Category: Baseball

It’s Wednesday evening here at BCB After Dark: the grooviest get-together of night owls, early risers, new parents and Cubs fans abroad. It’s so good to see you. We’re busy tonight, but we’ll make room for you. There’s no cover charge. The dress code is casual. We’re getting a table ready for you now. Bring your own beverage.

BCB After Dark is the place for you to talk baseball, music, movies, or anything else you need to get off your chest, as long as it is within the rules of the site. The late-nighters are encouraged to get the party started, but everyone else is invited to join in as you wake up the next morning and into the afternoon.

Last night I asked you if we should “Let Pete be Pete” or whether he should tone down his fiery nature. Fully 72 percent of you don’t want Pete Crow-Armstrong to change anything about his personality. The rest were fairly split down the middle between whether PCA should only tone it down on the field or everywhere.

Boy, are Dodgers fans angry about this one. At least the “online” ones. I always have to keep reminding myself that the majority of people aren’t scanning social media for stuff to get angry about.

Here’s the part where we listen to jazz and talk movies. You can skip this part if you want. I mean, you can skip reading the entire thing if you want, but you no doubt realize that it’s too late for that now.

I’ve been re-visiting Miles Davis’ early electric period lately, so I’m going to share some of that with you. Here’s the title track (and all of side two) of In a Silent Way, the album that revolutionized what jazz could be. (And that’s not the first time Miles did that.)

This is the period where Miles was transitioning away from the Second Great Miles Davis Quintet and towards the electric group that played on his next (and more famous) album, Bitches Brew. Wayne Shorter is still on saxophone and Herbie Hancock is still on piano, except that it’s an electric piano and he’s joined by another legendary player on electric piano, Chick Corea. Joe Zawinul, who wrote the first part of this suite, plays the organ. John McLaughlin joins Miles for the first time on electric guitar. Dave Holland has replaced Ron Carter on bass but Tony Williams is still the drummer.

We’re done with the BCB Winter Science Fiction Classic now and we’ll have seven more months before we have to decide what we’ll talk about next winter. That means I have to go back to writing about movies on my own, at least if I want to keep the format of this feature the same. I may temporarily stop writing about movies in a week or so because the World Baseball Classic may be taking up all of my time. But I have a little time to write about film in the meantime.

I’m going to depart from my traditional way of writing about an old movie a week. When writing about the winner of our recent tournament, 2001: A Space Odyssey, I mentioned that the most recent (2022) BFI Sight & Sound critics poll of the greatest films of all time listed 2001 as the sixth-greatest film of all-time. When I went back to the list to double check that, I realized that since I had recently watched director Wong Kar-wai’s 200o film In the Mood for Love, I had seen seven of the top ten films on that list. Since the other three movies were easy enough to track down and watch, I did that. The three films I hadn’t yet seen were director Yasujirō Ozu’s Tokyo Story (1953), director Claire Denis’ Beau Travail (1999) and director Dziga Vertov’s Man with a Movie Camera (1929). Over the past week or so, I’ve watched all three of those films, so I can say I’ve seen the top ten movies of all time, at least according to one list.

So today I thought I’d start by giving you some quick thoughts on all ten of those films. I’m not going to go in depth on any of them and some of them I’ve written about before. I’ll write about the first two tonight and try to get to the rest when I have the chance.

1. Jeanne Dielman, 23 quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles. (1975) Directed by Chantal Akerman. Starring Delphine Seyrig.

I wrote about Jeanne Dielman before and looking back at what I wrote about it, man, was I too harsh. I understand why I was too harsh—I’ll get to that in a minute—but the farther away I get from the ordeal of actually having to watch Jeanne Dielman, the more I’ve come to appreciate it.

The thing that impresses me about Jeanne Dielman is the impact the film has. I originally wrote that I was still thinking about the film three days after having seen it. It’s been three years now since I watched Jeanne Dielman and I’m still thinking about it. This is a movie with the kind of real power that ninety-nine percent of films do not have. It’s genius. I don’t think I got that in 2022. I do now.

Having said that, I wrote that watching it was an ordeal and I stick by that. Akerman seemingly borrowed a lot from experimental theater of the time. I don’t know if she was familiar with the works of Robert Wilson, but that’s what I was reminded of. The film is almost three-and-a-half hours long and nothing happens over the first three hours. That’s not quite true. For example, Dielman drops a brush while cleaning midway through the film and that’s significant, although it doesn’t seem so at the time. But it’s not what any of us in the audience would call action. It’s silently dropping a brush and picking it up. Watching Jeanne Dielman is a test of your endurance. You’ll be rewarded in the end, but it won’t seem worth it while you’re doing it.

Would I put it in my top ten? Maybe. It’s certainly a film that’s changed the way I interact with movies and the farther the actual experience of watching it is in my rearview mirror, the more I enjoy it. I don’t begrudge anyone who voted it number one anymore. But I would not make it my number one and please don’t make me watch it again or I might hate it again.

2. Vertigo. (1958) Directed by Alfred Hitchcock. Starring James Stewart and Kim Novak.

Jeanne Dielman knocked Vertigo off the top spot as Hitchcock’s masterpiece won the previous 2012 poll. I wrote about Vertigo last winter when we did our Alfred Hitchcock tournament. I seeded it as the number-one Hitchcock movie, although the more crowd-pleasing North by Northwest ended up winning the whole thing. (And man, I do love North by Northwest too, so that result didn’t disappoint me.)

I don’t think I truly appreciated Vertigo until I got a 4K UHD Blu-Ray copy of it and could really take in the visual feast that Hitchcock and cinematographer Robert Burks put together. I’m sure the first time I saw Vertigo was on a rented VHS tape on a standard 1980s television with tinny mono sound. I remember for years thinking that Vertigo was just good, but that there were at least a five or six Hitchcock films that were better. The technology of the times couldn’t capture the artistry of Vertigo. I’m not even sure if most theaters in 1958 could capture it, although I’m sure they did a whole lot better than my TV. Psycho, which was made with a TV crew and a TV budget, played a lot better on a VCR than Vertigo ever did.

I had to watch Vertigo three or four times before I realized it’s a masterpiece. It looks gorgeous and every shot is perfectly composed. Speaking of composed, I might prefer the Bernard Herrmann score in other Hitchcock films, but his work on Vertigo is fantastic as well. Both Stewart and Novak give powerful performances. And I guess as I get older, the film’s themes of madness and obsession resonate more with me.

Would I put it in my top ten? Definitely. I’d probably vote for it as number one. Vertigo is everything cinema should be. I could watch it ten more times and never get bored.

Next time, I’ll try to write about Citizen Kane and Tokyo Story.

Welcome back to everyone who skips all that other stuff.

The Cubs got some bad news today as first baseman Tyler Austin underwent knee surgery and would be out for “months,” according to manager Craig Counsell. Now I don’t know if “months” means two months or eight months, but I’m going to assume that with the surgery, recovery and time to ramp back up, Austin is probably out until at least July. Early June would probably be a best-case scenario, but August or September isn’t out of the question. Heck, the entire season is possible.

Austin, 34, who was returning to MLB after a successful six-year career in NPB, isn’t one of the key players on the Cubs roster. But he was expected to fill the role that Justin Turner played last year: a right-handed bat off the bench and depth at first base.

Without Austin, the Cubs are thin at first. Yes, Michael Busch returns and he is one of the top first basemen in the game these days. The Cubs have also said that they expect Busch to play a lot more against left-handed starters this year. But on the days Busch doesn’t play, there aren’t a lot of good options. Rookie Moisés Ballesteros has a fair amount of experience at first in the minor leagues, but he also bats left-handed and thus isn’t a good choice to give Busch a day off against a tough lefty. He’s also not a terrific defensive first baseman, although he may be at least OK there, which is more than you can say about his catching.

Ian Happ has played 11 games in the majors at first and I suppose that whoever ends up winning the fourth outfielder role could man left field while Happ is at first. But that doesn’t solve the right-handed bat on the bench problem, nor is it really a long-term solution if Busch got hurt. None of the three non-roster invitee outfielders, Dylan Carlson, Chas McCormick and Michael Conforto, have any real experience at first base. Conforto is a left-handed bat to boot. (Carlson is a switch-hitter who hits lefties better.) Matt Shaw is a right-handed bat off the bench, but he has zero experience at first base. Plus, the Cubs want him playing all over the diamond and not just at first.

The Cubs do have one option in the minor leagues in first baseman prospect Jonathon Long. Long is right-handed and has played the majority of his career at first base. He could be an easy in-house solution for the hole that Austin’s injury has left.

There are a couple of caveats to Long, however. While Long had a good year in Triple-A Iowa last year, we know that with the contraction of the minor leagues, the jump from Triple-A to the majors is greater than it’s ever been. Even top prospects have struggled with it to start their careers. By the time Long got the hang of hitting major league pitching, it might be July and Austin might be ready to return.

Long’s ZiPS projections for 2026 in the majors aren’t great either at .246/.334/.372. To be fair, those batting average and OBP projections are pretty close to what they projected for Austin, although Austin was projected for more power with a .459 slugging percentage.

Finally, if you really think Jonathon Long is a good major league prospect, do you really want him sitting on a major league bench getting six or seven at-bats a week? Don’t you want him working on his skills down in Iowa? Long could especially work on increasing his power totals if he wants to be a starting first baseman in the majors (and he does).

There is one other option. While almost every first base free agent has signed with a team already, there is still one on the market: Wilmer Flores. The 34-year-old 12-year right-handed hitting veteran is still unsigned, even though he didn’t have a bad year last year. With the Giants, Flores hit .241/.307/.379 with 16 home runs in 125 games. Signing Flores would give the Cubs an almost like-for-like replacement for Austin, although Flores won’t have to re-adjust himself to major league pitching.

I’m sure the reason that Flores hasn’t signed yet is that he wants a major league deal. Were he willing to accept a minor league deal with an invitation to Spring Training, someone would have given that to him by now. To sign him, the Cubs would have to give him guaranteed money, which would certainly put the Cubs into the luxury tax penalty, if they aren’t already in that territory now.

The good news, however, is that Flores probably won’t need a lot of money. He inked a two-year extension with the Giants in 2022 that had a player option for 2025 at $3.5 million. Flores exercised that player option. So he agreed to play for the Giants on a one-year, $3.5 million deal last year and is probably looking for something similar this year. Going $3 million or so over the first luxury tax threshold is a minor penalty for a team like the Cubs.

So should the Cubs try to bring in Wilmer Flores to replace Tyler Austin before some other team snaps him up? Or should they just try to make due with the players currently in the organization?

Thanks to everyone who stopped by this week and especially a big thank you to everyone who joined the conversation. We are always glad to hear from our patrons. Please get home safely. If it’s snowy by your house, take extra care. We want you back next week. Tell your friends about us. Recycle any cans and bottles. Tip your waitstaff. And join us again next week for more BCB After Dark.

The Missouri Tigers are coming in hot with a five game winning streak and have claimed 111 runs in nine games. After a dominant 15-1, run-rule victory in the home opener, the Tigers followed it up with another clutch performance to secure the series sweep, and improved to a 7-2 record on the season. They are sending the fans a clear message: this lineup and pitching staff is ready for anything. 

Game 1 Remarks 

Tuesday’s opener was a display of offensive firepower and a standout pitching game. After a slow start, the Tigers woke up in the third inning and sent 11 batters to the plate. Freshman Blaize Ward started the inning up with a double to center, followed by Isaiah Frost’s single to left. Bases-loaded walks from Pierre Seals and Sam Parker brought the first runs home, and Serna extended with an RBI groundout. Chris Patterson and Eric Maisonet knocked up hits as well which gave Missouri a 5-1 advantage. 

In the fifth, Serna launched a 407-foot homer and the sixth inning was quite a show. Serna had a two-run single and James Woita hit a three-run blast. Tyler Macon had a two-RBI single, which made the score 15-1. 

Stellar Pitching Performance

On the mound, Dohrmann allowed just one hit. His performance extended Missouri’s streak of starting pitchers going at least five innings to open the season to eight straight games. Dane Bjorn finished the game as a reliever and threw a clean seventh inning with a strikeout to close out the first game against Pine Bluff. 

Game 2 Success

The second game of the series was a whole different game. Freshman Luke Sullivan, who relieved during the New Haven series, had his first collegiate start and quickly proved his depth on the mound. Through the first three innings, he allowed just one hit with three strikeouts. By the fourth and fifth innings, Sullivan took command, adding two more strikeouts and kept Pine Bluff off the board. 

Highlight of Game 2

Missouri’s offense finally broke through in the bottom of the sixth. Frost broke Medellin’s no-hitter in the bottom of the sixth and lined the Tigers’ first hit of the afternoon to the right side of the infield. Tyler Macon added to the inning with a hit down the right field line, moving Frost to third base with Mizzou runners on the corners.

Soon after, Cameron Benson drew a walk to load the bases. Even after Sam Parker struck out, this inning was far from over. Serna launched a 341-foot grand slam to left field for the Tigers which brought their lead to 4-1 and completely changed the game. This was his second home run of the series. 

Frost got his second hit of the day for the Tigers and Macon laid down a bunt, which safely moved Frost to second. Seals followed with a walk, and loaded the bases up for the Tigers. Serna grounded out, but it was just enough to bring Frost home and stretched the lead to 5-1. 

Notable Relievers

The Tigers’ pitching staff did not go unnoticed. Jackson Sobel came in for his second appearance and battled through a tense sixth inning. He recorded a huge strikeout after a wild pitch, but allowed the lone run to make it 4-1. 

During the top of the seventh, former shortstop Trey Lawrence picked up his first strikeout. Sam Rosand struck a batter out in the eighth, but with bases loaded, a new pitcher was needed. 

The Closer We Needed

Left-handed Ian Lohse came in to relieve Rosand in the bottom of the eight with two outs and runners on all bases. Lohse managed to strike out the batter to save the inning and allow no runners to score. Lohse closed out the top of the ninth in style. 

Macon caught a ball in center for the first out, followed by a sharp strikeout from Lohse for number two. Then, with the count full at 3‑2, Lohse took charge of the final batter, and secured the series win against Pine Bluff for the Tigers 5-1.  

Defense That Cannot Be Stopped

Missouri’s defense proved a steady backbone for the Tigers throughout this series win. The team recorded 21 putouts and 12, and committed just one error for a .971 fielding percentage. Mizzou had heads up moments from Blaize Ward and Eric Maisonet, which included a key tag at second, which helped keep Dohrmann’s day on a roll. 

On day two, the defense was just as reliable. They finished with a 1.000 fielding percentage, 27 putouts and 2 assists. The pitching defense was substantially strong as pitchers were aggressive with runners on base and managed two key strikeouts when needed. Missouri also threw out a runner at second, which limited the Lions’ chances to put pressure on the bases. 

Offensive Takeaways

Day one of the series the Tigers scored 15 runs on eight hits and drew 12 walks. They only struck out six times in 26 at-bats. Mizzou capitalized on every opportunity and had 13 RBIs, spreading the scoring across all nine lineup spots. They also managed to trigger the run-rule victory during four of their games.

Day two focused more on situational hitting. The Tigers collected five hits in 29 at-bats (.172), but came through when needed. With two outs, Mizzou went 1-for-9 but drove in four RBIs, showing their ability to perform under pressure. 

When runners were on base, the Tigers hit .333 (3-for-9) and moved five of eleven runners to better scoring positions. While the Tigers struggled against left-handed pitching on both days, going 0-for-7 on Day 2 and 3-for-19 vs. LHP on Day 1, their overall production caused them to take on huge leads against Pine Bluff. 

Statistics: https://mutigers.com/sports/baseball/stats/2026/arkansas-pine-bluff/boxscore/33826https://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=652901 

Mizzou Batting Leaders

Macon leads the batting leaderboard with a blazing .556 average, setting the pace for the Tigers. Frost is close behind at .550, while Eric Maisonet holds third with a strong .400. Jase Woita holds the lead in home runs with three, while Serna has two. Macon is making plays on the bases as well, leading the team with four stolen bases.

Statistics: https://s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/sidearm.nextgen.sites/mutigers.com/stats/baseball/2026/pdf/cume.pdf 

Current Pitching Leaders 

On the mound, Dohrmann has been lights-out, leading the staff with a stellar 1.64 ERA. Right behind him, Javyn Pimental and Josh McDevitt are keeping the pressure on, each posting an impressive 1.80 ERA to rank second and third overall. Lohse is in four with an ERA of 1.93. 

Statistics: https://s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/sidearm.nextgen.sites/mutigers.com/stats/baseball/2026/pdf/cume.pdf 

What’s to Come 

The Tigers are set to face-off against North Dakota State, with their current record of 1-7. Currently, they are 0-6 during away games, so the Tigers will have to take that into consideration. Caleb Corbin for NDSU has the highest batting average at .407. On the pitching side, Braden Gluth sits with an ERA of 1.94. 

Statistics: https://gobison.com/sports/baseball/stats/2026 

Their three-game series will begin at 6 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 27, at home in Taylor Stadium. The home series will continue during the weekend, where the games will be at 2 p.m. on Saturday and 1 p.m. on Sunday.

To follow along and read more about Mizzou Baseball, follow @Rock MNation, @SophBleedsLA and @Henry_C81, on twitter/x.

The San Francisco Giants opened up the 2026 Cactus League with four straight victories, and they did it the old fashioned way: with pitching, defense, and small ball. After Hayden Birdsong got torched for five runs while recording just one out to open the spring, the Giants allowed just five runs over the next 35.2 innings … with only one pitcher on the 40-man roster ceding a run. They looked slick on defense. They had multiple outfield assists, and even turned a triple play. And they had more sacrifice flies in one game (three on Tuesday) than home runs in all four games combined (one, by Victor Bericoto on Monday).

Wednesday marked the end of that style of baseball, at least temporarily. The Giants pitchers traded in their donuts for traffic jams, while the batters traded in their sacrifices for big flies. And Tony Vitello traded in his undefeated record as a manager for a loss, as the Giants dropped an exceedingly Spring Trainingy game to the Milwaukee Brewers 13-12.

After falling behind 1-0 in the first inning, the Giants offense came roaring to life, behind some youngsters trying to make the team, and some veterans looking for strong 2026s. It started in the second inning, when designated hitter Luis Matos, hitting with the bases empty and no outs, took righty Carlos Rodríguez — who has a little bit of MLB experience — deep, hitting a cutter 99.7 mph over the left field wall.

It was great to see … or hear, as the case may be, since the game was once again not televised. Matos enters camp in a unique situation. San Francisco’s starting outfield is set, and Matos hasn’t displayed the defensive chops that the Giants are likely looking for from a fourth outfielder, especially given Heliot Ramos and Jung Hoo Lee’s defensive foibles a year ago. And he’s out of options, a casualty of his own success resulting in a need to protect him from the 2022 Rule 5 Draft … the same situation that led to Marco Luciano’s saddening exit from the organization a few months ago.

But he has the bat-to-ball skills that Buster Posey covets, and has shown flashes of excellence. He turned 24 less than a month ago, and you can see the Giants being hesitant to lose him, especially for nothing. So a case can be made that the Giants will be looking for a way to roster Matos come March 25, should he make a strong impression.

Wednesday was a strong impression. In his next at-bat, Matos came inches away from earning a second slow trot around the bases, instead settling for a 370-foot, 97.2-mph double that set the table for a huge fourth inning in which the Giants would bat around the order.

And hey, as long as we’re here, let’s talk about that fourth inning. We’ll go back and touch on the third in a moment. After Matos’ double, second baseman Casey Schmitt — another player seeking to prove he should be on the bench for Game 1, though with a more clear path than Matos — had his second phenomenal at-bat of the game. His first one was a fly out, but it came after forcing 11 pitches out of Rodríguez. As for his second? A blistered single that left the bat at a sizzling 109.3 mph. Fans of analytics will love the heat on that hit, though fans watching the scoreboard had to wait for some delayed gratification, since Schmitt hit the ball so hard that Matos had to hold up at third base.

It was no matter. Third baseman Christian Koss would be the copy to Schmitt’s cat, hitting a single so hard (104.4 mph) that his teammates could only advance one base each. For Schmitt, that meant stopping at second, but for Matos, that meant going as far as he could: home.

After shortstop Tyler Fitzgerald — we’re really seeing that trio move all around the dirt — lined out, the Giants new center fielder Harrison Bader stepped to the plate, with two on and two out.

Bader is in San Francisco (or, currently, Scottsdale) for his defense first, but there are reasons to be optimistic that he can be an offensive weapon for the Giants. Two reasons, primarily: he was great in 2025, when he had a 122 wRC+, and he has claimed that his success was due to some mechanical adjustments that enhanced his swing speed.

There are also reasons for pessimism: mainly that his 2025 success, statistically looking, appears quite unsustainable, and it followed three consecutive years of hitting well below league average.

His fourth-inning at-bat, then, gave a pretty strong data point that the glass is, indeed, half full. With two on and two out, and the game begging to be broken open, Bader fell behind in the count 1-2. Righty Garrett Stallings then tossed him a slider over the heart of the plate, and Bader positively crushed it for a three-run homer.

Home runs are swell, but even bad hitters achieve them, especially in the spring. There needs to be more, then, to warrant the type of optimism that I’ve been setting you up to have.

So here it is: Bader hit his big fly at 113.6 mph. Why is that a significant number? Because Bader has played nearly 1,000 Major League games, and the hardest he has ever hit a ball is … 113.6 mph. During his three-year run of hitting struggles from 2022 through 2024, his hardest-hit ball was 111.7 mph.

And if you think it’s just a case of a hot Statcast radar gun, well … maybe talk to Monica Godfrey, owner of the Cactus Bowls food truck parked behind the left field grass, which took a ball to the figurative dome. Thankfully, everyone was a good sport about it.

Matos and Bader provided the bread in the dinger sandwich, but the meat came from an exciting source: first baseman Bryce Eldridge. In the third inning, nestled tidily between the homers from the right-handed hitters, the powerful lefty put his preternatural power on display, hitting a fastball from righty Peter Strzelecki 101.3 mph the other way, clearing the left-center fence for a two-run blast.

It was the second jaw-popping opposite-field hit of the spring for Eldridge, who hit a double to the wall off of All-Star closer Andrés Muñoz in the Cactus League opener. He sure is making a mighty strong case for the Opening Day roster.

That string of dingers gave the Giants an 8-1 lead, but they would give it all back in the bottom half of the fourth. After the Giants bat around the order in the top half, the Brewers followed suit in the bottom, and it was here where the biggest negative of the day occurred for the black and orange.

Lefty Carson Whisenhunt made his spring debut in the third inning, and it was gorgeous. He set down the side in order with a strikeout, and threw nine of 13 pitches for strikes. His fastball velocity, which averaged 92.6 mph in his MLB debut last season, but has been notably up this spring, was sitting at 96. Life was good.

And then came the fourth inning. In a show of confidence, Whisenhunt became just the third Giants pitcher tasked with taking the mound for consecutive innings, following Logan Webb yesterday and Adrian Houser earlier in this game. And the wheels immediately loosened, and then fell off expediently.

Whisenhunt walked the leadoff batter on five pitches, then followed it up with a four-pitch walk. The third batter of the inning took a strike to open the count, then four consecutive pitches outside the zone. With just two strikes thrown, Whisenhunt had walked the bases full.

The trouble wasn’t over there. He then fell behind Joey Ortiz 2-0, before finding the heart of the zone with a get-it-in fastball, thrown softly over the middle and hit loudly in return, for a 107.5-mph RBI single. The bases remained loaded, and Whisenhunt showed some improvement by getting ahead of the next hitter 0-2. But the 0-2 pitch was a ball, as was the 1-2, the 2-2, and finally, the 3-2. And with that, Whisenhunt’s night was over, with his second inning of work resulting in four walks, one hard-hit single, and zero outs.

Perhaps more troubling was that Whisenhunt’s velocity fell a bit in his second inning of work. Part of the danger of analyzing pitchers this time of year is that most of them display enhanced velocity when limited to one or two-inning stints, rather than pacing themselves a full game (and that’s doubly true in the Arizona heat). Whisenhunt only needed two innings to lend that theory some fearful credence: in his first inning, Whisenhunt averaged 96.0 mph with his four-seam fastball, but in his second frame, averaged just 94.8. That’s something to keep an eye on his next time out.

Still, Whisenhunt had only allowed two runs despite that fiasco, and his ERA had a chance to be somewhat salvaged with some help from a teammate. That teammate, unfortunately, was not able to do so.

Tristan Beck — like Matos, a player out of options who is trying to earn a spot on the team — entered the game with the unenviable task of trying to escape from a bases-loaded, no-out situation that wasn’t of his own creation. He immediately fell behind Jackson Chourio 3-0, but then the two locked into a battle. Beck threw seven consecutive pitches that Chourio fouled off and finally, on the 11th pitch of the at-bat, Beck relented and went outside the zone, walking in a run.

The next at-bat wasn’t nearly as long. Brice Turang, who had homered in the first inning off of Houser, crushed a first-pitch slider 108.2 mph and 425 feet. It was, remarkably, the second grand slam that the Giants had allowed this spring. And it gave the Brewers a game-tying seven-run fourth inning, without an out yet recorded.

Milwaukee would take the lead in the sixth inning, when uber-prospect Jesús Made tripled off of José Buttó, and scored on a sacrifice fly. They added an insurance run in the eighth off Nick Margevicius when Greg Jones drew a walk, stole a base, and scored on a Made single.

It was nine straight runs and a 10-8 lead for the Brew Crew as we headed to the ninth inning. But the Giants, now with all their subs in, had some fight in them.

Left fielder Grant McCray had a mighty impressive swing, hitting a 108-mph leadoff single in an 0-2 count, then catcher Daniel Susac did something similar: a 106.6-mph single in a 1-2 count. Vitello, knowing that spring games can’t extend to extra innings, went all in, emptying his bench for every advantage: Susac left the game so that speedy right fielder Jared Oliva could pinch-run for him.

It paid dividends. Fellow right fielder Jerar Encarnación hit a grounder to third base, where Brock Wilken couldn’t handle it. The speedy McCray scored from second, and the speedy Oliva made it to third, where he represented the tying run. And Vitello, sticking with his plan, sent out Jesús Rodríguez (who would catch the ninth inning) to pinch-run for Encarnación.

That also paid dividends, with Rodríguez immediately stealing second base. And the next batter, Bericoto, tied the game with an RBI single, which moved Rodríguez — the go-ahead run — to third. That go-ahead run would score on a single by second baseman Nate Furman, and Bericoto would make it a four-run ninth when third baseman Parks Harber hit a 367-foot sacrifice fly. Suddenly the dream of an undefeated preseason lived on, as the Giants took a 12-10 lead to the bottom of the ninth.

But Margevicius had bent in the eighth, and he would break in the ninth. He opened the inning by allowing a double, a single, and a single, and suddenly both the tying and winning runs were on base, with no outs. Freddy Zamora would tie the game with a one-out single, and Jones would walk it off with a sacrifice fly.

And just like that, the Giants fell to 4-1 in a fairly silly baseball game.

A few other notes:

• Houser made his Giants debut and pitched the first two innings. They didn’t go particularly well, as he gave up three hits — including a home run to Turang — and walked one batter, without any strikeouts. But he limited the damage to just one run allowed, and was sitting about 96 in the first inning. Like Whisenhunt, he lost about 1 mph of velo in his second inning of work.
• NRI right-handed pitcher Caleb Kilian had quite a game, throwing 12 out of 14 pitches for strikes in a perfect seventh inning that included a strikeout. Kilian, whose four-seam fastball velocity has averaged 93.6 mph for his big league career, got all the way up to 98.7 in this game, while also throwing in a 98.8-mph sinker.
• The Giants had just two stolen bases — and just two stolen base attempts — entering this game, both by Oliva. But they got three more in this contest: one each from Rodríguez, Furman, and Harber.
• Lee, likely playing in his final game before departing for the World Baseball Classic, had an awesome game. He hit 2-3, which included a triple to the wall. In all, the Giants had six extra-base hits, with the final one being a double by NRI infielder Osleivis Basabe.
• The Giants host the Rockies on Thursday at 12:05 p.m. PT. Blade Tidwell is scheduled to start, with Hayden Birdsong also pitching.

The Yankees didn’t do much in the way of new addition over this past offseason. The most notable move they made was the signing of Cody Bellinger, but he of course already spent last season in the Bronx. In terms of new pieces, the most notable was the trade for pitcher Ryan Weathers.

The son of former Yankee David, Weathers was coming off two solid seasons with the Marlins, but was far from a marquee acquisition. It mostly seemed like he was depth in both the rotation and bullpen. Well, you shouldn’t judge too much on one spring training game, but it appears he’s actually the Cy Young favorite. To be serious, Weathers looked very impressive in his first outing as a Yankee, as he struck out five Nationals’ batters in his 3.2 innings.

Meanwhile on offense, the Yankees ran out a lineup that only included a couple likely 2026 big leaguers, but they still did the job. Washington chipped in by making three errors in total, as the Yankees cruised to a 7-0 victory on Wednesday night.

The Yankees got the game started on a nice note. After Weathers threw an easy 1-2-3 top of the first, Amed Rosario took the first pitch he saw from Andrew Alvarez out to right for a lead-off homer. An inning later, JC Escarra singled on a slow roller that catcher Keibert Ruiz couldn’t handle. The Nats’ defense got a little farcical after that, as an Alvarez error and a wild pitch later allowed Escarra to come around and score.

On the mound, Weathers looked about as good as you could hope in both his first outing of the spring and first as a Yankee. He ended up throwing 49 pitches over 3.2 innings. He allowed just one hit and no walks, while striking out five and looking downright nasty at points.

Some more shoddy defense allowed the Yankees to tack on three more runs in the fourth inning. Non-roster invite Jonathan Ornelas chipped in with one RBI single, but another two runs scored after former #2 draft pick Dylan Crews made an error on a Rosario batted ball.

Having made a nice defensive play at third base in the top of the fifth, top prospect George Lombard Jr. then flashed some offense in the bottom half of the inning. With two runners on, he took a ball into the gap in left-center field, bringing home both runners for a two-RBI double.

Prospective closer David Bednar was one of the notable names of the bullpen for the Yankees in this one. He came in and threw a fairly easy 1-2-3 inning, but did get some help from the aforementioned nice defensive play from Lombard. Fernando Cruz replaced him in the sixth, and he looked very good, striking out the side in a perfect inning. Tim Hill rounded things out for the regulars by striking out one batters in an easy inning of his own.

Add in the innings from the prospects and non-roster guys, and the Yankees allowed just one hit in total on the night. The only baserunner they allowed was a hit off Weathers, which was then erased by a double play. In total, the Yankees only faced the minimum possible 27 batters.

Tomorrow, the Yankees will be back in action as they host the Braves at Steinbrenner Field at 1:05 pm ET. Following up on an impressive outing in his spring debut, pitching prospect Elmer Rodríguez will take the mound again in this one.

Box score

On the same day that the Yankees announced they will retire CC Sabathia's No. 52 later this year, another southpaw made his spring debut in pinstripes and dominated. 

Ryan Weathers struck out five batters and faced the minimum, pitching into the fourth inning of the Yankees' 7-0 win over the Nationals on Wednesday night at GMS Field. 

The Yankees' offense didn't have to do much as they took advantage of three Nationals errors and multiple misplays to push across seven runs, five unearned. 

Here are the takeaways....

-Weathers was dominant. After CJ Abrams grounded out on a liner up the middle -- that almost hit the southpaw -- Weathers struck out Dylan Crews and got Keibert Ruiz to pop out in the 11-pitch first inning. He would strike out two more in a 1-2-3 second before giving up his first baserunner, a one-out single in the third. However, Weathers erased him with a 6-4-3 double play to get through three on just 39 pitches (26 strikes). 

Weathers got the first two batters out in the fourth before being pulled in the middle of an at-bat after 49 pitches (32 strikes). Danny Watson came in and finished off the at-bat with a strikeout to put an end to Weathers' line.

The young southpaw went 3.2 innings, allowed one hit and struck out five batters. 

-Amed Rosario got the Yankees' scoring started with a leadoff, first-pitch homer off of lefty starter Andrew Alvarez. The veteran infielder, who has a spot on the bench locked up, finished 1-for-3 while reaching on an error when Crews dropped a Rosario pop-up with men on first and second and two outs, plating two. 

The other Yankees runs came on some shoddy Nationals defense as a wild pitch allowed J.C. Escarra to score from third in the second inning and Jonathan Ornelas' single drove Max Schuemann home in the fourth. 

-George Lombard Jr. had himself a good day at the plate and in the field. After going hitless in his first two appearances this spring, the Yankees' top prospect went 1-for-2 with a walk and a two-run double in the fifth.  He also made a strong throw on a soft dribbler to third in the fifth to get the first out. 

-In addition to Rosario, the Yankees had three other players who appeared in games last season start in Wednesday's game. But they didn't do much at the plate. The combination of Jasson Dominguez, Ben Rice and Escarra went 1-for-9 with four strikeouts. The lone hit came from the Yankees' backup catcher. 

-On the pitching side, manager Aaron Boone got a couple of his high-leverage relievers some work. David Bednar had a 1-2-3 fifth inning while Fernando Cruz struck out the side in the sixth. Tim Hill struck out one in a 1-2-3 seventh inning

The combination of Weathers, Watson, Bednar, Cruz, Hill, and Kyle Carr allowed just one hit and faced the minimum 27 batters in the victory.

Game MVP: Ryan Weathers

Weathers showed why the Yankees traded for him this offseason with the best pitching performance at camp so far. 

Highlights

A leadoff blast for Amed Rosario pic.twitter.com/OlMjaAshOo

— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) February 25, 2026

Ryan Weathers struck out 5 tonight 🔥 pic.twitter.com/jX52oDMjp5

— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) February 26, 2026

George Lombard Jr. with the barehand at third! pic.twitter.com/QXL0CCGFtY

— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) February 26, 2026

George Lombard Jr. continues his night with an RBI double! pic.twitter.com/BuYkJfXtaG

— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) February 26, 2026

What's next

The Yankees continue their spring training slate when they host the Atlanta Braves on Thursday afternoon. First pitch is set for 1:05 p.m.

SCOTTSDALE, AZ — The Los Angeles Dodgers kept raving about Roki Sasaki all spring, believing he was becoming the star pitcher they envisioned all along when they won the sweepstakes for his services a year ago.

Well, Sasaki did nothing to inspire the same euphoria, let alone confidence Wednesday, as he struggled in his spring training debut against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Sasaki was hit hard, hit often and struggled with his control. He gave up three hits, including two doubles, and three runs to the first five Diamondbacks batters he faced. He threw only 17 of his 36 pitches for strikes, walking two batters with three strikeouts. He was scheduled to pitch two innings, but lasted just four outs.

“I thought he was overthrowing,’’ Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said after their 10-7 victory, keeping them undefeated (5-0) this spring. “I haven’t seen that all spring.’’

Earlier today, the Colorado Rockies soundly defeated the Chicago Cubs in a 14-7 routing.

(Taco’s, anyone?)

For more details, click here.

Let’s start with some postgame comments from manager Warren Schaeffer:

Here are T. J. Rumfield’s thoughts on the day along with some video footage of those two homers:

Antonio Senzatela discussed his outing:

And, finally, here’s Mickey Moniak:

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If Carson Benge has more performances like he did Wednesday, then the Mets will have an easy decision come the end of spring training.

The 23-year-old, who is fighting for the starting right field job, went 3-for-3 against the St. Louis Cardinals in Grapefruit League action, recording all three hits with two strikes in the count against major league pitchers.

He singled in the first inning against Richard Fitts, had another in the third off Matt Svanson, and then finished his day with a 10-pitch at-bat against Chris Roycroft, resulting in the third baseknock. After the game, the top prospect discussed what he liked from his ABs and said he simply tries "to take it one at-bat at a time."

"I got to two strikes on all of them pretty quick, so being able to battle for my team and just find a way on base. Feel like that's pretty huge," Benge said.

He then showed how much he cares about working a good hitter's count and not giving up at the plate.

"A lot [of pride]. I hate striking out. That's one thing about me," Benge said. "Being able to fight for every pitch, scrap for it, is really good."

Manager Carlos Mendoza was also impressed with Benge's ability to fight through an at-bat and "find a way" to get on base.

"His ability to stay on the fight," Mendoza said. "Especially when he gets behind in counts. We saw it today, his ability to foul off pitches. And then just using the whole field and putting the ball in play. His bat-to-ball skills, we saw it today. He just finds a way. It was just good to see.

"He probably missed some good fastballs to hit. Even though he got behind in counts, he was able to stay on the fight, like I said, and put the ball in play."

Benge knows he still has a lot to learn, but isn't rushing or forcing results and is using his resources to help him get through the spring. 

"Soak up every bit of information I can from all the veteran guys around here," Benge said. "Just take it day-by-day, be myself, nothing else."

He added, "I feel like I'm getting adjusted day-by-day. Kind of seeing how everyone's playing, like what it takes, seeing how good they are. Feel like I'm getting comfortable, really, day-by-day."

The potential Opening Day right fielder made it clear he'll do "anything not to strike out," and that type of mentality may be what helps him make it to Citi Field on March 26.

"I just try to and go in there and fight every AB, not trying to give something away by taking a dumb swing or anything like that," Benge said.

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. –– There were no trumpets. It was not the ninth inning. 

But a year removed from the Dodgers’ maddening search for a trustworthy closer, the appearance of Edwin Díaz still came as a welcome sight.

For the first time since signing a three-year, $69 million deal to become the Dodgers’ new closer over the offseason, Díaz made his spring debut in the team’s Cactus League contest against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Salt River Fields on Wednesday afternoon.

Even in his first spring outing, the right-hander was touching nearly 97 mph with his fastball and collecting a strikeout with a swing-and-miss slider. And though he allowed a one-out single and another deep fly ball that Hyeseong Kim had to track down on the run in center, he pitched a scoreless fourth inning in the 10-7 victory.

“Felt really good,” Díaz said afterward. “I was trying to throw strikes … and I think I did a pretty good job.”

Last year, the ninth inning was a nonstop headache for the Dodgers. Tanner Scott flopped as the team’s primary closing option, blowing an MLB-most 10 saves after arriving on his own lucrative free-agent deal. Most of the alternative options fared no better, especially after Evan Phillips went down with Tommy John surgery and Blake Treinen began battling elbow problems.

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Only at the end of the regular season did the Dodgers find some stability, when Roki Sasaki returned from a shoulder injury to anchor the bullpen through much of the playoffs.

On Wednesday, however, Sasaki was the Dodgers’ starting pitcher, beginning his long-planned return to the team’s rotation. Scott, meanwhile, was back at Camelback Ranch, continuing to rectify last year’s struggles in a live batting practice session.

Now, it is Díaz who has been fully entrusted with ninth-inning duties –– representing the Dodgers’ most established closing option since Kenley Jansen departed five years ago. 

In some ways, that role makes Díaz an even more critical addition than $240 million outfielder Kyle Tucker was this winter. The Dodgers are banking on the 31-year-old, three-time All-Star to remain arguably the best closer in the league.

Not that the pressure is getting to the nine-year big-league veteran.

Instead, Díaz’s primary focus is on preparing to pitch in next month’s World Baseball Classic with Team Puerto Rico.

After Wednesday’s outing, he talked at length about his excitement for the tournament, which will allow him to play on Puerto Rican soil (where group stage games will be held) for his first time as a professional. 

“I think that’s the most important thing for me, pitching in front of my family and friends,” he said. “People from Puerto Rico, they don’t have the chance to travel and see us play in the big leagues. So the chance to play in front of my family and friends will be something I’m looking forward to.”

He also joked that, in order to dye his hair white to match his Puerto Rican teammates, he had to seek out some hairstyling help.

“If I did it myself,” he laughed, “I’d maybe go bald.”

Díaz said he will make one more Cactus League appearance with the Dodgers before departing for the WBC. He will then try to get through the tournament healthy, after blowing out his knee while celebrating a win in the 2023 edition.

Once he returns to the Dodgers, the next challenge will begin: trying to shore up the biggest weakness from last year’s team and deliver on the reliever-record $23 million his new contract will pay per season.

But for now, Díaz was simply happy to be back in game action, and making his unofficial debut with a club desperate to see him succeed.

“I think I threw the ball really good,” he said. “(I’m feeling) ready to go.”

Ryan returns: Beyond Díaz and Sasaki, there was another notable pitching outing in Wednesday’s game. For the first time since undergoing Tommy John surgery as a rookie in 2024, right-hander River Ryan returned to the mound, tossing a scoreless inning in his continued pursuit of an Opening Day rotation spot.

“It was definitely nerve-racking,” Ryan said. Yet, he flashed his potential by hitting 98 mph with his fastball, and showing off what he feels is an improved six-pitch mix, describing his stuff as “just as good, if not better, than before I got hurt.” 

“Just got to get feel back with them all,” Ryan added, after retiring two of his three batters and having a walk negated when the baserunner was caught stealing. “But I’m really happy with how the day went.”

Klein gets dinged: Right-handed reliever and World Series hero Will Klein had a less successful day on the mound, giving up a home run to Pavin Smith on a first-pitch fastball he left up in the zone.

Kim patrols center: Wednesday was Hyeseong Kim’s first time playing center field this spring, and he impressed with not only his running catch in the fourth inning to bail out Diaz but also a sliding grab coming in on a ball during the first inning to help limit the damage for Sasaki. While Kim will primarily play the infield this year, his outfield versatility could help him earn more at-bats.

Up next: Tyler Glasnow will make his first start of the spring Thursday, when the Dodgers return to Camelback Ranch to face the White Sox. At 5-0, they will try to remain the last unbeaten team in Cactus League play.

Get out your pens to mark your calendars, because there’s now an event at Yankee Stadium during this coming season that you won’t want to miss. Just a short while ago, the Yankees announced that this coming September 26th, they’ll be holding a ceremony to formally retire CC Sabathia’s No. 52 and give him a plaque in Monument Park.

Sabathia pitched for the Yankees from 2009-19, helping them to the 2009 World Series title and a number of other playoff appearances. He was a three-time All-Star in pinstripes and he finished top five in Cy Young voting three times while a member of the team. Last summer, he was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame on his first ballot, and will forever don a Yankee logo on his plaque in Cooperstowjn.

During his 11 seasons with the Yankees, Sabathia was a stellar pitcher for the team, evidenced by what I’ve already cited and also ranking in the top ten in the franchise lists for wins, strikeouts, and more. However, he also became a revered clubhouse leader. When he first got there, he joined in a veteran heavy era, where the clubhouse was led by the likes of then captain Derek Jeter. While never officially named one, by all accounts he served somewhat of that role as the Yankees transitioned to an era led by now captain Aaron Judge. He also always had his teammates’ backs.

If the Yankees had historically been more selective in the numbers they’d retired in the past, you could argue that Sabathia would fall short of that cutoff. However, they haven’t, and CC is more than deserving, especially in light of his recent Hall induction. In addition to being an absolute gamer on the mound, literally going until he physically couldn’t, he’s an extremely likeably human. I personally cannot wait to see him get another day in the sun later this year.

Congratulations, CC!

Despite giving up 12 runs on 11 hits — including three home runs — Milwaukee managed to escape with a thrilling walk-off win over the San Francisco Giants. Brice Turang’s two-homer day powered the Brewers to a second straight victory.

After Carlos Rodriguez retired the Giants in order to start the game, Turang crushed his first home run deep into left field. The solo shot put the Brewers on the board in the bottom of the first.

Turang’s home run gave Milwaukee a lead they would relinquish half an inning later, when Luis Matos — who gave the Brewers plenty of trouble in the 2025 regular season — sent a Rodriguez cutter into the left field stands to tie the game at one run apiece.

Garrett Mitchell worked a walk in his first at-bat of the spring after going down in the count 0-2. The red-hot Brandon Lockridge doubled to right field to put runners on second and third, but Jackson Chourio grounded out to shortstop to end the second inning. Rodriguez wouldn’t come back out for the top of the third, with manager Pat Murphy going to Peter Strzelecki. Strzelecki hit the first batter he faced, Christian Koss, before retiring the next two hitters. Unfortunately, he wouldn’t get out of the inning unscathed. Strzelecki’s second pitch to Bryce Eldridge was a 91-mph fastball up in the zone, which Eldridge sent 391 feet for the Giants’ second home run of the game.

San Francisco would tack on five more runs off of prospect Garrett Stallings in the top of the fourth. After a Harrison Bader home run and a Jung Hoo Lee triple, the score was 8-1, and the game looked out of reach for the home team — but only briefly. The bottom of the fourth saw Giants pitcher Carson Whisenhunt (in for starter Adrian Houser) absolutely melt down, walking the first three batters he faced. Joey Ortiz then ripped a bases-loaded single into left field, scoring Andrew Vaughn from third and Luis Rengifo from second. Whisenhunt then walked Brandon Lockridge, and Giants manager Tony Vitello had seen enough. Right-hander Tristan Beck entered the game to face Chourio with the bases loaded.

Chourio worked an 11-pitch walk to keep the bases loaded for Turang. Beck’s first pitch was a slider low and away, and Turang was ready — crushing a 425-foot grand slam to center field. All of a sudden, the game was tied at eight.

Turang’s first home run today left the bat at 106.5 mph, and the grand slam had an exit velocity of 108.2 mph. Neither home run was pulled. For a player who appeared to be tapping into more power over the second half of last season, that’s an incredibly encouraging sign.

In the top of the fifth, Brewers No. 1 prospect Jesús Made entered the game defensively for Turang and wasted no time making his presence felt. In his first at-bat, Made smoked a triple to right field. He scored one pitch later courtesy of a William Contreras home run, putting the Brewers ahead 9-8. Meanwhile, prospects Tyson Hardin, Brett Wichrowski, Brian Fitzpatrick, and Manuel Rodriguez blanked the Giants over the next four innings.

By the top of the ninth, the score was 10-8 Milwaukee (thanks to an RBI single from Made). Edwin Jimenez, in the game for Rodriguez, was unable to get the save. Jimenez gave up hits to Grant McCray and Daniel Susac to start the inning. Jerar Encarnacion then hit a ground ball to prospect Brock Wilken at third base, but Wilken was unable to handle it, allowing McCray to score. Jimenez couldn’t bounce back after the error, allowing the Giants to tack on three more runs wrapped around a pitching change (to Stiven Cruz) before the inning finally, mercifully, ended with the score now 12-10.

After coming back from a seven-run deficit, it briefly looked like the Brewers were going to give this one away. That is, until Matthew Wood started off the bottom of the ninth with a double. Eddys Leonard then hit a bloop that dropped in for a single and the first run of the inning. Twenty-year-old Josh Adamczewski singled as well, putting runners on first and second for Luis Lara, who grounded into a force-out for the first out. The next batter, Freddy Zamora, lined a single into left field to tie the game at 12 and put the winning run at third. Outfielder Greg Jones lifted a fly ball to center that was deep enough to score Lara from third for the winning run, giving Milwaukee an exciting 13-12 spring victory.

Aside from Turang’s performance (2-for-3, two homers, five RBIs), Brewers fans have a lot to be excited about after this game. Made, who started last season in Low-A, looked the part today. Made went 2-for-2 with an RBI and a run scored. Adamczewski, one of the biggest breakouts in the farm system last year, came up clutch with a single in the ninth. Ortiz is now hitting .273 this spring after his two-run (bases loaded!) single. Luis Lara scored two runs. Jackson Chourio worked an 11-pitch walk. The future is bright in Milwaukee.

The Brewers are back at it again tomorrow as they take on the Texas Rangers. First pitch is slated for 2:05 p.m. CT.

TAMPA — CC Sabathia will enter Yankees immortality later this season.

The Hall of Fame left-hander will have his No. 52 retired by the Yankees and a plaque unveiled for him in Monument Park on Sept. 26, the team announced Wednesday night.

Sabathia, who was enshrined in Cooperstown last summer, will become the 24th Yankees player or manager to have his number retired and the first since Paul O’Neill in 2022.

“From the first number that hung in my locker to 52 forever hanging in Monument Park — this HOF journey has come full circle,” Sabathia wrote in a social-media post. “To have my number retired by the New York Yankees this year is one of the greatest honors of my life. The LegaCCy continues.”

A key part of the 2009 World Series championship Yankees, Sabathia spent 11 of his 19 years in the big leagues playing in The Bronx, pitching to a 3.81 ERA across 307 games.

He recorded his 3,000th career strikeout as a Yankee and was also the ALCS MVP in 2009.

A strong presence in the Yankees clubhouse, Sabathia was revered by his teammates and pitched with a bulldog mentality. He retired after the 2019 season, having thrown his last pitch in the ALCS when he walked off the mound with a dislocated shoulder.

“When I think of him, I think of ‘teammate,’ ” said Aaron Boone, who played with Sabathia in Cleveland before managing him in New York. “He brought people together. He connected with a lot of different people from a lot of different walks of life, while having the presence of being a superstar. He made you feel welcome. And then between the lines, just a really great competitor. I loved playing with him because he was so intense.

“Just an awesome competitor and the best of the best in teammates.”

Observations from Mets spring training on Wednesday:

Back in Action

Francisco Alvarez played his first game of the spring, going 0-for-2 as the DH. He is scheduled to catch in a simulated game on a backfield in Port St. Lucie on Thursday and make his spring debut behind the plate for the Mets on Saturday.

If At 1st You Don’t Succeed …

Mark Vientos went too far to his right on a grounder by Nolan Gorman in the first, but Grae Kessinger was there to make the play to end the inning.

Vientos also made a nice scoop on a long throw from Vidal Bruján in the fourth. 

Caught by Eye

Juan Soto sat next to Eli Manning on Tuesday night at a TGL golf event and said it was his first time meeting the retired Giants quarterback. “He’s definitely a humble man,” Soto said. “It was cool to talk to a legend like that.”

The conversation, Soto said, focused mainly on golf — although they chatted about New York, as well.

Thursday’s Schedule

Nolan McLean will make the start for the Mets, who face the Astros in West Palm Beach, Fla., at 1:05 p.m.

MESA, Arizona — Things were going on swimmingly at Sloan Park for the first four innings, with good Rockies pitching holding the Cubs down and Cade Horton throwing well after Jameson Taillon got lit up early on.

Then both teams scored six runs in the fifth inning, a frame that took nearly an hour to complete. The final football-like score of Rockies 14, Cubs 7 featured 26 hits, 12 walks, a couple of pickoffs and generally looked like the minor-league game it was after the fourth inning.

About Taillon, he served up a home run to Mickey Moniak on the game’s first pitch. After that a couple more hits led to a second run in the first, and then T.J. Rumfield homered off Taillon leading off the second. Don’t know whether Taillon was still working on mechanics, as he said after his first start, or whether this was something else. Here’s what we do know:

So there’s that.

Horton made his first spring outing and it was a good one. He issued a two-out walk in the fourth after retiring the first five hitters he faced. Overall he struck out a pair and threw 17 strikes in his 26-pitch outing. Here’s the final out Horton recorded, a strikeout of Zac Veen on a nasty curveball. He was also sitting at 96 on his fastball:

Most of the damage the Rockies did in their six-run fifth was charged to Caleb Thielbar, though in fairness, with one out and a couple of runners on, Thielbar induced a ground ball that had Michael Busch been playing first base, might have turned into an inning-ending double play with only one run scoring. But it wasn’t, a run scored and the next hitter, Ezequiel Tovar, smashed a three-run homer.

The Cubs scored six in the bottom of the fifth after most of the regulars, who started en masse in this one, had departed. Of those, only Alex Bregman, Ian Happ and Miguel Amaya had hits at all. Happ’s single in the fifth drove in two runs [VIDEO].

The Cubs made it 9-7 in the sixth on an RBI single by minor leaguer Devin Ortiz. Phil Maton and Hunter Harvey both had scoreless innings, and both executed pickoff plays, which was good to see.

Luke Little, unfortunately, again got himself in trouble with walks and then served up a two-run homer to Kyle McCann and wound up charged with five runs in the eighth. I suspect Little’s headed to Triple-A Iowa again. I’d love to see him succeed but he just doesn’t throw enough strikes. Jack Neely threw an uneventful ninth.

Matt Shaw made an error in right field after a single by old friend Nicky Lopez, and I wish I could show that to you but… there’s only a limited amount of video available from these non-televised games.

You have all probably already heard this news, but I wanted to mention it here:

Which now explains why Austin hadn’t played at all this spring. And this is likely why the Cubs signed Michael Conforto. I think of Conforto, Chas McCormick (who was the DH in today’s game and went 1-for-3) and Dylan Carlson, two of those three will make the team — and Moisés Ballesteros likely becomes the backup first baseman. When Ballesteros is ready for game action I suspect we will see him playing a lot of first base.

Attendance watch: A small crowd of 8,919 attended this game, likely the smallest crowd of the spring. That makes the season total for four dates 44,822, or 11,206 per date.

The Cubs head to Tempe to face the Angels Thursday afternoon. Matthew Boyd will start for the Cubs and José Soriano goes for the Angels. Game time Thursday is 2:10 p.m. CT. Once again, no radio or TV for Thursday’s game.