Category: Sports News

Monday marks Luis Robert Jr’s first time out of the Mets’ lineup this season.

The outfielder was one of the teams most productive bats in the season opening series win over the Pirates, but they opted to sit him to open the seven-game roadtrip. 

With Robert out of the lineup, Carson Benge slides over to make his first start in center and Brett Baty will play right for his first-ever big-league appearance in the outfield. 

Jorge Polanco is set to DH for the second straight game as he deals with an Achilles issue that flared up over the weekend, so taking his place at first base is Jared Young.

Carlos Mendoza said the team isn’t concerned as Polanco plays through the issue, but they are trying to limit his exposure in the field as they treat it.

“We just have to be careful with him, especially this early,” the skipper said. 

Mendoza also explained that the team decided to give Young his first start of the season in an effort to load up on their lefty bats with right-hander Kyle Leahy on the mound. 

“We’re comfortable with him,” he said on Young. “I wanted to get as many left-handed hitters in the lineup as possible. That’s why Luis understanding he’s going to get an off day in the middle of this stretch here that we’re playing, it made the most sense with Baty in right, Benge in center, and Jared at first.”

While Mark Vientos was passed over this time, Mendoza said pregame Saturday that he expects he’ll make his first start of the season when the Mets face lefty Matthew Liberatore in the series finale on Wednesday. 

Despite seeing just one at-bat to this point, Mendoza is confident Vientos will be ready when his name is called.

Bo knows

Carlos Mendoza wasn’t surprised by how Bo Bichette handled things on Sunday. 

The Mets’ new third baseman owned his early-season struggles after squandering more opportunities and going hitless again in the series finale loss to the Pirates. 

Bichette thought it took too long to start receiving boos from the orange and blue faithful, as he put together what he descried as “terrible at-bats” in search of his first Mets moment.

The skipper expected that type of response from a player he called a “total pro.”

“This is a guy that grew up in the game,” Mendoza said. “He understands the meaning of every pitch, every at-bat, every game, and he understands the stage -- when he signed here, he knew what he signed up for, and he was like I love it, I can’t wait. Watching him yesterday handling the whole situation the way he did, I wasn’t surprised.”

After a great series win in Chicago to open the season, the Nats face another tough challenge. The Philadelphia Phillies have had their number for the last few years. However, these new look Nats have already shown they will not back down. This is also the first divisional matchup and the last series before the Nats home opener.

Blake Butera tried to balance analytics and feel in this lineup. He put the red hot Joey Wiemer in the lineup, but is hitting him 9th against a righty. Wiemer has not been productive against right handed pitching in his career, but he is too hot to sit. He will also be in center field today.

 James Wood will remain in the leadoff spot, while Luis Garcia Jr. will be in the two hole. Even against a righty, CJ Abrams will be down hitting fifth, which is a bit surprising. Drew Millas will be catching, as it seems the Nats are doing a true time share behind the plate. Foster Griffin will make his first start for the Nats and his first outing since reinventing himself in Japan.

baseball is cool because it’s just like …. every day??

→ https://t.co/iUBDqlACVspic.twitter.com/ldUe0Nh6I7

— Washington Nationals (@Nationals) March 30, 2026

If you have followed the game the last few years, you would know the Phillies lineup by now. The three former Nats will be at the top of the order. One new face in Philly is Adolis Garcia, who the Phillies picked up in free agency. Starting catcher JT Realmuto will get the day off today. Taijuan Walker will be on the mound. He had a bit of a bounce back year in 2025.

A new series#RingTheBellpic.twitter.com/T4JnsASWe6

— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) March 30, 2026

Game Info:

Stadium: Citizens Bank Park

Time: 6:40 PM EST

TV: Nationals.TV

Radio: 106.7 The Fan

It was a great start to the season, but the Nats need to keep the good times rolling. I like the decision to go against the numbers and keep Wiemer in the lineup. It shows a level of feel from Butera and the front office. Hopefully Joey can continue his hot streak. Follow along in the comments down below and let’s go Nats!

After being swept by the Marlins in opening weekend, the Rockies will see if going to Canada will help them find their first win of the 2026 season as they take on the Toronto Blue Jays tonight. 

It won’t be easy for the Rockies (0-3) as the Blue Jays (3-0) are not only the defending American League Champions, but they also went 3-0 against the A’s over the weekend. The Rockies made it close, losing all three games by one run to Miami and were outscored 10-7 in the series. Toronto also won two one-run games, but outscored the A’s 16-11.

While it wasn’t an ideal start for the Rockies, it’s a small sample size and it’s too soon to draw conclusions. However, in addition to suffering a walk-off loss on Sunday, the Rockies also faced travel delays heading north of the border.

Tough day for #Rockies yesterday. Walk-off loss, then plane for Miami to Toronto delayed by about 6 hours.

Didn’t take off until about midnight.

— Patrick Saunders (@psaundersdp) March 30, 2026

Colorado is hoping RHP Tomoyuki Sugano can have a solid start in his Rockies debut, and maybe even become the first starting pitcher of 2026 to make it to the sixth inning. The Rockies signed Sugano, a free agent with 12 years of experience in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball League, on Feb. 10 to a one-year, $5.1 million deal just before spring training. Pitching for Japan in the World Baseball Classic this spring, Sugano threw four scoreless innings in his only start.

Sugano, 36, made his MLB debut with Baltimore last season and posted a 4.64 ERA in 30 starts (157 innings). On the bright side, he throws strikes and posted a 5.3% walk rate, in addition to throwing 106 strikeouts. On the downside, he gave up an AL-leading 33 homers. Sugano pitch mix features a split finger, a sweeping slider, two fastballs — a four-seamer and a “shuuto” that is sometimes identified as a sinker, a cutter and a curveball.

The Rockies will face RHP Cody Ponce, who, like Sugano, will be making his first start of the season and debuting for a new team. Ponce pitched for the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2020-21, making 20 appearances (five starts) with a 5.86 ERA in 55 ⅓ innings with 48 strikeouts and 17 walks, while giving up 13 homers. He’s spent the last four seasons playing in Japan and Korea, putting up an outstanding 2025 where he recorded a 1.89 ERA with 252 strikeouts over 180 2/3 innings.

Earlier on Monday, the Rockies announced their minor league rosters.

First Pitch: 5:07 p.m. MDT

TV: Rockies.TV

Radio: 850 AM/94.1 FM KOA Rockies Radio Network (1:55 p.m. pregame)

SBN Site: Bluebird Banter

Lineups:

The #Rockies visit the reigning American League champion Blue Jays for their first interleague matchup of the year. pic.twitter.com/91Hr1TDh1A

— Purple Row (@PurpleRow) March 30, 2026

Ponce makes his Blue Jays debut!

Get your tickets: https://t.co/6QCgkSKfN8pic.twitter.com/EOfOF9RM5k

— Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays) March 30, 2026

---

---

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

Tyler O’Neill earned another appearance in the lineup after smacking a momentum shifting three-run home run Sunday against the Twins. O’Neill will serve as the designated hitter and bat fifth tonight against the Rangers. Taylor Ward (left), Colton Cowser (center) and Dylan Beavers (right) will handle the outfield duties.

Samuel Basallo will begin the game on the bench with Adley Rutschman set to catch Chris Bassitt. Bassitt will make his Orioles debut after signing a one-year deal with the Birds over the offseason.

Coby Mayo will return to his new home at third base with Gunnar Henderson playing to his left. Blaze Alexander will get the nod at second, and Pete Alonso will play first base.

The Orioles will face former first-round pick Jack Leiter.

Orioles lineup:

1. Taylor Ward LF
2. Gunnar Henderson SS
3. Pete Alonso 1B
4. Adley Rutschman C
5. Tyler O’Neill DH
6. Dylan Beavers RF
7. Coby Mayo 3B
8. Colton Cowser CF
9. Blaze Alexander 2B

Starter: RHP Chris Bassitt

Phillies' slow start continues and the fans aren't happy about it originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

Yo, Phillies. You know the season has started, right?

Just asking because the first four games have been more bad than good and the natives are getting a tad frustrated.

Yes, those were boos raining down in the early innings Monday night. The Washington Nationals turned the basepaths into a carousel in the first inning. They scored four times against Taijuan Walker in that frame and went on to beat the Phillies, 13-2, in front of 35,609 at Citizens Bank Park.

In the second inning, as the Nats opened up a 5-0 lead, one of the patrons shouted, “Pull the goalie!”

In the third, as the Nats opened up a 7-0 lead, the folks just booed.

And it’s still March.

Yikes.

Since their exhilarating opening day win over Texas, the Phillies have dropped three straight en route to a 1-3 start. They were no-hit for the first 4 2/3 innings in Saturday’s loss and the first five innings in Sunday’s loss.

Monday night, they had just two hits through 4 2/3 innings and played some sloppy defense against the team widely picked to bring up the rear in the National League East. Manager Rob Thomson was spared watching most of the carnage. He was booted in the first inning for arguing the placement of a base runner after a play had been challenged and won by Washington.

The ugly night included Phillies newcomer Dylan Moore, a utility man, making his first appearance in the field … as a mop-up reliever in the ninth inning.

Washington left-hander Foster Griffin, who spent the last three seasons pitching in Japan, was a winner in his first start back in the majors. He held the Phils to five hits and two runs over five innings. He walked none and struck out five. J.T. Realmuto got the night off. Rafael Marchan made his first start of the new season and provided the Phillies’ offense with a two-run homer to left in the fifth inning. It was the Phillies’ first homer and just their second extra-base hit since opening day.

In his first start of the season, Walker was tagged – softly – for 10 hits and seven runs over 4 2/3 innings.

Walker gave up four runs in the first inning on five hits, a walk and a sacrifice fly. The exit velocities on the five hits were 73, 91, 68, 91 and 91 mph, not exactly bullets. Nonetheless, Walker didn’t miss many bats. He gave up another run in the second and two in the third, one of which was unearned.

Walker is not one to light up the metrics with his overall stuff. It’s worth noting that it was down, across the board, from where it was last year. His four-seam fastball touched 94 mph early but averaged just 91.5 mph.

Starting the final year of a four-year, $72 million contract, Walker is in the rotation only until Zack Wheeler returns sometime in April. At that time, Walker will head to the bullpen. Despite his poor results Monday, he remains an important guy on this team for the starting pitching depth he provides in an organization that lacks it.

On Tuesday night, the Phillies will debut the young prize of their pitching staff, rookie Andrew Painter. Who knew he’d have to play the role of stopper in his first big-league start?

Painter would benefit from a little early offensive support, which has been scarce the last three games.

In fact, the Phillies have not held a lead in any of those games. Through four games, they are hitting .189 (25 for 132) as a team.

The middle game of the Dodgers’ game against the Guardians on Tuesday night at Dodger Stadium features the 2026 pitching debut of Shohei Ohtani at Dodger Stadium.

This is expected to be a full two-way season for Ohtani, who had his second Tommy John surgery in 2023, did not pitch in 2024, and last year didn’t pitch in a game until June. In all, Ohtani in 2025 had a 3.34 ERA in 67 1/3 innings between the regular season and postseason, with 90 strikeouts (a 33.2-percent rate) and 16 walks.

Right-hander Tanner Bibee starts on the mound for Cleveland, making his second start of the season. He allowed three runs, all on solo home runs, in five innings in a no-decision last Thursday, with seven strikeouts.

Tuesday game info

• Teams: Dodgers vs. Guardians
• Ballpark: Dodger Stadium
• Time: 7:10 p.m.
• TV: SportsNet LA
• Radio: AM 570 (English), KTNQ 1020 AM (Spanish)

A new week means a fresh start, something the Athletics badly need after losing all three games of the season-opening series against the Toronto Blue Jays.

Entering the season, the team’s pitching was considered its biggest weakness as the A’s did not do much to improve that part of its roster this offseason. It did not take long for that to come back to hurt the team. They lost their initial two games in walk-off fashion. On Friday, reliever Justin Sterner allowed the Blue Jays to score the winning run in the bottom of the ninth immediately after A’s catcher Shea Langeliers hit his second home run of the game to tie the score in the top of that inning. The next day, Langeliers bashed a grand slam to give the A’s a four-run lead in the seventh inning. Only nine outs away from a victory, the A’s bullpen just needed to protect that sizable lead to get the team its first win of the season. Alas, that was too much for them to handle as multiple relievers let the Blue Jays come back and eventually win in 11 innings.

On the other hand, the A’s offense was seen as its biggest strength, the likes of Brent Rooker, Tyler Soderstrom and Nick Kurtz bringing enough firepower to help the team overcome any pitching struggles. Through three games, that has not been the case.

The team is off to an extremely slow start at the plate with the exception of Langeliers. The A’s struck out an MLB record 50 times in their inaugural series. Even contact-king Jacob Wilson, who only struck out 39 times in 486 at-bats last year, has already struck out five times in 13 at-bats. Part of the credit goes to Toronto’s stellar rotation fronted by right-handers Kevin Gausman and Dylan Cease. Yet, the A’s have been pressing, chasing pitches and just having bad approaches at the plate.

Hopefully, things will change now that the team is back on U.S. soil. This evening, the A’s begin a three-game series against the Atlanta Braves. Like the A’s, the Braves have several talented hitters but pitching question marks due to key starters Spencer Strider and Spencer Schwellenbach beginning the season on the injured list.

Left-hander Jacob Lopez will make his first start of the season today. Lopez has a high ceiling as evidenced by how well he was pitching last summer before his injury. If he can return to that level of performance, that would alleviate some questions surrounding the A’s starting rotation.

The A’s starting lineup:

📍ATL pic.twitter.com/sBf3SzAUIr

— Athletics (@Athletics) March 30, 2026

Despite the team’s putrid performance this past weekend, Kurtz remains in the leadoff spot with Wilson batting fifth. Playing in his hometown, look for Lawrence Butler to put forth a strong showing in front of family and friends. He gets the start in center field with Carlos Cortes in right as the A’s give offensively-challenged Denzel Clarke the night off.

The Braves starting pitcher is right-hander Bryce Elder, who went 8-11 with a 5.30 ERA in 28 starts last year. If the A’s offense struggles against Elder, that would further raise alarm bells.

Here’s how Atlanta lines up behind Elder:

New series on deck! #BravesCountrypic.twitter.com/5AWoTGqUgM

— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) March 30, 2026

The top of their lineup features a formidable trio of superstar right fielder Ronald Acuña Jr, reigning National League Rookie of the Year Drake Baldwin and former A’s player Matt Olson. Atlanta’s catcher Jonah Heim also used to play for the Athletics before he was traded to the Texas Rangers.

Let’s go A’s! Time for that first win!

Pittsburgh Pirates vs. Cincinnati Reds, March 30, 2026, 6:40 p.m. ET

Location: Great American Ball Park, Cincinnati, OH

Broadcast: KDKA AM/FM, FS1, SportsNet Pittsburgh+

---

The Pittsburgh Pirates are on the road today against the Cincinnati Reds looking to grab a win at Great American Ball Park.

---

Please remember our Game Day thread guidelines.

• Don’t troll in your comments; create conversation rather than destroying it
• Remember Bucs Dugout is basically a non-profanity site
• Out of respect to broadcast partners who have paid to carry the game, no mentions of “alternative” (read: illegal) viewing methods are allowed in our threads
• The commenting system was updated during the summer. They’re still working on optimizing it for Game Day Threads like ours. If you don’t like clicking “Load More Comments”, remember that the “Z” key can be your friend. It loads up the latest comments automatically.

BD community, this is your thread for today’s game. Enjoy!

Texas Rangers @ Baltimore Orioles

Monday, March 30, 2026, 5:35 PM CDT (105.3 The Fan / RSN, Victory+)

Camden Yards

RHP Jack Leiter vs. RHP Chris Bassitt

Go Rangers!

Monday notes…

• THE ANGELS ARE EARLY: Today, March 30, is the earliest date on which the Cubs ever have played the Angels. This will be the 27th game between the teams. The previous earliest meeting was on April 4, Opening Day of 2016, at Anaheim. The earliest at Wrigley Field was April 12, in 2019. The Cubs have played two games earlier than March 30 against other American League teams, both on March 28, Opening Day, at Texas, in 2019 and 2024. (Courtesy BCB’s JohnW53)
• MARCHING ALONG: The Cubs are 1-4 all-tiime on March 30. They lost to the D-backs in 2025, to the Rangers in 2024 and 2019, and to the Marlins in 2018. Their only March 30 win was in 2023, a 4-0 win over the Brewers.
• NOT YET: Five of the 26 Cubs on the Opening Day roster have not appeared in a game yet. They are starting pitchers Edward Cabrera (who goes tonight) and Jameson Taillon, bench players Dylan Carlson and Scott Kingery, and swingman Colin Rea.
• PCA NOTE: Pete Crow-Armstrong has recorded eight multi-steal games since the start of the 2025 season, the most in the NL and second-most in the majors behind José Caballero (10).

Cubs lineup:

#Cubs lineup vs #Angels this evening pic.twitter.com/FZPHtzfjlV

— Al Yellon (@bleedcubbieblue) March 30, 2026

Angels lineup:

LAA Angels Lineup 03/30
1. Zach Neto SS
2. Mike Trout CF
3. Nolan Schanuel 1B
4. Jorge Soler DH
5. Yoan Moncada 3B
6. Jo Adell RF
7. Josh Lowe LF
8. Logan O'Hoppe C
9. Oswald Peraza 2B
#RepTheHalo

— FantasyPros (@FantasyProsMLB) March 30, 2026

Edward Cabrera, RHP vs. Ryan Johnson, RHP

Edward Cabrera makes his Cubs debut this evening.

This is also his first career start against the Angels. Current members of the Angels are a small sample size 5-for-28 (.179) against Cabrera with 11 strikeouts. Keep that up and tonight will be a good night.

The “changeup” noted below is really more a different version of his fastball. Here’s more on that pitch. If it’s effective, he usually pitches really well.

Ryan Johnson was the Angels’ second round pick in 2023 out of Dallas Baptist University, the same school where former Cubs draft pick Burl Carraway (remember him?) pitched.

Johnson made his MLB debut last year and made 14 relief appearances with a 7.36 ERA and four home runs allowed in 14.2 innings. Thus this is his first MLB start. He’s never faced the Cubs or anyone on their active roster. As you can see below, he doesn’t throw particularly hard, though he does have a pretty good pitch mix.

Here is the weather forecast for the area around Wrigley Field.

Today’s game is on Marquee Sports Network.

Here is the complete MLB.com live streaming page for today.

MLB.com Gameday

Baseball-reference.com game preview

Please visit the Angels site Crashing The Pearly Gates. If you do go there to interact with Angels fans, please be respectful, abide by their individual site rules and serve as a good representation of Cub fans in general and BCB in particular.

The 2026 game discussion procedure has been changed, so please take note.

You’ll find the game preview, like this one, posted separately on the front page two hours before game time (90 minutes for some early day games following night games).

At the same time, a StoryStream containing the preview will also post on the front page, titled “Cubs vs. (Team) (Day of week/date) game threads.” It will contain every post related to that particular game.

The Live! (formerly “First Pitch”) thread will still post at five minutes to game time. It will also post to the front page. That will be the only live game discussion thread. After the game, the recap and Heroes and Goats will also live on the front page as separate posts.

You will also be able to find the preview, Live! thread, recap and Heroes and Goats in this section link. The StoryStream for each game can also be found in that section.

Discuss amongst yourselves.