, who has been enjoying a very strong camp so far. Morabito fought off a tough 0-2 pitch, then went the other way against former Mets southpaw Dicky Lovelady, lining an opposite-field double to help cut the deficit in the bottom of the eighth. 

- The Mets threatened in the ninth, but stranded the winning run on second on Jacob Reimer's flyout. 

Highlights

Tobias Myers gets a strikeout as part of a 1-2-3 first inning 💪 pic.twitter.com/Kl28F5DVJE

— SNY (@SNYtv) February 28, 2026

Two more strikeouts for Tobias Myers and he's got three through the first two innings ♨️ pic.twitter.com/YbEqdl5mIw

— SNY (@SNYtv) February 28, 2026

Francisco Alvarez wins an ABS challenge to overturn a called strike three to ball four pic.twitter.com/1x2r9poFOh

— SNY (@SNYtv) February 28, 2026

Ronny Mauricio throws home for the out! pic.twitter.com/zrqjaKlicD

— SNY (@SNYtv) February 28, 2026

Mark Vientos with an opposite-field double to get the Mets on the board! pic.twitter.com/emP6jc0n2I

— SNY (@SNYtv) February 28, 2026

Nick Morabito cuts the Mets' deficit to one with a double! pic.twitter.com/LdIaiGZuim

— SNY (@SNYtv) February 28, 2026

What's next

The Mets stay in Port St. Lucie as they play host to the Houston Astros on Sunday at 1:10 p.m.

There was sort of a “last day of school” feeling to today’s spring training game against the Blue Jays. The Jays sent the B-team, with split squad action facing the Yankees and Phillies, while a number of Yanks are set to leave the team and join their World Baseball Classic sides as that tournament kicks off late next week. That, plus good outings from our starters made for a brisk Grapefruit League showdown, with the Yankees winning 5-1.

Paul Blackburn is auditioning for one of the swingy bullpen roles, and his stock certainly improved today. It wasn’t exactly the Opening Day lineup for the Blue Jays, but it took Blackburn just 40 pitches to work through four scoreless innings. He leaned heavily on his sinker for five groundouts, although I think Statcast was a little clunky today and pitch movement data is hard to interpret. Still, it’s only spring but today was quite a good showing for a guy that really needs to impress after 2025.

We flew through the first half of the game, with Blackburn’s strong start bettered by José Berríos spinning four no-hit innings. It wouldn’t be until Ryan Jennings took over in the fifth that the Yankees finally broke through:

Like many on the field today, it’s likely José Caballero’s last appearance before traveling to join Panama for the World Baseball Classic, but a solid RBI double was a good way for the presumptive Opening Day starter was a good way to wrap up this phase of camp. Cabby would come around to score on a throwing error a couple batters later, making the score 2-0.

Fernando Cruz nearly gave it all back in the sixth though, allowing a double and pair of walks to load the bases. I’m sure this outing wasn’t quite what the brain trust of the WBC was hoping for, as Cruz will suit up for Puerto Rico starting this week. At least he got a double play to work his way out of danger.

After getting out of trouble, the Yankees continued to club the pitching depth of the Blue Jay system:

Austin Wells will suit up for the Dominican Republic after today, but perhaps more important is getting his offensive game more in line with his 2024 self than 2025. Lots of Yankees have gotten their A-swings off in Grapefruit League play this spring, but few lengthen the lineup as much as Wells can, so good stuff to see.

Speaking of A-swings, someone named Kenedy Corona did this in the seventh:

The Yankees were 2-for-3 on ABS challenges by my count, with the only loss being a frankly obvious ball that Cruz requested a review on. I tend to think that Cruz was simply testing the system out for himself before the games count for real, but if it was an honest challenge, maybe we don’t let him request reviews in the regular season.

The Blue Jays managed a run in the ninth on a play neither I nor play-by-play man Justin Shackil quite understood. Nicholas Torres, playing right field for New York, seemed to lose the ball in the Florida sun and missed a catch he should have made, and good hustle from Jays’ baserunner Carlos Mendoza — no, the other one — meant his club was not going to be shut out.

The Yankees hit the road tomorrow, a quick jaunt to Clearwater to take on the Phillies. Will Warren, who’s shown some flashes of a step forward so far this spring, will get the ball with a 1:05pm Eastern first pitch.

Box Score

Spencer Strider’s spring training debut in 2026 was certainly an intriguing one, as Strider was clearly looking to accomplish his own set of goals in this one that may not have aligned with what the public speculation may be concerning his own profile as a pitcher at the moment.

As I mentioned in the game thread, all eyes were on starting pitcher Spencer Strider as he made his spring training debut in this one. Strider went three-up and three-down in the first inning before running into a little bit of trouble in the second inning when he gave up his only run of the day on a sacrifice fly from Coby Mayo. That cam after Adley Rutschman smacked a 93-mph heater from Strider that was high and in the zone for a double, so there’s that.

Strider also picked up a pair of strikeouts along the way and aside from giving up two hits and a run, that was his only blemish on the day. Strider spoke with the media while the game was still going on and he seemed like he was fine with how things went on the day. It was also interesting to see that he did hear all of the speculation about the radar guns being turned off for his live BP sessions and the sarcasm he displayed near the end of this clip from Braves beat writer Mark Bowman of MLB.com suggests that he’s likely not too worried about it.

Strider on today’s start. He obviously wasn’t happy with the insinuation the radar gun was purposely turned off for one of his recent live BP sessions pic.twitter.com/GsKj5pAlNj

— Mark Bowman (@mlbbowman) February 28, 2026

Following Strider’s two innings of work, Martin Pérez got the ball and pitched two innings where he only had to deal with one baserunner over the pair of innings that he tossed. Unfortunately, that one baserunner made it all the way around on a round-tripper after Adley Rutschman capped off a solid day at the plate with a solo homer.

That was as good as it got at the plate for the Orioles, though, as Braves pitchers proceeded to clamp down on Baltimore from that point forward. José Suarez added two more clean innings to his spring resume as he attepts to figure out a way to make the starting rotation for Opening Day. Javy Guerra continued to gear up for the World Baseball Classic as he tossed a scoreless inning and his performance was part of the Braves sitting down 11 Orioles batters in a row. Any day where you keep another team’s squad quiet like that over the course of a spring training game is a nice day.

Meanwhile at the plate, Chadwick Tromp certainly had a productive day swinging the bat, which Team Netherlands will surely be happy to see as he gets ready for the WBC, himself. He picked up an RBI single against Orioles starter Kyle Bradish and then later on in the game, Tromp took part in one of those moments that you tend to only see during spring training.

It all took place in the eighth inning, which is when John Gil won a seven-pitch battle against Chayce McDermott by hitting a dinger that put the Braves in the lead. Gil has reportedly been turning some heads so far this spring during camp and this was his first real flourish during a game, so that was encouraging to see. There wasn’t even time to really celebrate Gil’s dinger before Cal Conley took McDermott’s very next pitch and sent it deep for another home run. Conley likely wasn’t even done getting and giving high-fives of his own before Tromp proceeded to take the first pitch he saw from McDermott and crush it for a home run. Yep, that was back-to-back-to-back homers on three straight pitches. Welcome to spring training, folks.

Kyle Farmer contributed two hits of his own as Brett Wisely and DaShawn Keirsey Jr. each added hits of their own and Alex Lodise delivered an RBI double in the top of the ninth as the Braves proceeded to rack up a dozen hits in this one.

All in all, there was more to like instead of dislike in this one. Spencer Strider’s velocity was certainly the topic of the day and while it might be understandable to worry about the fact that he’s throwing 93 at this point, it’s also still February. On top of that, he seemed more focused on location and command rather than emptying the tank while trying to light up the radar gun. If he’s still throwing like this near the end of camp then that could be cause for concern but for now, it’s simply something to keep an eye on going forward. Again, the sarcasm was telling about whether or not this is something to really worry about.

Aside from that, it was nice to see the Braves look productive for the most part during another spring training game. If you’re the type who cares about the race for the Grapefruit League pennant, the Braves are doing alright at 5-2 at the moment. There will surely be some more peaks and valleys as spring progresses but for now, the Braves look like they’re making some steady progress towards Opening Day as the calendar changes from February to March.

The Yankees got plenty of offense from Austin Wells and the pitching staff did its thing, as New York beat the Blue Jays 5-1 on Saturday afternoon at George M. Steinbrenner Field. 

It was the final day before participants of the 2026 World Baseball Classic left their teams, so many of the Yankees who will take part in the tournament were in the lineup and took the mound on Saturday.

Here are the takeaways...

- It was a pitching duel early on in this one. Paul Blackburn got the start for the Yankees and he was very good. The veteran right-hander pitched four scoreless innings, scattering four hits while striking out two batters.

Blackburn is fighting for a spot on the roster. He could earn a spot in the rotation while the Yankees await the returns of Gerrit Cole and Carlos Rodon, or he could be in the bullpen as the long man in the same fashion the team used him a year ago. It's still early to know where the Yanks are leaning, but Saturday's performance helped Blackburn's case.

- On the offensive side, the Yankees put out their A-lineup, but were no-hit through four innings by Blue Jays starter Jose Berrios. The right-hander allowed just two walks in his four innings of work while striking out two batters.

However, the scoreless tie was broken in the fifth. Wells (Team DR) led off with a walk before Jose Caballero (Team Panama) doubled down the line, scoring the catcher from first. Spencer Jones then grounded into a force out at second base, but a throwing error by the Blue Jays shortstop allowed Jones to reach safely and for Caballero -- who was on third thanks to a Ryan McMahon groundout -- to score. 

Wells would add onto the Yankees' lead with a two-run shot in the sixth, his first of spring. The backstop finished the day going 1-for-3 with a walk and two runs. Kenedy Corona launched a solo shot in the seventh to give the Yanks a 5-0 lead, it's the second homer of the young outfielder's spring.

- The Yankees used their big guns out of the bullpen. David Bednar (Team USA) pitched a 1-2-3 inning, but Fernando Cruz (Team PR) didn't have as clean of an inning. The hard-throwing righty allowed three of the first four batters to reach, but got a double play to get out of the inning without giving up a run.

Tim Hill pitched a clean inning with a strikeout, while Jake Bird, who is fighting for a bullpen spot, struck out two in a clean inning of work.

- Aaron Judge (Team USA) went 0-for-3 while Paul Goldschmidt (Team USA) finished 1-for-2 with a walk and a run scored. Jazz Chisholm Jr. (Team Great Britain) also went 0-for-3.

Jones, after homering three times in four games this spring, did not go yard on Saturday. He finished 0-for-2 with an RBI. 

- Amed Rosario was originally going to be in the lineup, but was scratched so he could head over to the Dominican Republic team. 

Game MVP: Austin Wells

The Yankees backstop drove in two runs and his great running allowed New York to push across the first run of the game.

Highlights

José Caballero brings home Austin Wells with an RBI double 🔥 pic.twitter.com/wDxhmumWHJ

— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) February 28, 2026

Austin Wells' first home run of the spring! pic.twitter.com/u2LF8OrdXm

— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) February 28, 2026

Kenedy Corona homers! pic.twitter.com/WkbkdmnX3I

— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) February 28, 2026

What's next

The Yankees continue their spring training slate against the Phillies on Sunday afternoon. First pitch is set for 1:05 p.m.

Tempe Diablo is certainly one of the most picturesque of the Cactus League parks, with a wonderful backdrop of the Twin Buttes. Or is that Twin Butte? Google is indecisive on the matter. But it’s certainly iconic, and rather better than the 101 freeway which runs behind the fence at Salt River Fields. The D-backs have won two in a row, and three of the last four, to pull their spring record back even at 4-4. Pitching-wise, last night’s one run conceded was a huge improvement, considering they had averaged eight runs per game allowed to that point. Hopefully this will continue today, as we see one of our top pitching prospects on the mound:

Bratt on the bump. pic.twitter.com/5tyQDovOZT

— Arizona Diamondbacks (@Dbacks) February 28, 2026

If you are wondering why we haven’t seen Brandon Pfaadt make an appearance in the Cactus League to date, he had “a little bit of a side ache” which started over the winter, and the team are being cautious. Torey Lovullo said that “stopped his offseason progression. It was all offseason… Everything was good, but I think we just put him on pause for about a week just to let him rest. He’s going to be available and built up just fine, so he’s going to throw one, maybe two innings depending on how that first inning goes, but everything’s right exactly where we want it to be with Brandon.” Mind you, I remember there being “minimal” concern about Merrill Kelly too…

No TV for this one, but you can tune in on Arizona Sports 98.7 FM or online, with Chris Garagiola & Brandon Webb bringing you the game.

Today the Texas Rangers will take on the team that ruined baseball (affectionate), the Los Angeles Dodgers, in a Cactus League baseball game in Arizona.

RHP Jack Leiter will make the start for Texas opposite LHP Jackson Ferris for Los Angeles.

You can listen to the game via 105.3 The Fan or follow along on Gameday. First pitch from Surprise Stadium is scheduled for 2:05 pm CT.

Go Rangers!

A longtime Met is heading to a new ballclub.

Starling Marte has agreed to a major league contract with the Royals on Saturday, MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand reported.

Terms of the deal — which is still pending a physical — are not yet clear.

The 37-year-old Marte spent the past four years with the Mets after signing a four-year, $78 million contract before the 2022 season.

That first season ended up being both his most productive and the one where he spent the most time on the field, as he slashed .292/.347/.468 with 16 homers and made the National League All-Star team.

Injuries, though, limited him to just 278 games and a .694 OPS over the final three years of the contract.

In 2024, he played a key role in the “OMG” Mets playoff run, as he collected three hits in the wild-card round against the Brewers, including an RBI single in the ninth inning of the clinching game.

In six games over the NLCS loss to the Dodgers, he was one of the Mets’ best hitters, going 9-for-27 with four doubles and four RBIs.

In a part-time role — mostly as a designated hitter — in 2025, Marte had a 111 OPS+, which was his best mark since 2022.

Outside of his playing ability, Marte emerged as an important person in the clubhouse, as outfielder Juan Soto told The Post’s Mike Puma in August.

“He’s literally the leader of this team — I feel like he’s actually the captain of this team,” Soto said. “He’s bringing everybody together. He’s bringing the energy that we need. He’s a guy who has been stepping up every single time, it doesn’t matter what.

“He’s actually the real deal of the team. He’s the model of the team. Everybody, when they want to talk and get to know something or have a conversation, they can go to him. He’s actually the real deal.”

He now joins a Royals team that finished 82-80 one year after they reached the playoffs as a wild-card entrant before losing to the Yankees in the American League Division Series.

DH proved to be one of the weaker spots in Kansas City’s lineup last season with a .615 OPS.

Involved in their first split-squad day of the year, the reigning champs will play simultaneous games against the Cubs and Rangers, with Justin Wrobleski facing Chicago and prospect Jackson Ferris pitching against Texas.

Today’s #DodgersST split-squad lineup vs. Cubs: pic.twitter.com/teezVJAE9H

— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) February 28, 2026

Today’s #DodgersST split-squad lineup at Rangers: pic.twitter.com/r90LUHyVAL

— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) February 28, 2026

Saturday Game info

• Teams: Dodgers vs. Cubs
• Stadium: Camelback Ranch, Glendale
• Time: 12:05 p.m. PT
• TV: SportsNet LA
• Radio: AM 570

Saturday Game info

• Teams: Dodgers @ Rangers
• Stadium: Surprise Stadium, Surprise
• Time: 12:05 p.m. PT
• TV: no broadcast
• Radio: 105.3 The Fan

It’s a tense battle of division rivals today as the White Sox make the long trek to famed Goodyear, Ariz., apt home for the Guardians since Cleveland is only a José Ramírez homer from the base of Goodyear in Akron.

Well, OK, it’s not really a tense battle, it’s as meaningless as all spring games, but we can pretend.

Shane Smith, who gave up three runs in less than two innings in his first Cactus League start, will be leading the parade of Sox pitchers, and Tanner Bibee will have the 76 Trombones roll (they led the big parade, remember?) for the Guardians.

Bibee will face a Chicago lineup that’s a tad low on firepower, with both Munetaka Murakami of to Team Japan and Colson Montgomery sitting this one out, as well as both Kyle Teel and Edgar Quero.

Smith, on the other hand, will have to take on both Ramírez and Steven Kwan.

First pitch is scheduled for 2:05 p.m. Central, with temps expected to go over 90° during the afternoon. According to the Sox schedule, the game will be on CHSN, only on the web, but you’ll be spared John Schriffin because it will be the Guardians broadcast.

Spring Training is now more than a week old. Are we sick of it yet? Probably not, but we’re getting there. Fortunately, we’ve got the WBC starting up next week, so that should be fun. In the meantime, we do have a little bit of bonus excitement for Royals fans in Scottsdale, Arizona. Presumptive number two starter Seth Lugo will get the start today and he will be followed by ace Cole Ragans, who is making his spring debut. And for even more excitement, it is the first game that will be aired on Royals TV, for free! Out-of-market viewers can also watch on MLB Network or MLB.TV.

Here is the lineup:

Bobby Witt Jr. leads off again. During yesterday’s broadcast they mentioned this was primarily because he is expected to do it during the WBC. So don’t get your hopes up too high that he’ll do it during the regular season, but hey, if he does it in the WBC and it goes well…

We also get more Jac Caglianone, after he mashed a 120.2 MPH exit velocity double yesterday. Kevin Newman continues to get a ton of playing time as he starts at third. And Brandon Drury will look to overcome a slow start to his spring and show off some positional diversity by playing at first today.

Here are the pitchers being rostered for today after Lugo and Ragans:

• Eli Morgan
• Mason Black
• Christian Chamberlain
• Andrew Pérez
• Frank Mozzicato
• Caden Monke
• Helcris Olivárez

Monke, Pérez, and Chamberlain will probably only pitch in an “emergency’. I’m excited to see if Olivárez and Black can continue their strong springs; Mozzicato has a chance to make an impression on the coaching staff after doing anything but that in the minors so far.

Regardless, let’s watch our first Royals baseball of the spring!

*Why on earth do we have a photo from photo day where we can’t see the player’s face, but we can see the sponsor patch on his arm? WHAT ARE WE DOING HERE?

Behind a dominant start from senior right-hander Ruger Riojas, the No. 3 Texas Longhorns remained undefeated and notched their first ranked victory of the 2026 season with an 8-1 victory over the No. 9 Coastal Carolina Chanticleers on Friday night at Daikin Park in the BRUCE BOLT College Classic.

Riojas struck out a career-high 11 batters with the help of his overpowering fastball that reached 98 miles per hour, holding the Chanitcleers scoreless on one hit and one walk over five innings. In keeping with the early-season preferences of head coach Jim Schlossnagle and pitching coach Max Weiner, Riojas departed after throwing 71 pitches.

how bout ELEVEN strikeouts ‼️#HookEm | @RugerRiojas_19pic.twitter.com/7PGwq6vXPQ

— Texas Baseball (@TexasBaseball) February 28, 2026

Through three starts, Riojas is now 3-0 on the season with a 1.13 ERA having allowed just two earned runs over 16 innings pitched with 30 strikeouts. Against Coastal Carolina, he threw six different pitches with his four-seam fastball and his sinker grading out at his best pitches even though he got an 84.6 percent whiff rate on his changeup, the pitch he threw most frequently.

Texas RHP Ruger Riojas has been diabolical this season.

16 IP, 2 ER, 3 BB, 30 K, .127 BAA on the year.

A look at his stuff vs Coastal Carolina last night. pic.twitter.com/zbAetSwTT6

— OTV- College/Draft Notes (@OTV_DraftNotes) February 28, 2026

In relief, senior right-hander Max Grubbs allowed one runs on two hits in 1.2 innings, giving up the only extra-base hit of the night for Coastal Carolina. Redshirt junior left-hander Ethan Walker struck out the batter he faced to end the seventh inning before freshman right-hander Brett Crossland and junior right-hander Hudson Hamilton each pitched around a walk in their inning of action.

Four home runs among the 12 hits by the Longhorns paced Texas at the plate, led by a 3-for-4 performance by junior center fielder Aiden Robbins, who led off the scoring in the third inning with a mammoth 466-foot, two-run home run that hit the train tracks in left field.

sorry for denting the train, @astros 🚂#HookEm | @AidenRobbins43pic.twitter.com/kpDJeJHuzB

— Texas Baseball (@TexasBaseball) February 28, 2026

Redshirt senior third baseman Temo Becerra, who arrived at Texas with three home runs in 430 at bats at Stanford, left the field twice, driving in three runs.

into the Crawford Boxes 🚀#HookEm | @becerra_temopic.twitter.com/H4es2N96sq

— Texas Baseball (@TexasBaseball) February 28, 2026

who ordered seconds?!? 💣#HookEm | @becerra_temopic.twitter.com/QYJbmBKz7N

— Texas Baseball (@TexasBaseball) February 28, 2026

Junior designated hitter Ashton Larson also hit his first home run in burnt orange and white, an opposite-field shot into the Crawford Boxes.

we’re goin’ back to back 💣#HookEm | @Ashton_Larson11pic.twitter.com/AaGyQqcsLW

— Texas Baseball (@TexasBaseball) February 28, 2026

Texas also added runs on an RBI double by sophomore shortstop Adrian Rodriguez and a sacrifice fly by Robbins.

On Saturday, Schlossnagle’s team tries to remain undefeated with a matchup against former Big 12 rival Baylor. First pitch is scheduled for 7 p.m. Central on Astros.com and the Houston Astros YouTube channel. The Bears also notched a ranked win on Friday, upsetting the No. 11 Rebels, 6-5, in 10 innings.

We have another spring exhibition game this afternoon as the A’s play host to the San Francisco Giants. The A’s are just 1-5 so far this spring but what better time to get back into the win column than against these guys?

Right-hander Luis Morales will be getting the ball for today’s start. Though it should be short, this is his second appearance as the team ramps him up for a long season. All signs indicate he’ll break camp in the rotation but how they manage his workload for six months is the real story. He’s already made it into a spring game reaching 17 pitches so the club will be looking to ramp that number up today.

The A’s lineup this afternoon shakes out like this:

Today's lineup 👇 pic.twitter.com/8NcCNBCnNW

— Athletics (@Athletics) February 28, 2026

Jacob Wilson back atop the lineup, with Nick Kurtz behind him. A small change and one that might not stick but at least Kotsay is hearing all the criticism of having his power hitter bat leadoff. Lots of regulars in today’s lineup but we’ll also see Leo De Vries get the start at shortstop, his long-term home with the big league team. Sneak peak of the future?

The Giants have veteran Tyler Mahle on the mound today for his first appearance this spring. It’s his first outing of 2026 so we can’t expect to see him for too long. Here’s how their lineup looks this afternoon:

Béisbol en Mesa

⌚️: 12:05 p.m. PT
📻: @KNBRpic.twitter.com/xP9prn0yyD

— SF Gigantes (@SFGigantes) February 28, 2026

Though it’s meaningless, we want a win! Let’s go A’s!

Seattle Mariners at San Diego Padres, February 28, 2026, 12:10 p.m. PST

Watch: Padres.TV

Location: Peoria Sports Complex – Peoria, AZ

Listen: 97.3 The Fan

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Saturday starters. pic.twitter.com/O5XZuBwi8S

— San Diego Padres (@Padres) February 28, 2026

Making his Spring Training debut… Kade Anderson! #TridentsUp

📺 FREE on https://t.co/o2PoeYA9BK
📻 @SeattleSportspic.twitter.com/XU8r6C6NHR

— Seattle Mariners (@Mariners) February 28, 2026

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The 6-2 Colorado Rockies will look to keep their hot spring going against the Kansas City Royals this afternoon. Zac Veen hit a 447-foot walk-off homer to right center field to seal the 3-2 victory over the San Diego Padres yesterday and extend their win streak to five games, but today’s outfield will feature Jake McCarthy in right field, Jordan Beck in left and Cole Carrigg in center.

“The reason for that today, if I’m being candid, is because Beck has not played left field yet,” Warren Schaeffer said before the game, “so he needs to be proficient in both this season. If that duo (Beck and McCarthy) is in there, it’s probably most likely going to to be McCarthy in left and Beck in right, but it’s about reps here in spring training and getting that in.”

Right-hander Michael Lorenzen is taking the ball for the Rockies today in his second Cactus League start and first against his old team. In his last outing, Lorenzen pitched one inning and allowed just one hit on nine pitches with a strikeout.

Lorenzen will face his former teammate, Royals’ veteran right-hander Seth Lugo, also making his second Cactus League start. In his outing against the Chicago Cubs, Lugo pitched two innings and allowed two hits on 27 pitches with one strikeout.

Now, if there’s another walk-off today, you will be able to watch it (for free) on television! Here’s how:

First Pitch: 1:10 p.m. MDT

TV: Rockies.tv; MLB Network

Radio: KOA 850 AM/94.1 FM; KNRV 1150 (Spanish)

Lineups:

Back in Scottsdale taking on the Rockies.

A broadcast of today's game will be available in the Kansas City area on MLB Network. pic.twitter.com/Mi4jg7oPAQ

— Kansas City Royals (@Royals) February 28, 2026

Watch today's game for FREE on https://t.co/DQSFgj6oQO 🙌 pic.twitter.com/iWoLpC1eiB

— Colorado Rockies (@Rockies) February 28, 2026

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Today’s Cactus League game features the Mariners facing off against their Peoria sister squad Padres for the second time this Spring. The headline is that Kade Anderson, the third overall pick of the 2025 Draft, starts for Seattle. These will be his first pitches in game action since joining the organization. Anderson throws from the left side and features a delightfuly traditional fastball-slider-curveball-changeup arsenal. He was sitting 94-95 for LSU last year during their championship run, and the Mariners have reportedly focused on bulking him up, so I’ll be watching the velo especially closely today. Anderson will be followed by Emerson Hancock, Randy Dobnak, Jhonathan Díaz, and Blas Castaño.

In the lineup, while some guys have taken off for the WBC already, we’ll see Cal Raleigh and birthday boy Randy Arozarena in what’ll probably be their last games with the Mariners for a few weeks. Colt Emerson also gets another start.

San Diego’s lineup features another entry on the Nick Castellanos Redemption Tour and will start JP Sears, who I’ll always think of as what the Mariners gave up for Nick Rumbelow in one of the most baffling trades of the Dipoto Era. He’ll be followed by Jeremiah Estrada, Alek Jacob, Bradgley Rodriguez, old friend Ty Adcock, Kyle Hart, and—don’t tune out as the minor league subs come in—Mason Miller.

Injury Update

Game Info

Game time: 12:10 PT

Watch: Mariners.TV, Mariners.com

Listen: Seattle Sports 710 AM