Game Preview: Knicks vs Pacers, March 17, 2026

INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA - MARCH 13: Mitchell Robinson #23 of the New York Knicks and T.J. McConnell #9 of the Indiana Pacers battle for the ball during the second quarter at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on March 13, 2026 in Indianapolis, Indiana. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images) | Getty Images

They’re back at it again. Thankfully, for the fourth and final time this season, the Knicks (44*-25) will face the Pacers (15-53). Just two games ago, New York had to extert more effort than expected to knock of these cellar dwellers in Indiana. Tonight, they take the floor at Madison Square Garden in the first of seven remaining regular season home games.

Over their last 10 games, the Knicks have gone 7-3. The Pacers have lost 13 straight.

In their last meeting, on March 13, 2026, the Knicks won 101-92. Jalen Brunson led New York with 29 points and nine assists, while Mitchell Robinson hauled down a career-high 22 boards and OG Anunoby added 25 points. Jarace Walker led the Pacers with 18 points and nine rebounds.

The Pacers have had a dismal season defined by poor efficiency on both ends. Their offensive rating is last in the league and their defensive rating rates 25th. They average 111.2 points per game (27th in the league) and rank in the bottom 10 for wins, points allowed, field goal percentage, and net rating.

The best player on the Pacers is Pascal Siakam, who averages 24 points per game and shoots 36.2% from three while adding 6.7 rebounds and 3.9 assists. He’s missed four straight games, though, and Indiana might be inclined to shut him down for the remainder of the campaign. Andrew Nembhard contributes 17 points and leads the team with 7.3 assists per game. Bennedict Mathurin provides scoring punch at 17.8 points per game with 37.2% from downtown in limited appearances.[Editor’s Note: D’oh.] Aaron Nesmith adds 13.5 points and solid defense.

The Pacers are already without Tyrese Haliburton (Achilles) and Johnny Furphy (ACL) for the season, and could be even more shorthanded Tuesday with Pascal Siakam (doubtful) and a long list of rotation players—McConnell, Nembhard, Nesmith, Toppin, Zubac, Sheppard, Jackson, and Potter—listed as questionable. For the Knicks, Jalen Brunson is listed as a game-time decision as he’s managing an ankle sprain and neck pain. And I have my suspicions about Landry Shamet’s neck.

Prediction

Quoth Vermont Knicks Fan, “I call BS on the Pacers injury report.” Indeed. It’s Indiana’s special duty to make our lives miserable every time they face the Knicks, and tonight will be no exception. ESPN.com gives the Knicks an 87% chance of winning, but if I were a betting man, I’d count on the Hoosiers to cover the spread.

Coach Mike Brown should rest Brunson. We’ll need Cap’s gas tank as full as possible when the playoffs start, and this would be a prime opportunity for the other point guards on the bench (Tyler Kolek, Jose Alvarado) to show what they can do. We don’t doubt that the Knicks will win, given that the Pacers focused on tanking. It just might not feel like a sure thing until midway through the fourth. The Kolek Game? The Diawara Game? The McCullar Game? Carpe diem, gents. Knicks by 12.

Game Details

Who: New York Knicks (44*-25) vs Indiana Pacers (15-53)
Date: Tuesday, March 17, 2026
Time: 7:30 PM ET
Place: Madison Square Garden, NYC
TV: MSG Network
Follow: @ptknicksblog and bsky

* Should be one more, but NBA Cup wins lurk in the shadows

Spring Training March 17 Game Thread: Braves at Red Sox

CLEARWATER, FL - MARCH 15: Atlanta Braves Infielder Kyle Farmer (15) at bat during spring training game between the Atlanta Braves and the Philadelphia Phillies on March 15, 2026 at BayCare Ballpark in Clearwater, Florida. (Photo by Cliff Welch/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

The Atlanta Braves are in their final countdown of their excellent spring showing and Reynaldo López looks to continue his ramp up before hopefully being a key member of a Braves 2026 rebound.

López has looked good this spring in his 9.0 innings pitched. He has only allowed six hits, and one earned run so far while striking out eight. Hitters are only hitting .182 against him thus far. The few areas that give pause is that he has walked four hitters and his groundout to air out ratio is only 0.36. If he wants to maintain success, he needs to keep the ball out of the air.

The Braves will face Sonny Gray in Ft. Myers. Gray has only pitched 5.1 innings this spring and has struggled in limited action. ERA in small sample sizes can be deceiving, but even if we look beyond his 6.75 we see that he has three walks to only five strikeouts while giving up four hits to include two HRs. Hitters have been able to maintain a .300 average against him. Again, small sample size and he will likely pitch much better in the regular season.

As the spring comes to a close, there are a few spots left on the bench that are not finalized for the Braves. Kyle Farmer, Dominic Smith, and José Azócar have all made strong cases if we are looking at this spring training in a vacuum. They carry an OPS of .986, .804, and .832 respectively. Based on their platoon splits, there are arguments to be made that both Farmer and Smith make the team on Opening Day.

Azócar and Farmer will both get the chance today to boost their case for making the Opening Day roster with each getting the start against RHP Sonny Gray.

There could be an argument to be made that Camargo and León may have an outside shot to win the backup catcher role over Heim, but the odds seem slim at this point even though Camargo has hit two bombs this spring.

López is going to get a good test today. In his previous starts this spring he has not seen many full time MLB starters. He will get that test in the game today as the Red Sox have many of their starters in the lineup.

As can be seen in the lineup above, many of these players in the lineup are having fantastic showings this spring. The good news is that in spring training the games are to ramp up and this will be a good training opportunity for López. Baseball Reference has this fun tool called OppQual to measure the difficulty of opponents in the spring. A 7.0 is AA level on average, 8.0 is AAA, and 10.0 is MLB. So far López is at a 7.5. That will change after today.

Game Notes

Time: 1:05 ET

TV: Gray TV

Radio: ESPN 103.7/WIFN 1340

Build Your Winning Bracket!

SB Nation’s CBB expert Mike Rutherford and resident bracketologist Chris Dobbertean will answer all your questions this week and help guide you to bracket glory! Drop in SB Nation’s March Madness Feed all week long and we’ll have both on hand! (All times ET)

Presenting the 2026 Yankees Roster Season Preview

The long night of the offseason is approaching its conclusion! Pitchers and catchers report to the Tampa spring training complex in nine days as of the time that this post goes up, and we’ll have exhibition games beginning on February 20th against the Orioles. Opening Day in San Francisco is just over a month after that, on March 25th.

Whether you’re following all the early Yankees activity on social media or just waiting until Opening Day to tune in, Pinstripe Alley has you covered with our annual season preview series. Every weekday from now until the real action begins, we’ll delve into a player who is expected to be either on the Opening Day roster or a key part of the Yankees’ system. There are always some surprises in spring training and unexpected injuries, so the people we run through will be subject to change, but we will endeavor to hit the most important names in camp.

So follow along with us! This article will live near the top of our homepage throughout spring training and the first couple weeks of April, serving as the tracker for all of our season previews. The links will be updated daily as new players are profiled. You can see our tentative schedule below.


David Bednar
Cody Bellinger
Paul Blackburn
José Caballero
Oswaldo Cabrera
Jazz Chisholm Jr.
Angel Chivilli
Gerrit Cole
Fernando Cruz
Jasson Domínguez
Camilo Doval
J.C. Escarra
Max Fried
Luis Gil
Trent Grisham
Tim Hill
Aaron Judge
Ryan McMahon
Ben Rice
Carlos Rodón
Amed Rosario
Cam Schlittler
Clarke Schmidt
Giancarlo Stanton
Anthony Volpe
Will Warren
Ryan Weathers
Austin Wells
Ryan Yarbrough
Spencer Jones
George Lombard Jr.
Elmer Rodríguez
Dax Kilby
Ben Hess
Carlos Lagrange
Cade Winquest

Player order and selection subject to change following any future Yankees transactions.

What to expect from Shohei Ohtani pitching in 2026

GLENDALE, ARIZONA - MARCH 16: Shohei Ohtani #17 of the Los Angeles Dodgers throws in the outfield prior to a Spring Training game against the Milwaukee Brewers at Camelback Ranch on March 16, 2026 in Glendale, Arizona. (Photo by Brandon Sloter/Getty Images) | Getty Images

Shohei Ohtani is back in Dodgers camp after the World Baseball Classic, and will likely be back in the Dodgers lineup later this week. We’re also nearing the point when he will pitch in an actual game, after doing his pitching build-up this spring on the backfields and before games.

Ohtani pitched four simulated innings last Friday in Miami on a World Baseball Classic workout day, which lines up for another potential start this weekend in an actual game. Whether that start will come at Camelback Ranch or during the Freeway Series against the Angels, Ohtani is much more built-up than last season, when he eased back into the rotation with short starts, beginning in June.

“Last year we had the plan to start from one inning, to keep him going active with us playing. I think this year we’re certainly north of that,” manager Dave Roberts told reporters on Tuesday in Arizona. “I don’t see how we wouldn’t be able to get to three or four innings in a major league game.That’s certainly a better jumping off point than last year.”

Ohtani had three seasons with the Angels (2021-23) during which he was a full-time two-way player for the entire season. He made at least 23 starts in each of those seasons, and topped out at 28 starts and 166 innings in 2022, when he finished fourth in American League Cy Young voting and second for AL MVP (behind Aaron Judge and his 63 home runs).

Ohtani as a two-way player truly showcases the impact he has on the sport. Baseball revolves around the batter-pitcher matchup, as he’s involved in more of those battles than anyone. From 2021-23 with the Angels, Ohtani had 13 different baseball months during which he was involved in at least 200 plate appearances either batting or pitching, topping out at 268 PA in September 2022. That year was nearly an even split for Ohtani, facing 660 batters while pitching and batting 666 times.

Last year, his busiest month with the Dodgers was in August, with 193 total plate appearances (121 batting, 72 pitching).

Today’s question is how many pitching starts will Ohtani make for the Dodgers in 2026?

Kevin Durant says he ‘lost the game’ for Rockets vs. Lakers with second-half meltdown

An image collage containing 2 images, Image 1 shows Kevin Durant double teamed by Austin Reaves and LeBron James, Image 2 shows Houston Rockets star Kevin Durant vs. Los Angeles Lakers LeBron James
Kevin Durant was his own harshest critic following Monday's deflating loss.

Kevin Durant was his own harshest critic Monday night.

The Rockets star was brutally honest with reporters after getting neutralized by late-game defensive adjustments, blaming himself for the Houston’s 100–92 home loss to the Lakers.

With its offensive engine hindered by a flurry of double-teams, Houston scored just 12 points on 4-for-16 shooting while committing nine costly turnovers in the final period. 

Houston Rockets star Kevin Durant blamed himself for Monday’s loss to the Los Angeles Lakers. Getty Images

“I just felt like I lost the game for us tonight,” said Durant, who scored just two of his 18 points in the second half and accounted for seven of Houston’s 24 turnovers. “It’s that simple. Of course we probably could make more 3s, but it’s on me. I mean, to be honest, I’m the offense and the opposing team is going to use all their resources and not let me get comfortable.

“First half, I got comfortable in iso, comfortable coming off of pindowns, pick-and-rolls and they decided not to let me get comfortable no more,” he added. “So I got to be smarter, better with the ball. I got to maybe shoot over some of them double-teams, but space out, be ready to catch and shoot, be ready to be a screener, just be in a dunker spot, just being able to be there as a resource for my teammates to provide space. I didn’t need to have the ball as much as I did tonight.”

The Rockets (41–26) have frequently struggled late in games when teams send reinforcements at Durant, but were further strained Monday night as All-Star center Alperen Sengun was sidelined to nurse lower back pain.

The Lakers (43–25) — who have won nine of their last 10 games behind an emerging defensive identity — planned accordingly, deploying several different coverages to disrupt Houston’s sole source of offense.

It proved a winning strategy for Los Angeles, which offset its own offensive struggles — save for Luka Doncic’s 36 points — by holding Houston to just 35 points and 15 forced turnovers, including six from Durant, after intermission.

Kevin Durant was hit with several double-teams during the second half of Monday’s loss to the Lakers. NBAE via Getty Images

“[Durant’s] one of the greatest players we’ve ever seen play obviously, so you’ve just got to try to show him different looks, try to keep him off balance,” said LeBron James, who scored 18 points.

“And when he shoots, hope he misses. He don’t miss many shots. So I thought we did a good job of having a game plan, but also just switching up our pitches. Can’t show a great like that too many of the same coverages just throughout the whole game.”

The Rockets — now 1 1/2 games behind Los Angeles for third place in the Western Conference — will host the Lakers again Wednesday night. 

Durant, who finished 8-for-16 from the floor but shot just 1-for-5 during the second half, would seemingly like to see Houston implement a different strategy in the rematch — questioning his effectiveness as the primary ball handler down the stretch.

“I just feel like it just makes us stagnant,” Durant said. “When I come across half [court] and then they waited on me to drive, but I know they’re coming to double, so I wait a split second. I just think the whole process is too slow.

“And I just think that it’s all on me, because the team, when they see me, it just feels like one-on-five, to be honest,” he added. “You know what I’m saying? Because I see two guys coming up out the corner to help at the elbows and guys at the boxes. It’s almost like a zone when I get the ball up top. When I try to post up anywhere, it’s going to be double-teams. So I’m just trying to find out ways to open myself up, open my teammates up.”

MLB The Show 26 review: Ground rule double

The latest iteration of the storied MLB The Show series is good, it’s really good — but it’s been good for years now. Routinely one of the best sports video games of the year, The Show is truly hitting the point of diminishing returns, and while MLB The Show 26 is the best iteration of the series, it’s also not that much better to the point of an overwhelming recommendation unless you’re a die-hard fan who keeps up with the live service elements of the game each season.

It begins with the on-field action, and to this end MLB The Show 26 still reigns supreme. No sports game feels as true to life as this series in capturing not just hitting, pitching, and fielding — but the minutia in between. Top pitchers will paint the zone with infuriating accuracy, hitters will manage to get the barrel on balls outside of the zone, and an elite shortstop will really shine through with their ability to create double plays and rifle incredible throws into first.

One big quality of life improvement for more casual players is the addition of “Big Zone Hitting,” this is a happy medium between the incredible ease of simple timing hitting and traditional zone hitting — generating more reliable contact if you’ve struggled with batting in the past. There’s enough granularity to feel like you actually need to locate the pitch, without the frustration of endless pop-up flies without perfectly guessing which zone the ball is going to.

On the pitching side the added drama of “Bear Down Pitching” amps up the drama in clutch situations. With a press of LT before the pitch crowd noise is drowned out, you can hear the pitcher’s heartbeat, and it offers greater accuracy on one key pitch. These can only be used a couple of times per game, so as not to be abused — but there’s nothing quite like having a tying runner on base in the 9th and activating Bear Down to get that critical out.

Along with these two features are a slew of new niche animations that add even more realism to the game. That said, glitches still happen — including this one where ___ bat became something rather lewd.

The bummer that is the World Baseball Classic

MLB The Show 26 is dripping in World Baseball Classic references, including the cover which boasted Aaron Judge along with the WBC uniform, and Team USA jersey. Unfortunately there isn’t a fully fleshed out WBC mode, or even the option to simply pick up and play the WBC.

Instead, it’s been tucked inside “Diamond Dynasty,” which is The Show’s equivalent of Ultimate Team as special challenges. There are licensing and timing realities that developer San Diego Studios have used to explain why there isn’t a fully-realized WBC mode, but especially releasing well before opening day it’s jarring not to be able to play the biggest international tournament in baseball inside MLB’s flagship game.

The Negro Leagues continue to be incredible

It’s astonishing to me that no other sports video game has played into the history of the game to the depth of MLB The Show. The mode has returned as an ode to the incredible players lost to time and prejudice who deserve to have their stories told. My nine-year-old daughter was glued to the screen as I was playing through the Negro Leagues, loving the real-life interviews woven with watercolor images from the past.

This year’s crop of stories from the Negro Leagues are:

  • Roy Campanella
  • Mamie “Peanut” Johnson
  • John Henry “Pop” Lloyd
  • George “Mule” Suttles

We need historical modes like this in other sports games.

Creating my baseball monster

“Road to the Show” is naturally back, and remains one of the best individual career modes in sports video games. The ability to take a player from high school, through college, the minors, and into the pros really highlights the brutal mountain prospective baseball players have to climb on the way to stardom.

This year adds more college recruiting options to choose from, expanding the roster to 19 possible schools to play for en route to The Show: Cal State Fullerton, TCU, Tennessee, South Carolina, UCLA, Texas, Vanderbilt, LSU, UNC, Stanford, Michigan, Florida, Arkansas, Virginia, FSU, Oregon State, Wake Forest, Clemson and Fresno State.

It’s a small addition, but a notable one. On the other end of the spectrum is new “Road to Cooperstown” integration, which formats specific goals when you’re in MLB to try and make the hall of fame and cement your legacy. Otherwise the mode has seen some general improvements in requesting trades, and position changes — but nothing that reinvents the wheel.

Thankfully you can still make absolute monsters as your created players, or scan your own face if you want to be in the game. I’ll let you decide what I did here.

Is MLB The Show 26 worth getting?

If you’ve taken a long break from baseball games and want to get back in then there’s absolutely no reason not to get MLB The Show 26. It’s a brilliant game in a series that always iterates, always gets better, and is constantly improving. Similarly if you enjoy the live service elements of the game like Diamond Dynasty, and that’s your main gaming focus of the year — then you more or less have to buy it to keep up with the player base.

However, if you bought MLB The Show 25 and only played casually, well, there’s nothing really here that reinvents the wheel. At best it will feel like small, iterative improvements that unquestionably make the game look, feel, and play better than ever — but there’s no huge leap over past titles in the series.

Overall, we have a great baseball game that feels like it’s been going back to the well a few times too many. The true lack of the WBC feels like an unforced error, and the core experience is largely the same.

8/10

MLB The Show 26 was reviewed on Xbox Series X using review code provided by Sony Interactive Entertainment

Mariners Prospect Rankings #10, RHP Griffin Hugus

CORAL GABLES, FL - MAY 02: Miami right-handed pitcher Griffin Hugus (13) pitches in the fifth inning as the Miami Hurricanes faced the NC State Wolfpack on May 2, 2025, at Mark Light Field at Alex Rodriguez Park in Coral Gables, Florida. (Photo by Samuel Lewis/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

A lot has changed for Griffin Hugus since joining the Seattle Mariners organization.

Drafted in the third round for slightly under slot value, the University of Miami product checked every box of a “Seattle Mariner starting pitcher”. With an athletic 6’2 frame and a full arsenal of offerings at his disposal, Hugus paired intriguing underlying traits with good command and high-spin breakers, a profile the Mariners absolutely love to get into their development program. The heater, though typically in the low 90’s, has a good cut-ride shape and plays well at the top of the zone, and his cutter/sweeper/curveball combination all possess good movement and look like potential above-average offerings at the next level. His fifth offering, a changeup, still needs some fine tuning, but that isn’t necessarily atypical for a young pitcher. A clean operation down the mound and a burgeoning arsenal had Hugus on the rise, and the Mariners capitalized. If he was capable of adding the tick or two of velocity many scouts thought he could, Hugus would elevate his profile and look like a massive steal as a money-saving third rounder.

In an amazingly short amount of time, he did just that. With reports out of “gas camp” this winter indicating he was arguably the stuffiest pitcher present, the indication was he’d found some extra juice after beginning professional-grade strength training and instruction. Hugus had taken the leap the Mariners expected of him, positioning him beautifully for his debut season and prompting us to rank him rather aggressively prior to his debut season.

That debut, unfortunately, doesn’t look like it will be happening in 2026.

Our own Kate Preusser got word that Hugus appears to be heading toward Tommy John surgery, and though it isn’t yet a certainty, he’s expected to miss significant time regardless. It’s obviously a brutal blow for any young pitcher, but I have all the faith in the world that Hugus is in good hands with his recovery. Whenever he’s back healthy and ready to throw again, Hugus is sure to be an interesting arm for the Mariners development gurus to help maximize. Until then, however, all we can do is wish him a speedy recovery.

WBC Wrap: Venezuela advances to final with 4-2 win over Italy

We had another great game today and this time, there was no controversy.

Venezuela 4, Italy 2

Italy took an early lead, but Venezuela rallied with a three-run seventh inning to end Italy’s magical run in the World Baseball Classic.

Italy actually broke out to an early lead when Tigers pitcher Keider Montero struggled to throw strikes. Astros outfielder Zach Dezenzo singled with one out and then Montero walked Jac Caglianone, Brewers minor leaguer Andrew Fischer and the Angels’ J.J. D’Orazio in a row, forcing in the first run of the game. Phillies minor leaguer Dante Nori grounded into a fielder’s choice to make it 2-0 Italy in the second.

Meanwhile, Aaron Nola kept the powerful Venezuelan lineup scoreless for three innings. He got some help in the first inning with when Jakob Marsee made a nice catch in center field and doubled up Maikel Garcia at first base.[VIDEO]

You can’t tell from that video but Italy shortstop Sam Antonacci deked out Garcia with a dive at second base.

That’s the second time this tournament that Antonacci successfully pulled off that move.

But with one out in the fourth inning, Eugenio Suárez got Venezuela on the board with this solo home run. [VIDEO]

Italy threatened to blow the game open in the sixth inning when they loaded the bases with two outs. But Brewers pitcher Angel Zerpa struck out Antonacci looking to end the threat. [VIDEO]

Italy manager Francisco Cervelli’s strategy in this game was to get through as much of the game as possible by piggybacking his two best pitchers, Nola and Michael Lorenzen. The strategy looked brilliant as Nola allowed just one run on four hits over four innings. Lorenzen kept the Venezuelans from scoring in the fifth and sixth innings, allowing just one walk. But Lorenzen walked Gleyber Torres to lead off the seventh, That looked like no big deal as he then struck out Wilyer Abreu and William Contreras.

But with a man on first and two outs, Lorenzen allowed four straight singles. First, number-nine hitter Jackson Chourio singled to center. Returning to the top of the order, Ronald Acuña Jr. tied the game 2-2 by beating out an infield single. [VIDEO]

Next, Maikel Garcia singled home Churio to give Venezuela a 3-2 lead. [VIDEO]

Finally, Luis Arraez connected for the fourth-straight single to make it 4-2. [VIDEO]

Cervelli pulled Lorenzen for reliever Kyle Nicolas after the Arraez single, but by then it was too late.

Neither side managed another baserunner after the Arraez RBI single. Daniel Palencia came on to collect the save for Venezuela and he struck out Antonacci to the end the game. [VIDEO]

It’s the first ever trip to the World Baseball Classic finals for Team Venezuela. Team Italy has nothing to be ashamed of, putting on a near-miraculous run and electrifying a country that was discovering baseball for the first time in some cases. Even their only loss was a narrow one to a very good Venezuela team.

Tonight’s final between Venezuela and USA is at 7 p.m. CT at LoanDepot Park in Miami. Nolan McLean is scheduled to start for the Americans and Eduardo Rodríguez is penciled in for Venezuela. We will, of course, have a game thread here this evening for the title game.

How many games are the Orioles going to win this season?

BALTIMORE, MD - SEPTEMBER 18: A general view as Cade Povich #37 of the Baltimore Orioles pitches against the New York Yankees during the fourth inning at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on September 18, 2025 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images) | Getty Images

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

After an offseason of surprising and occasionally quite exciting moves, and a spring training season that began with injury news that shook up the infield, we’re finally down to the wire and heading towards the regular season. The Orioles who are going to try to make this year a better one than last year are assembled and in nine days we’re going to start to find out how this season is going to go.

This week’s survey is a simple one: How many wins do you think the Orioles will get this year?

The options below start with 75 or fewer, signifying that someone thinks this year will go as badly as last year did or even worse than that, and then go in bands of several wins from there. Vote for the one you’re feeling right now. As usual, we’ll have to hope the optimists are the ones that end up being right.

If you’ve voted for a low number, what are you afraid is going to hold this team back? If you’ve voted for a high number, how do you think they’re going to overcome last year’s problems? If you’re somewhere in the middle, what would make you feel better about the season early on? Let us know in the comments below.

2026 MLB Preview: Padres

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - APRIL 14: Fernando Tatis Jr. #23 and Manny Machado #13 of the San Diego Padres celebrate a three run double from Jurickson Profar #10, to take a 6-3 lead over the Los Angeles Dodgers, during the seventh inning at Dodger Stadium on April 14, 2024 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images) | Getty Images

There is no doubting that the Dodgers have made themselves the juggernaut of the NL West and indeed all of baseball, winning back-to-back World Series and signing one of if not the top free agent every winter. The Rockies meanwhile don’t look close to shaking the label of worst team in baseball any time soon. The intriguing question for the division, therefore, is how the other three teams will place by the end of the season. For the first time in what feels like a long time, it looks like the Padres may finally be displaced from their perch as the perennial runners-up to the Dodgers, and appear at risk of missing the playoffs altogether.

2025 record: 90-72 (2nd, NL West)
2026 FanGraphs projection: 80-82 (4th, NL West)

They’ve got an incredibly top-heavy lineup — Fernando Tatis Jr., Manny Machado, Jackson Merrill, and Xander Bogaerts are expected to put up over 16 wins between them and should carry the rest of the offense on most nights. However, they have a billion dollars tied up in Tatis, Machado, and Bogaerts. While that’s not the worst trio to have that kind of money invested into, Machado and Bogaerts are both 33 while Tatis is excellent yet not exactly the slugger he was pre-PED suspension. Furthermore, Merrill has to prove he can bounce back from a disappointing sophomore campaign and once again establish a ceiling as a perennial future All-Star.

If anything should happen to that quartet, be it injury, regression, or failure to rebound, production will drop off precipitously. No other hitter on the roster is expected to reach a 110 wRC+ while Merrill is the only projected starter under the age of 30. That being said, I don’t expect the offense to be the unit that holds the Padres down.

That distinction belongs to the starting pitchers. There is a scary amount of injury risk in the rotation. Michael King re-signed for three years and $75 million after missing most of the season to a nerve injury in his throwing shoulder. Nick Pivetta is coming off a career-high in innings and has several major injuries in his pitching arm’s past. Joe Musgrove is expected to start the season in IL after suffering a setback in his Tommy John rehab. Yu Darvish’s status is at the very least “unlikely to pitch” after conflicting reports of his retirement over the winter. King’s fellow former Yankee Randy Vásquez has been healthy but is downright allergic to strikeouts. Germán Márquez, Griffin Canning, and Walker Buehler were all brought in on one year prove-it deals, all three having undergone major surgery in the last two years. There is a very real possibility that none of the players mentioned hits 100 innings in 2026.

The saving grace is that the Padres should continue to have the No. 1 bullpen in MLB. Led by flame-throwing closer Mason Miller, almost every late inning San Diego lead is safe. Jeremiah Estrada and Adrian Morejon were both terrific in 2025 and project to be the same in 2026 while Jason Adam could be ready for Opening Day after his excellent 2025 was cut short by a torn quad.

All this being said, the biggest Padres story as Opening Day looms does not take place on the field but instead in the highest offices of the organization. Following former owner Peter Seidler’s untimely passing from non-Hodgkin lymphoma after the 2023 season, his brother and widow became embroiled in a toxic lawsuit over control of the team. His widow eventually dropped the bulk of her claims, but it created a pall over a team that should have been solely focused on its championship window. Seidler’s sons are now in the process of fielding bids for a team sale, with final bids expected to come in April as many around the industry predict that the franchise will top the record $2.4 billion that Steven Cohen paid to buy the Mets.

Thus, San Diego appears to be in somewhat of a no-man’s land as they await the finalization of the sale and the accompanying changes to the front office. They have one of the oldest rosters in baseball and shouldn’t expect any help to come from the minors given their status as the worst farm system in MLB, with only Kruz Schoolcraft cracking MLB Pipeline’s top-100 list at 88th overall. Given all this uncertainty about the short and long-term trajectory of the franchise, it’s understandable that the Padres were conservative when it came to external additions, preferring one-year deals near the league minimum for veteran players. Canning and Márquez joined the fold one one-year pacts and Buehler on a minor league deal with a spring invite while Nick Castellanos was claimed off waivers from the Phillies, San Diego only on the hook for the minimum portion of his salary. Even regarding King’s three-year deal, it has opt-outs, so if he fully gets back to his 2024 form, he’s probably out the door for a better dealafter 2026.

For Padres fans accustomed to their recent success, they could be in for a rude awakening in 2026. FanGraphs Depth Charts pegs them for a fourth-place finish with a losing record of 80-82 and just 22.3-percent playoff odds while PECOTA believes they will finish third at 81-81 with 30.6-percent playoff odds. It’s not that the teams around them have gotten better — though the Giants have made several marquee additions to the offense over the last two years — so much as the Padres being injury-riddled and a year older. It’ll be a three-way dogfight for second in the division, and even then that’s no guarantee of clinching a Wild Card.


More Pinstripe Alley MLB team season previews can be found here.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

CLEARWATER, FLORIDA - MARCH 17: A closeup view of the St. Patrick's Day hat worn by Nick Castellanos #8 of the Philadelphia Phillies prior to a spring training game against the Toronto Blue Jays at BayCare Ballpark on March 17, 2025 in Clearwater, Florida. (Photo by Nick Cammett/Getty Images) | Getty Images

Is there anything that goes together quite like the Phillies and St. Patrick’s Day? After all, “Phillie” kind of sounds like an Irish term, and the team mascot is green for some reason. The Phillies used to wear green uniforms on the holiday, but due to Nike’s rules limiting the number of uniforms, that tradition has come to an end.

But that shouldn’t stop us from celebrating the holiday! Thus, I’ll discuss a few notable players named Patrick in Phillies history.

Paddy Greene

We’ll start off with the player with perhaps the most Irish sounding name ever. I mean, Paddy Greene sounds like the name of a leprechaun mascot.

As far as I can tell, Greene was the first Patrick in Phillies history although he didn’t last very long with the team. He played 19 games for the 1902 Phillies, batted just .169 and after the season, he left to go to the Yankees.

Pat Corrales

Pat Corrales was not Irish. In fact, he was the first Mexican American manager in MLB history. Despite that distinction, he isn’t fondly remembered by most Phillies fans, since he had the unfortunate task of replacing Dallas Green, who at the time was the only man to manage the Phillies to a World Series title.

After Green left for the Cubs after the 1981 season, the Phillies turned to Corrales, and the team missed the playoffs after an 89-win season. (Remember, it used to be much harder to make the playoffs when only division winners qualified.) In July 1983, the Phillies were in first place, (but only a game above .500) and several of the team veterans (and this was the Wheeze Kids, so there were a lot of veterans) were grumbling about Corrales’ managerial style.

General Manager Paul Owens decided to fire Corrales and handle managerial duties, eventually leading the Phillies to the NL Pennant.

Pat Combs

Pat Combs is a cautionary tale for anyone who gets too excited about a pitching prospect. The Phillies’ first round pick of the 1988 draft, Combs blazed through the minor leagues and went 4-0 in six starts as a September callup in 1989. It looked like the Phillies had a future ace on their hands.

Combs followed up that showing with a mediocre season in 1990, and then injuries, and a lack of control (6.0 BB/9 in 1991) caused his career to quickly flame out. Perhaps his greatest acheivement was sparking one of the best brawls in Phillies history:

After four bad starts in 1992, Combs’ major league was over.

Pat Burrell

Now here’s a guy who probably enjoyed St. Patrick’s Day. “Pat the Bat” was the top overall pick in the 1998 draft and joined the big-league team in 2001. He looked like the next big thing in 2002 when he hit 37 home runs and put up a .920 ERA. But he never built upon that early success and settled in as just a pretty good player (although reportedly an amazing partier).

He would probably be held in higher regard in modern times when he could have been a designated hitter, and we wouldn’t have had to watch him attempt to catch up to balls in left field. I thought he actually took decent routes to balls and had a good arm; he was just horrifically slow. And while he never developed into the massive power hitter that people expected, he always had a high on-base percentage.

Pat Neshek

Unlike Pat Burrell, Pat Neshek made an All-Star team as a Phillie, although it was very much a token selection for a dreadful Phillies team in 2017. Still, Neshek was a very solid reliever who the Phillies traded for three minor leaguers – most notably the immortal J.D. Hammer.

The Phillies liked Neshek well enough that they brought him back as a free agent the following season. He was paired with another bearded reliever in Tommy Hunter, and it was difficult to tell them apart except for the fact that Neshek was generally effective, while Hunter often stood on the mound looking scared for a few seconds before surrendering another base hit. (I couldn’t stand Tommy Hunter.)

“Irish” Mike Ryan

While he wasn’t named Patrick, I couldn’t possibly have a Phillies St. Patrick’s Day post without mentioning the famous “Irish” Mike Ryan. Ryan spent six years with the Phillies as a catcher, known for strong defense and little offense. He then spent 15 years on the Phillies’ coaching staff, mostly as the bullpen coach and batting practice pitcher.

Ryan lived up to the stereotype of the “fiery” Irishman, as whenever there was a scuffle between Phillies and an opponent, Ryan would usually be involved. You might have noticed him in that brawl with the Mets from above.

If you choose to celebrate with a green-colored beverage or three, please make sure to do so responsibly. And have a good St. Patrick’s Day!

Heartbreaking News For Canadiens’ Forward

The Montreal Canadiens announced on Tuesday morning that forward Kirby Dach would be out for two to four weeks because of an upper-body injury. The Albertan sustained the injury early in Sunday night’s game against the Anaheim Ducks when he was blindsided by forward Jeffrey Viel.

This is just the latest in a long series of setbacks for the 25-year-old, who recently played in his 300th NHL game during his seven seasons in the league. The team’s announcement doesn’t delve into details of the injury. Given the nature of the hit, it was thought to perhaps be a concussion, but players who deal with concussions are often listed as day-to-day.

Canadiens Must Stop Sabotaging Themselves And Get Two Points
Canadiens Must Come Up Big This Week
Canadiens: Another Big Setback For Dach?

If Dach ends up missing four weeks, he will miss the rest of the regular season, which is a huge blow to a player trying to earn a contract for next season. The 6-foot-4 forward has already missed 34 games in this campaign, resuming play on January 20 after being injured on November 15.

While some may say this is just bad luck striking once again, there has to be a concern for the Canadiens about his body’s ability to sustain the grind of the NHL’s physical play. The injury will take some of the heat off Martin St-Louis’ lineup decisions since he now finds himself with an extra chair on the third line, which will be occupied tonight by Zachary Bolduc.


Follow Karine on X @KarineHains Bluesky @karinehains.bsky.social and Threads @karinehains.  

Image

Bookmark The Hockey News Canadiens' page for all the news and happenings around the Canadiens.

Join the discussion by signing up to the Canadiens' roundtable on The Hockey News.

Subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here

Breaking down the Wizards’ loss to the Warriors

WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 16: Kristaps Porzingis #7 and De'anthony Melton #8 of the Golden State Warriors celebrate in the first quarter against the Washington Wizards at Capital One Arena on March 16, 2026 in Washington, DC. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Greg Fiume/Getty Images) | Getty Images

The Washington Wizards lost to the Golden State Warriors last night, 125-117. Kevin Broom is out today, so let’s break down the numbers, starting with the four factors.

TeamPaceeFG%TOV%ORB%FT/FGAORtg
Warriors101.60.55514.134.10.264123
Wizards101.60.59618.8250.308115.2

Let’s go with the pros:

  • Effective field goal percentage:Despite the loss, the Wizards still had a higher shooting percentage here thanks to a better three point shooting night.
  • Three Wizards players scored 21 points: Will Riley, Bilal Coulibaly and Trae Young scored this magic number each and at a good efficiency.

And the cons:

  • Kristaps Porzingis: There was no Stephen Curry or Jimmy Butler. Draymond Green was the assist and rebounding power. But Porzingis came off the bench and scored 30 points.
  • Turnovers: Washington gave up 21 turnovers last night compared to 17 for Golden State. Against a more established team, that’s how things work against the Wizards.
  • 12 straight losses? I’d like to see a win every now and then.

No rest for the weary. The Detroit Pistons are in tonight so let’s hope the Wizards don’t lose 13 in a row.

What channel is USA vs. Venezuela World Baseball Classic title game?

After two weeks of incredible baseball, the World Baseball Classic comes down to one game, with the United States taking on Venezuela at LoanDepot Park in Miami on Tuesday, March 17.

Team USA, looking for its first WBC triumph since 2017, got to the final by beating the Dominican Republic 2-1, and Venezuela, which defeated reigning champion Japan in the quarterfinals, punched its ticket to the final with a come-from-behind 4-2 triumph over Italy.

Venezuela, which is making its first-ever appearance in the championship game, is led by Atlanta Braves star Ronald Acuña Jr. and three-time batting champion Luis Arraez.

Here is how to watch the WBC final.

What channel is USA vs Venezuela WBC final

Where: LoanDepot Park, Miami, Florida

Time: Tuesday, March 17 at 8 p.m. ET

Channel: FOX

Live stream: Fubo

This story was updated to change a video.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: USA vs Venezuela: What channel is World Baseball Classic final?

Rays Reacts Survey: Closer Edition

Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Ty Johnson (#82) warms up in the bullpen. The Baltimore Orioles hosted the Tampa Bay Rays in a Grapefruit League spring training game at Ed Smith Stadium in Sarasota on Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2026. | Mike Lang / Sarasota Herald-Tribune / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

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