Category: Baseball

More than 750 players have appeared in a Rockies game — but only about 200 have ever started on Opening Day. 

As spring training is in full swing and Opening Day is approaching quickly (seriously… how is it March 14th already?!), there are still plenty of roster battles playing out. The Colorado Rockies will open the season in Miami on March 27, and the lineup is undecided to say the least. 

With that in mind, I thought it would be fun to look back over previous Opening Day lineups in Rockies history. And I’m glad I did. 

This exercise won’t suddenly explain how the Rockies can become competitive, but it does reveal some interesting — and occasionally funny — takeaways. 

Roster Churn

Turnover from year to year is very real. According to Baseball-Reference Opening Day lineup records, not once since 1993 have the Rockies opened a season with the same lineup as the year before. Given injuries, roster churn, and offseason changes, that result isn’t surprising. 

The most consistent stretch came from 2016 through 2018, when seven starters carried over year to year, including Nolan Arenado, DJ LeMahieu, Trevor Story, Gerardo Parra, Charlie Blackmon, and Carlos González. Not coincidentally, that stability helped produce back-to-back playoff appearances in 2017 and 2018. 

Jon Gray started Opening Day in both 2017 and 2018, providing rare stability on the pitching side as well. 

The Stable Positions

First base, shortstop, and right field have historically been the most stable spots in the Rockies’ Opening Day lineup. 

Todd Helton is the model of consistency, having started at first base in a club-record 16 consecutive Opening Day lineups. Few players in franchise history have come close to that level of stability, and Helton’s mark feels safe for the foreseeable future. 

Shortstop was anchored for 15 seasons by Troy Tulowitzki and Trevor Story. Tulowitzki started nine Opening Days at the position, with Story adding six more. 

Right field also saw extended stability. Hall of Famer Larry Walker started seven Opening Days there while Brad Hawpe and Charlie Blackmon each started five. 

Blackmon ranks second in franchise history in Opening Day starts, and his appearances came at multiple positions — center field (5), right field (5), and DH (1). 

Left field, meanwhile, has been anything but stable. If Jake McCarthy gets the nod this year, he would become the eighth different Opening Day left fielder in the past eight seasons, making LF arguably the Rockies’ most inconsistent position over the past decade. 

On the Mound 

The franchise leader in Opening Day starts is Kyle Freeland. The Denver native has made four Opening Day starts and appears likely to make his fifth this season. 

Germán Márquez is next with three starts. Others include familiar names like Jorge De La Rosa, Jason Jennings, and Aaron Cook — along with surprises like Kyle Kendrick, Kip Wells, and Joe Kennedy. 

Opening Day Oddities 

There are also some strange historical oddities buried in these lineups. 

After trading Nolan Arenado, who had started seven consecutive Opening Days, the Rockies replaced him at third base for Opening Day 2021 with… his cousin, Josh Fuentes. 

It was the first Opening Day after the trade, and the family connection made for one of the stranger trivia notes in franchise history. 

Kris Bryant’s lack of availability has been unfortunate. Seeing him on the field in a Rockies uniform sometimes feels about as rare as spotting a puffin, yet he has somehow appeared in the last four Opening Day lineups — starting at left field, right field, first base, and DH.

Another fun tidbit involves Chris Iannetta, who holds the franchise record for Opening Day starts at catcher with six. Those starts came across two separate stints with the Rockies. 

Iannetta made his fourth Opening Day start with Colorado on April 1, 2011, then didn’t make another until March 29, 2018 — a seven-year gap between Opening Day starts with the same franchise. 

To me, the strangest Opening Day lineups came in 2004 and 2005. Those were years when the Rockies were cycling through veterans, short-term roster fixes, and rebuilding pieces before the club eventually turned the corner toward the 2007 pennant. 

Those lineups featured names like Kit Pellow, JD Closser, Jeromy Burnitz, Dustan Mohr, and Shawn Estes — a group that reads today like a particularly deep baseball trivia question. 

Looking ahead

Looking ahead to 2026, several players are hoping to make their first Opening Day lineup, while a few newcomers are vying for their first Opening Day start with the Rockies. 

Some names to watch include TJ Rumfield, Charlie Condon (No. 1 PuRP), Zac Veen (No. 9 PuRP), and Kyle Karros. Will this be the start of a new streak? 

There are also a few current players quietly building streaks. 

Ezequiel Tovar is likely to make his fourth consecutive Opening Day start, while Brenton Doyle could make his third. Hunter Goodman and Jordan Beck are both looking for their second. 

Whether the 2026 lineup ends up memorable or forgettable, Rockies history suggests one thing is almost guaranteed: It won’t look the same next year. 

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Signs Point to Chase Dollander Boosting the Rockies’ Rotation in 2026 | SI.com  

Dominic Minchella highlights why the Rockies are hopeful that Chase Dollander could become a key piece of the team’s future rotation. The article acknowledges Dollander hasn’t yet found consistent success in the majors and that Coors Field presents a uniquely difficult environment for young pitchers. Still, learning how to pitch effectively at Coors is part of the challenge— and part of what could define Dollander’s development this season. 

Beck zoned in on keeping moving forward | MLB.com 

In this article from MLB.com, Thomas Harding looks at Jordan Beck’s continued development as he tries to take another step forward. The piece notes that Beck reached the majors after a relatively short time in the minor leagues, which means he’s still learning and adjusting at the big-league level. If that growth continues, the Rockies believe Beck has the tools to become an important piece of their outfield. 

20th & Blake: Handicapping the Colorado Rockies’ first-base battle | milehighsports.com 

In this 18-and-a-half-minute video from Mile High Sports, Drew Creasman breaks down the Rockies’ unsettled first base battle as spring training winds down. He looks at several candidates — including T.J. Rumfield, Troy Johnston, and Charlie Condon — and weighs their chances of claiming the job. 

Good morning, baseball fans!

The San Francisco Giants will be at home for the two games this weekend.

First up, they will play the Arizona Diamondbacks at 1:05 p.m. PDT on Saturday, which will have broadcasts on NBC Sports Bay Area for local fans and MLB Network for out-of-market fans. Radio coverage will be available on KNBR.

Sunday, they will play the Milwaukee Brewers at 1:05 p.m. and this game will have radio coverage available on KNBR.

While we wait, I thought we’d watch another fun video from the Giants social media team. Earlier this week, I shared a video from their YouTube channel of Ron Washington running first base drills with Jerar Encarnación. They recently put out another in that same series, with Washington working with Luis Arraez. So I thought we could watch that this morning.

Grab your coffee, settle in, and enjoy!

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

The MLB regular season is less than two weeks away, and teams and players across the league are just about geared up and ready, whether they’re fine-tuning in Arizona or Florida or letting it fly in the World Baseball Classic. Thanks to the WBC, relevant baseball is already here, and not a week after the tournament concludes will we have Opening Night between the Yankees and Giants to greet us.

With the season about to kick off, we asked Yankees fans who they thought was the Yankees’ primary foe entering the year:

Unsurprisingly, the reigning AL champs won this poll in a landslide. The Blue Jays tied with the Yankees for the most wins in the American League last season before handling the Bombers in the ALDS en route to the pennant. Though they fell just short in the World Series, Toronto moved aggressively in the offseason to bolster their chances at a repeat run through the AL, landing Dylan Cease on a seven-year deal, while also adding NPB star Kazuma Okamoto and pitchers Cody Ponce and Tyler Rogers. To wit, most projections have the Yankees and the Blue Jays neck-and-neck at the top of the AL East.

The Red Sox come in second here above the Mariners, in part perhaps because Boston is obviously a direct (and hated) division rival, while Seattle feels like a far-off threat. But the Mariners, in the grand scheme of things, might be strongest AL team the Yankees have to deal with this year. Those projections that have the Yankees and Jays locked at the top of the AL East? They also have the Mariners projected to lead the AL in wins. The M’s didn’t have a super flashy offseason, but made a couple solid moves to augment a roster that came achingly close to the pennant last year, re-signing Josh Naylor and then adding Brendan Donovan in a trade with the Cardinals. If Seattle’s typically strong rotation bounces back from an iffy 2025, they will be a force to be reckoned with.

Now, on to the cellar of the Junior Circuit:

This is Chicago’s crown to lose, though the Angels are pushing them in the race to the bottom. The White Sox “rebounded” from their historically poor 2024, looking more like a normal, terrible team rather than a mind-bendingly bad one. A few young talents, like Kyle Teel, Colson Montgomery, and Shane Smith provided bright spots, though unfortunately Teel is already down after injuring his hamstring in the World Baseball Classic. The White Sox also added Munetaka Murakami to the mix, the kind of risky but high-upside play that it feels like the Pale Hose should be making.

If you squint, it’s possible to see the White Sox rebuild moving in a positive direction. The Angels, though, seem stuck in purgatory, aimlessly wandering through the desert. Their roster is close to barren beyond Zack Neto, Yusei Kikuchi, and the still-fighting Mike Trout, and their farm system looks unlikely to provide much help any time soon. Dark times indeed in Anaheim.

These next two are MLB-wide polls:

PED’s are unfortunately in the headlines right now, with Jurickson Profar getting suspended for the entire 2026 season after a second positive test, while Phillies outfielder Johan Rojas received an 80-game suspension after his first positive test. Profar has fully torpedoed what was once a great story, one of a former top prospect finally making good after a decade-long journey through the majors. Instead, he will likely always be remembered for his two PED suspensions.

Less than half of fans feel that PED’s aren’t a major problem, and it’s easy to argue that recency bias is suppressing that number bit. As disappointing as it was to see two big leaguers popped in the span of a week, from 2023 to 2025, just five players were suspended under the league’s doping policy. Unless MLB is simply failing at detecting juicers, there just haven’t been many guys turning to PED’s in recent years, with the exception of the couple of cases that just came down.

Fans are rather split on whether the league’s current punishments are harsh enough. Currently, a first positive test nets an 80-game suspension, a second yields a season-long suspension, and a third leads to a lifetime ban. These punishments, which have been in effect for 12 years now, are notably harsher than previous PED policies, which had much shorter suspensions for first- and second-time offenders. That those harsher policies have coincided with a pretty low number of positive tests would suggest that players are being sufficiently deterred from turning to drugs, but it stands to reason that unless the league adopts a literal zero-tolerance policy, some fans will be left feeling that the rules aren’t stringent enough.

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These survey results are sponsored by FanDuel.

Andrew Painter’s start yesterday had some good and some bad to it. It’s important to remember that he’s still just in that third start of the spring and that he’s likely working on some things right now. Still, he’s getting outs and that’s what matters.

On to the links.

Phillies news:

• Jose Alvarado had a tough year on the field, but a tougher year off of it. He watched as his son battled leukemia ($).
• Phillies Nation has their top 15 prospects of the season. We had some disagreement, but it’s a solid list.
• Andrew Painter’s third spring start showed that he is learning, using “the mentality of a big leaguer” this time around ($).

MLB news:

• Jeff Passan gives his massive MLB season preview. This is one of those must reads to get ready for your season.
• Danny Coulombe was still left on the free agent market, but the Red Sox finally swooped in and acquired his services.
• Jose Berrios is going to see a specialist for his ailing right elbow. That might hurt the Blue Jays’ depth in the rotation.

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

After asking fans to round out the Opening Day roster last week, we followed that up with a question about who should be Milwaukee’s Opening Day starter this week.

Brandon Woodruff seems like the obvious choice, but after recent news that he may not be quite ready for an Opening Day outing, it’s an open door. Beyond Woodruff, the next two options are a pair of guys coming off solid rookie campaigns in Jacob Misiorowski and Chad Patrick. Other potential choices include Aaron Ashby, Robert Gasser, DL Hall, and Kyle Harrison.

Here’s what the results showed:

Perhaps unsurprisingly, Miz got the bulk of the vote, coming in at 50%. Woodruff netted 28% of the vote, followed by Patrick at 11% and the “Other” category at 10%.

Among the three named options, Patrick has struggled the most this spring, though he’s also pitched the most with five total innings (5.40 ERA with seven strikeouts). Misiorowski went 3 1/3 frames with one run allowed in his lone appearance, though he also went two innings with one run allowed in Milwaukee’s exhibition against Great Britain. Across those 5 1/3 innings, he’s totaled 11 strikeouts but allowed six walks and four hits.

Woodruff made his spring debut on March 7 against the Angels, working two scoreless innings with two hits allowed, a walk, and a hit batter with three strikeouts on 32 pitches. At the rate he’s going, I wouldn’t expect him to be able to pitch more than 75 or 80-ish pitches come Opening Day, which makes the case for Misiorowski or someone else a bit clearer.

Disagree (or agree) with the results? Weight in in the comments! Thanks for participating in our Reacts survey, and be sure to use FanDuel Sportsbook for all of your sports betting needs.

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More than half the Spring Training games are in the books. The Cardinals have played to a winning record, showed off some top prospects, and avoided catastrophic injuries. This is the first year that all spring games have been Statcast tracked, giving us plenty of data to keep an eye on while we wait for the real games to begin. Today I’m checking in on a few early Statcast indicators to see which Cardinals might be showing real underlying changes. As always, small-sample-size, spring training caveats apply to every word of this article!

Starting Pitchers

Counter to most of our offseason discussions, Oli Marmol has repeatedly mentioned that he sees the pitching as the strength of the Cardinals. Early spring Statcast numbers offer at least a little support for that optimism.

Velocity 

As has been widely discussed, Dustin May and Richard Fitts rolled into camp ready to rip the fastball as both are averaging above 97 MPH on their four-seam fastballs at 97.7 and 97.4, respectively. Matthew Liberatore’s velocity has hovered around 94 MPH on both his fastball and his sinker, but his stuff has looked great overall (more on that shortly). Kyle Leahy’s velocity is down about 1.5 MPH as he ramps up and moves from the bullpen to the rotation. Andre Pallante started off the spring in the low 90s, but was up to 94 MPH in his last outing, so probably nothing to be concerned about there. Michael McGreevy’s fastball is down almost 2 MPH and it has actually gone down each of his last two starts. This has probably reached the keep an eye on it stage as he does not have the fastball shape to get away with too much of a velocity drop. On the prospect side, Quinn Mathews has maintained his regained velocity sitting in the 94-95 MPH range in each of his appearances. 

Swing and Miss

Matthew Liberatore has quietly put together a dominating spring training with a 14/1 K/BB rate across 10 innings. Yesterday, Eno Sarris tweeted the Stuff+ pitching leaders among starting pitchers this spring.

Spring Training Starting Pitcher Stuff+ leaders includes two young Yankees and two young Cardinals pic.twitter.com/fM5x2Tnqlt

— Eno Sarris (@enosarris) March 13, 2026

If these improvements for Liberatore and Fitts hold, this would be a huge development for the staff. The Cardinals haven’t had a starting pitcher register above a 107 since the inception of the statistic in 2020. For Liberatore, this improvement in stuff is backed up by the numbers as he is generating the second-lowest contact rate in baseball this spring, behind only Chase Burns, as batters are making contact on only 60% of their swings against him (min 60 swings against). Liberatore isn’t the only lefty that has proved tough to square up. Brycen Mautz ranks 4th in all of baseball so far this spring, generating swing and miss with a 61% contact rate. He had good success with his fastball (65% contact rate), but his slider was absolutely devastating, generating a swing and miss almost half the time. Mathews has missed a ton of bats too with 66% contact rate in aggregate. Here are the contact rates against so far for the starting pitchers.

As a point of reference, the league-wide contact rate against is 77%. For starting pitchers, 70% is elite, potential Cy Young votes territory. Small-sample-size caveats abound here, but you can start to see the outline of a staff that can miss some bats here. Leahy’s contact against will be worth watching as we get into the season. He has never been great at missing bats, despite having stuff that grades out well, so seeing him start off slow in this department is not ideal.

Speaking of Contact Rates

On the hitting side, Joshua Baez and Nolan Gorman have largely had their careers defined by power and ability, or lack thereof, to make contact. Both have had good springs offensively, but in very different ways. 

Baez did not disappoint in his Spring Training cameo as he blasted three home runs and slashed .333/.417/.762 in 24 plate appearances. Baez hit four out of 15 balls in excess of 100 MPH and showed off his ability to drive the ball in the air, which is crucial to get to in-game power. While his strikeout rate was acceptable at 25%, his underlying numbers were concerning as he ran only a 59% contact rate. As a point of reference, the lowest contact rate among qualified major leaguers last season was 67.6% by Aaron Judge. Christopher Morel has a career contact rate of 65.5%. 24 plate appearances is nowhere near the number needed for this statistic to stabilize, but this will be one of the key numbers that I will be watching for Baez as he moves up to Memphis. If you can take anything away from a spring training performance, Baez confirmed why he is one of the more polarizing prospects in baseball. If you are high on him, you can look at his results and see a player that will be ready to hit in the middle of a big-league lineup by this summer. If you are a non-believer, you can see the unplayable contact rate that plagued Baez for his first four professional seasons. My prediction: if Baez can keep his contact rate from Double-A in the mid-70s, he will be a star. 

Nolan Gorman, plagued by a career strikeout rate of 34%, has fanned in only 12.9% of his trips to the plate this spring. Is this small sample-size noise, or has Gorman made a real adjustment? Looking at Gorman’s seven-game rolling average K% for his entire career, you can see he hasn’t touched a stretch like this in over two years.

I am not sure what to make of this, but given where Gorman has been over the last two seasons, I will take this as an encouraging sign that he has made an adjustment of some kind. If the improved contact ability is real, it will allow Gorman to access more in-game power and perhaps give the Cardinals the home run pop the lineup is currently missing. 

Bo Naylor and Tugboat Wilkinson shone for the Canadian World Baseball Classic team in a losing effort, and Bazaana returned to the Guardians in Cactus League play.

The Canadians lost to the USA 5-3, but Bo Naylor went 2-for-4 with this two-run homer:

Bo Canada, that’s an excellent nickname. Can I write a baseball-themed parody of O Canada or is that considered sacreligious?

Meanwhile, Matt “Tugboat” Wilkinson made some pretty great hitters look silly in two scoreless innings, with two walks and two strikeouts.

Tugboat 😷 pic.twitter.com/XqXGEfyT7D

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) March 14, 2026

I suspect we will see Tugboat in the bigs for someone someday… perhaps as a reliever. The Dominican Republic destroyed Korea and will face the USA team next. Puerto Rico plays Italy at 3PM ET today, and Venezuela plays Japan at 9PM ET.

The Guardians lost a Cactus League game yesterday with Nolan Jones, Stuart Fairchild and Dayan Frias hitting doubles. Joey Cantillo struck out six in four and two-thirds but surrendered a homer and gave up three runs. Colin Holderman and Peyton Pallette both had clean innings, but Koby Allard did not. Travis Bazzana returned but went 0 for 2 with a strikeout.

Make sure to check out our fellow CtC user jeffguards82’s interview with Travis Hafner, here. Jeff did nice work. The Guardians play the Padres at 4:10PM ET today. Daniel Schneemann was a late scratch yesterday with a sprained ankle, but it’s not expected to be a very lengthy time away, as it’s apparently not a serious sprain.

A three-time World Series champion, Dodgers utilityman Kiké Hernández has had his fair share of clutch hits, home runs and game-saving, series-defining moments that will forever be etched in baseball lore.

Earlier this month, however, he witnessed something new.

On March 7, hours after Atlanta Braves second baseman Ozzie Albies hit the first walk-off home run in World Baseball Classic history to power Team Netherlands past Nicaragua in Miami, Athletics prospect Darell Hernaiz delivered a game-winning blast of his own to lift Team Puerto Rico over Panama in extra innings in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Hernández stormed out of the dugout at Hiram Bithorn Stadium alongside his teammates to greet Hernaiz at home plate and celebrate the monumental moon shot.

Read more:Blake Snell throws first bullpen session of spring training, taking key step forward

“There had never been a walk-off homer in the history of the WBC, and we [got] to see two in the same day, which was pretty cool,” Hernández said at his clubhouse stall at Camelback Ranch. “For me personally, I was running to home plate, conscious that I wasn’t necessarily part of the team so I couldn’t run laps around home plate, like I did on Freddie [Freeman’s] walk-off homers [in the World Series], but it’s still up there as one of those really cool moments that I’ll always remember.”

Unable to participate in this year’s WBC as he recovers from offseason left elbow surgery, Hernández left Dodgers camp to spend the first leg of the tournament with Team Puerto Rico.

“I got to experience it in a different way this year,” said Hernández, who has played twice in the WBC. “I was just kind of there as a fan, almost in like a coaching role. I get a lot more nervous when I’m not playing, because I really don’t have any power over it. I don’t have any control over what’s going on, so it was pretty nerve-wracking.”

He added: “Obviously, seeing that stadium packed out was pretty special. And of course, I’m still bummed that I don’t get to be a part of it, but I still support my people, and I’m still hoping they can win.”

During a Team Puerto Rico news conference last week, Hernández told reporters in Spanish that the WBC rates above the World Series. Hernández, who's played in five World Series, elaborated on his statement.

“I said it feels bigger,” Hernández said. “I didn’t say it’s bigger. Atmosphere, crowd, you’re representing your country. You’re not representing a city. You don’t always choose who you play for. Sometimes that’s out of your control and you know, when you’re representing your country, you’re playing along with your homies. Sometimes you’re playing along with people that you grew up with. Your people back home are rooting for you, at times.

"You’re playing in the United States, you’re playing for different teams, and sometimes they’re rooting against you. And for us, coming from our little island, the things that we can do for our island while the tournament is going on, it becomes a lot bigger than baseball, to where, it does not always feel that way when you’re playing for an organization in Major League Baseball.”

Hernández will be in Houston for Puerto Rico’s quarterfinal game against Italy on Saturday, and he said he doesn’t know if he would go to Miami if Puerto Rico reached the semifinals.

"I haven't had the conversation yet with Andrew," Hernández said, referring to Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman. "I only asked permission to go to Houston. We win in Houston, he might get another text message if I can go along for the ride, but haven't decided yet."

Read more:Dodgers prospect James Tibbs III attempts to show staying power after multiple trades

As for his rehab from surgery, Hernández said he's progressing rapidly and hopes to return in late May, when his 60-day IL stint expires.

“I’m not surprised that it’s going well,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “End of May, beginning of June is probably a safe bet. Something like that.”

Kyle Tucker hits first home run in Cactus League play

Dodgers left fielder Kyle Tucker hit his first home run of spring training to lead off the sixth inning of Friday's 10-7 win over the Seattle Mariners in Peoria, Ariz. Tucker also walked twice and scored twice as the Dodgers also got homers from Teoscar Hernández and James Tibbs III, his third of the spring.

"Man, it's just fun to watch him compete in the batter's box," Roberts said of Tucker.

Evan Phillips, Brusdar Graterol continue build-up

Injured relief pitchers Evan Phillips and Brusdar Graterol are progressing in their respective rehabs, Roberts said before Friday's game. Phillips is recovering from Tommy John surgery, while Graterol is working his way back from right shoulder surgery. Graterol hasn’t pitched in a game since the 2024 World Series.

“It’s going,” Roberts said. “I think [Phillips had] a pen today. It’s a short ten to fifteen-pitch pen, but it’s good effort, and he’s trending in the right direction. I think that with Evan, with some other guys that are continuing to build up, Graterol is another one, just continuing to build up, so they’re in their progression, but they’re still a ways away.”

Sign up for more Dodgers news with Dodgers Dugout. Delivered at the start of each series.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

Good morning everyone, just for the weekend, we’ll be returning to our traditional Today on PSA open thread format. It’s sure to be a busy weekend, with the World Baseball Classic in its knockout rounds, and spring training starting to head towards its end. It’s a funny piece of dissonance, switching from watching high-stakes, high-level games in a major international tournament to monitoring low-key preseason matchups. It’s like watching two storylines at once, with one at the climax and the other still working through the opening exposition. That twin experience will continue today, with a pair of big quarterfinal matchups in the WBC, as well as some spring training action, which in Yankees camp features Max Fried making a tuneup start.

This morning on the site, Kento will recap last night’s WBC action, which featured one fairly tense match and one romp. Peter will write up an interesting entry in our Yankees Birthday series on Butch Wynegar, and Andres will continue our MLB Preview series with a rundown on the Tigers, before Josh provides the coverage of today’s game, which will see Fried take on the Phillies.

Today’s Matchup

New York Yankees vs. Philadelphia Phillies

Time: 1:05 p.m. EST

Video: Gotham Sports App, NBCSP+

Venue: George M. Steinbrenner Field, Tampa, FL

Questions/Prompts:

1. Who do you favor in today’s WBC matchups, between Italy and Puerto Rico, and Japan and Venezuela?

2. Do you want to see Gerrit Cole make an appearance in Grapefruit League play, or would you rather see him be more conservative and wait for a rehab stint before making appearances in games?

LAKELAND, FL – The Detroit Tigers lost, 7-5, to the Pittsburgh Pirates on Friday, March 13, at Publix Field at Joker Marchant Stadium in spring training.

Detroit is 4-11 with four ties in Grapefruit League play.

What happened

The Tigers matched up against right-hander Mike Clevinger.

Once a mainstay in the Cleveland Guardians' rotation in the late 2010s, over the past couple of seasons, Clevinger has failed to stick in the big leagues – resulting in a minor-league contract with the Pirates in 2026.

Facing the Tigers, Clevinger allowed four walks and registered five strikeouts, but he surrendered just one hit across 4⅓ innings.

The only hit off Clevinger came from Wenceel Pérez on an infield single with one out in the fifth inning. After that, both Colt Keith and Jace Jung walked to load the bases.

TWO WEEKS MATTER: Parker Meadows must show two things to make Tigers' Opening Day roster

The Pirates replaced Clevinger with right-handed reliever Joshua Loeschorn.

Parker Meadows took advantage of the pitching change by shooting a middle-middle cutter into center field for a two-run single with two outs in the fifth inning, trimming the Tigers' deficit to 6-2.

It was a much-needed hit for Meadows.

Starting off

Right-hander Casey Mize made his fourth appearance this spring.

The 28-year-old allowed six runs on six hits and four walks with two strikeouts across three-plus innings, throwing 67 pitches. The Tigers used the spring training re-entry rule to remove him with two outs in the second inning, then send him back to the mound for the third.

Mize is still trying to lock in his mechanics.

"My mechanics are off. Something is out of whack," Mize said. "I look forward to chatting with Robin [Lund] and Fett [Chris Fetter] to figure out what's going on. I just feel like my timing is still off. I've got to figure that out."

EYES ON MIZE: Casey Mize ready for contract year with Tigers: 'I'm certainly aware'

Of his four walks, all of them occurred in the first two innings, including three walks in a stretch of five batters in the second inning. He walked both Alika Williams and Jake Mangum on eight total pitches.

The walk from Mangum happened with the bases loaded for a 1-0 Pirates lead.

In the third inning, Jhostynxon Garcia blasted Mize's middle-middle slider for a two-run home run to left field, producing a 108.5 mph exit velocity. In the fourth, Mize allowed back-to-back singles to Mangum and Tyler Callihan with one out, leading to his removal from a concerning start.

"It's important that I feel good going into Arizona [against the Diamondbacks]," Mize said, referencing the second series of the regular season, with two more spring starts before then. "But I'm not going to freak out, either. It's spring training, and I'm working through some things."

At the plate

The Tigers added three runs in the seventh inning.

But it was too little, too late.

In the seventh, Woody Hadeen (single), Seth Stephenson (walk) and Jack Penney (walk) loaded the bases with two outs. From there, the Tigers took advantage of defensive mistakes from the Pirates, scoring one run on a wild pitch and two runs on a fielding error.

The Pirates, though, retired the final seven batters.

First baseman Spencer Torkelson went 0-for-3 with two strikeouts, dropping his batting average to .160 in 10 games; left fielder Riley Greene went 0-for-3, lowering his to .208 in 10 games; and top prospect Kevin McGonigle went 0-for-2 with one walk, bringing his average to .280 in 13 games.

On the mound

Right-handed reliever Brenan Hanifee replaced Mize with runners on the corners and one out in the fourth inning.

Hanifee struck out Konnor Griffin – MLB's No. 1 prospect – on four pitches, with Griffin swinging through three consecutive middle-middle sinkers for the second out of the inning. He had a chance to escape the jam, only to fumble a dribbler from Joey Bart for a run-scoring infield single, making it 5-0 Pirates.

Even worse, the mistake meant Hanifee had to face left-handed hitter Endy Rodríguez.

Here's why that matters: In 2025, right-handed hitters (such as Griffin and Bart) hit .220 off Hanifee with a .549 OPS, while left-handed hitters (such as Rodríguez) hit .373 with a .995 OPS.

ROSTER MOVES: Tigers cut three pitchers from spring camp, including arm with big upside

Rodríguez took advantage of the opportunity, dropping Hanifee's changeup into right field for an RBI single and extending the Pirates' lead to 6-0. On the play, Bart was thrown out at home plate on a relay started by right fielder Kerry Carpenter, with catcher Jake Rogers applying the tag.

After Hanifee, right-handed reliever Beau Brieske completed a scoreless fifth inning and left-handed reliever Tyler Holton tossed a scoreless sixth inning. The duo combined to retire six of seven batters, with Brieske issuing a two-out walk in the fifth.

Both runs with Hanifee on the mound were charged to Mize.

Three stars

1. Meadows, 2. Holton, 3. Brieske.

Next up

Saturday (1:07 p.m., Detroit SportsNet/MLB Network) vs. Toronto Blue Jays in Dunedin.

Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him @EvanPetzold.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Tigers' Casey Mize 'not going to freak out' after latest game

Record: 9-12. Change on 2025: -1.5. 5-inning Record: 5-14-2.

The D-Backs responded to an ugly loss against the Rockies yesterday with some surprising power during an uneven – but victorious – performance in Surprise. Merrill Kelly made his Spring Training debut and looked all right. He threw 36 pitches with a slight emphasis on his fastball (36%) compared to his usual usage from last season (23%) with a mix of his offspeed stuff as well. Unsurprisingly, the velocity was a little down as he continues to ramp up from the back soreness that has been plaguing him since reporting to camp last month. There were definitely positives to take away from the outing including three whiffs on his changeup which was an absolute weapon last year with a 34% whiff rate that were balanced out by some negatives – like giving up six hits to a less-than-stellar lineup. After a scoreless first inning that included a single and error from Tommy Troy, Kelly returned for the second and got smacked around including a grand rule double and triple from Jonathan India and John Rave. He would exit the game after allowing two runs in 1.2 innings, but the bigger question will be how his back holds up over the coming days.

At the dish, Jorge Barrosa was the unquestioned sparkplug for the D-Backs, collecting a pair of walks and a hit out of the leadoff spot, but there were plenty of offensive highlights up and down the lineup. Jansel Luis hit his first homer of Spring Training as the 21-year old looks to start adding some pop to his average-ish batting skills while AJ Vukovich continues his offensive barrage this spring with his third roundtripper in the first two weeks. It was also nice to see some continued offensive contributions from Ben McLaughlin – a ninth-rounder back in 2024 who moved across three minor league levels last year while slashing .282/.396/.446 in 101 games. Those kinds of numbers will quickly turn some heads and he’s shown little signs of slowing down so far this spring as he owns a .375/.545/.438 slash line while walking as much as he strikes out.

Hopefully the D-Backs can continue the positive momentum as they take on the Giants tomorrow with Opening Day starter Zac Gallen on the bump opposite Adrian Houser.

In the preview, I noted that Kade Anderson would face a real test with the top third of the Dodgers lineup tonight, and his results were like my typical attempts to pick up women: 0 for 3. Miguel Rojas led off with a double off the 410 marker on the centerfield wall. Anderson then tried to avoid the middle of the zone against Kyle Tucker, but ended up avoiding the zone entirely, with a five-pitch walk. Teoscar Hernandez put the cap on it by going yard to right field. Anderson picked up the next three outs, but, even then, he was consistently missing arm-side. His velo’s up a bit from his first outing, but this was the first time he looked simply overmatched.

He settled down a bit in the second, punching out Nick Senzel on a Bugs Bunny changeup and Eliezer Alfonso on a fastball. Anderson’s third inning was shaping up to be another rough one when he walked Tucker again, but Brandon Donovan cleaned it up with a very quick-handed double play, and Anderson completed his day with his third strikeout, this time on a 94-mph fastball. While he looked less impressive than his first couple outings, I still came away pleased, as he never seemed to lose his composure even as things were going off the rails in the first. A guy in his third pro game got beat by some of the Dodgers’ everyday players; that’s hardly cause for concern.

The bottom of the Mariners’ lineup tried to back him up a bit with a rally in the second where back-to-back doubles from Rhylan Thomas and my boy Brock Rodden tied the game up at three. But that was just about all the bats did all night other than when they drew three free passes off Blake Treinen in the fifth, but they couldn’t cash any of those runs in.

The middle of the Mariners bullpen was the most impressive contingent tonight, with Carlos Vargas and Jose Ferrer recording six outs on 33 pitches with five pieces of weak contact and a strikeout. The strikeout was the separator between them that secures Ferrer tonight’s Sun Hat Award for making a notable individual contribution to the game. The pair’s competence was a welcome reprieve from Gabe Speier surrendering a home run to Bo Naylor in the WBC. You’ll forgive me for being too distraught to follow the rest of the Mariners game closely.

It wasn’t as if I was missing much. The sixth inning saw a bizarre face-off between Kyle Tucker and Robinson Ortiz (who I always think of as “Robinson Ortiz, Caribbean fusion,” a phrase that lives in my head rent-free). We got an ABS challenge that overturned a call, followed by a pitch-clock violation, followed by a monster home run. Our beautiful game.

Robinson Ortiz, Caribbean fusion couldn’t find the zone after that and got pulled before recording an out. Tyler Cleveland came in to relieve him, so we got to hear another team’s broadcast booth marvel at his funky delivery. Despite walking his first batter, Cleveland looked pretty good, right up to the point that he gave up a three-run home run. Although that ball was barely fair and barely over the wall, it brought the score to 9-3, and a couple batters later, the second base umpire had to call a runner out when he was safe just to make it all stop.

They played three more innings because the rules mandate they must. But as a special reward for those who stayed all the way to the end, Colt Emerson hit a three-run home run when the game was one strike away from being over.

The Dodgers poured it on with a six-run sixth against the Mariners in a 10-7 Cactus League win in Peoria Friday night. Yency Almonte nearly blew the victory with a three-run ninth, but the cushion the Dodgers created early kept them ahead.

The warm night in Arizona helped three home run balls fly high for the Dodgers. Teoscar Hernandez homered in back-to-back nights for the Dodgers. Kyle Tucker hit his first home run in Dodger Blue. James Tibbs III also hit a three-run shot for his third spring homer.

Miguel Rojas didn’t waste any time with a booming leadoff double to deep center field. Rojas took advantage of some lazy defense by Seattle and swiped third base. Tucker drew a walk, and Hernandez flexed his power with a three-run shot before the first out of the game was recorded.

Big swing from Teoscar! #DodgersSTpic.twitter.com/HfP0gV5zLn

— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) March 14, 2026

Knack pitched a solid inning in the first, but the Mariners made him work in the second.

The former 2020 second-round pick is vying for a spot in the rotation for the Dodgers. He’s only entering his second big-league season as a 28-year old. Knack pitched consecutively this spring training while Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto are away with Japan in the World Baseball Classic.

The early-season injury to Blake Snell and Gavin Stone’s shoulder issues give Knack the opportunity. While Knack and Blake Treinen both struggled in a spring loss to the Rockies last week, Knack made more promising contact in his last outing.

Rhylan Thomas attacked a changeup from Knack to make it a 3-2 game in the bottom of the third with a two-run double. Brock Rodden got a hold of a fastball to tie the game with a RBI double.

Knack struck out four batters in two innings of work, but he also allowed three runs on three hits with a walk.

The aforementioned Treinen came in to pitch in the fifth inning with the 3-3 tie still intact. He didn’t instill much confidence by walking the first two batters he faced. It took 30 pitches in the inning, but Treinen pitched around three walks to escape with the game still tied.

Tucker broke the tie in the top of the sixth with his first home run of the spring with the Dodgers. The tie-breaker was a solo shot off reliever Robinson Ortiz.

The first #DodgersST homer for Kyle! pic.twitter.com/Kj5GACxuvz

— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) March 14, 2026

The Dodgers collected their fifth and sixth run thanks to a Santiago Espinal infield single and Nick Senzel force out that brought home Michael Siani. The Dodgers kept pouring it on in the sixth. Tibbs III picked up his third home run this spring to make it 9-3.

Tibbs crushes it to right field! 👀#Dodgers lead 9-3! pic.twitter.com/VlcOyeKsXM

— SportsNet LA (@SportsNetLA) March 14, 2026

Ben Casparius walked two batters in the seventh before he was replaced by Matt Lanzendorfer for his Cactus League debut. The left-hander, drafted out of the University of Virginia, walked two and allowed a run. He also picked up his first strikeout in Dodger Blue.

 Yency Almonte swept back right into our lives when he returned to the mound for the Dodgers in the ninth inning. This would be his second stint with the team as he fights for a roster spot.

Down to their last strike, Colt Emerson hit a three-run shot for the Mariners. Almonte looked terrible, but he had enough cushion and was able to close up shop and secure the spring win. The Dodgers are now 14-6 in Cactus League play.

Up next

The Dodgers and White Sox, roomies, battle each other for the final time this spring at Camelback Ranch at 1:05 p.m. PT on SportsNet LA. Justin Wrobleski starts for the Dodgers and Mike Vasil for Chicago.

It’s been speculated that Albert Pujols could manage in the MLB — but some people in the game believe he should already have a gig in the big leagues.

Pujols, who is the Dominican Republic’s skipper in the 2026 World Baseball Classic, was in the mix for multiple MLB managing jobs this offseason, but they ultimately fell through.

Given Pujols’ stellar playing career, questions have arisen if he could translate that greatness to the managerial level.

Longtime skipper Dusty Baker said he thinks that the transition would be easy for the 11-time All-Star.

“It shouldn’t be someday. He should be managing right now,” Baker, who managed Nicaragua in the WBC, told The Athletic this week. “There are a lot of guys that are managing that don’t have the experience on the field of Albert Pujols. I didn’t have much experience either. I coached for a while, and then I had experience in the fall league.

“There are a lot of guys in the game that don’t have the experience that Albert Pujols has, that don’t have the knowledge that Albert Pujols has or don’t have the respect from the players.”

Juan Soto, who is playing under Pujols during this year’s tournament, told reporters that the former first baseman is a pleasure to have in the clubhouse, saying that he “understands how we feel.”

“It’s truly incredible having a legend like Albert in the clubhouse, leading every single one of us as our manager,” Juan Soto told reporters in Spanish, according to ESPN. “He’s been in our shoes and truly understands how we feel, how the pieces move on the field, every swing we take, every decision we make.

“He’s right there with us through it all, and that makes it something truly special and beautiful.”

During the offseason, Pujols was in talks about managerial openings with the Angels — whom he spent 10 seasons playing for — along with the Padres and Orioles.

Each team went in a different direction, however, and Pujols admits that he still doesn’t “know everything” when it comes to managing a club.

“I had managers such as Tony La Russa, Dave Roberts, Joe Maddon, Oli Marmol, Hall of Famers,” Pujols said, according to The Athletic. “You learn a lot from them. … This is something that I have been developing, and I have the chance to go to the stadium and learn something new every day.

“I don’t think that, just because I have been here for 23 years, I know everything. Every time I come to the stadium, I have this open mindset to learn, and I will learn with every play and go back to the hotel thinking, ‘Well, I could have done this a different way.’”

Observations from Mets spring training on Friday:

Steady Benge

Carson Benge went 1-for-4 with an RBI single in the Mets’ split squad 8-3 victory over the Nationals in West Palm Beach, Fla.

Benge, who is attempting to win the starting right field job, owns an .858 OPS this spring.

Hudson plunge

Lefty reliever Bryan Hudson allowed two earned runs, two hits and one walk against the Nationals over two-thirds of an inning.

Hudson is competing for a bullpen spot.

Caught my eye

Clay Holmes induced eight groundouts over five innings in his relief appearance against the Marlins in Port St. Lucie.

Saturday’s schedule

Freddy Peralta is scheduled to face the Astros in West Palm Beach.