Kansas City Royals at San Diego Padres, March 12, 2026, 6:10 p.m. PST

Watch: Padres.TV

Location: Peoria Sports Complex – Peoria, AZ

Listen: 97.3 The Fan

Please remember our Game Day thread guidelines.

• Don’t troll in your comments; create conversation rather than destroying it
• Remember Gaslamp Ball 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

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

JUPITER, Fla.— Sean Manaea’s fastball isn’t exactly hopping.

The left-hander had a second straight Grapefruit League start Thursday in which his velocity was notably down, and he slogged through his outing against the Cardinals at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium.

Manaea averaged 88.8 mph with his four-seam fastball. Last season, he averaged 91.7 mph with that pitch.

On this day he allowed three earned runs on six hits with four strikeouts and one walk over 2 ²/₃ innings in the Mets’ 3-1 loss.

Manaea said he is not concerned.

“I feel healthy, I feel good,” Manaea said.

Manaea said he may just need additional reps to regain his velocity. Manager Carlos Mendoza also downplayed the significance of the dip in velocity.

“I know it’s going to be a topic here, but I am not concerned as long as he keeps telling us he’s healthy,” Mendoza said. “And that is what he keeps telling us, that he feels great.”

Mendoza added that it might take “a while” for Manaea’s velocity to resurface, underscoring his addition of a cutter to his arsenal. Manaea missed the first half of last season while rehabbing an oblique strain and pitched to a 5.64 ERA in 15 appearances for the club.

“He went through a lot last year and now finding the mechanics, the arm slot, there’s a lot going on,” Mendoza said. “But I thought overall he got better in the second and third inning. It’s going to come down to him feeling good, and it might take a few weeks, it might take a month, who knows?”

Clay Holmes will forgo the remainder of the World Baseball Classic to prepare for the Mets’ season.

The right-hander was headed back to spring training Thursday, according to Mendoza, after conversations with Team USA officials determined he was unlikely to receive the innings buildup needed for his first start this season.

Team USA has advanced to the WBC quarterfinals against Canada on Friday.

Holmes pitched three scoreless innings for Team USA against Great Britain last week.

“It was hard for Team USA to guarantee him [innings], especially where they are at, where every game is pretty much an elimination game,” Mendoza said. “It’s hard, especially as a piggyback, to guarantee the number of pitches we are asking him to get.”

Holmes will piggyback Kodai Senga on Friday, according to Mendoza.

The Texas Rangers are signing lefthanded reliever Jalen Beeks to a one year deal, per Evan Grant.

Beeks, 32, first debuted in 2018 with the Boston Red Sox, and was traded to Tampa mid-season for Nathan Eovaldi. He was with the Rays until the 2023 offseason, when he was claimed on waivers by the Colorado Rockies, who dealt him to Pittsburgh at the 2024 trade deadline. He signed with Houston 363 days ago, was released 12 days later, and then signed with Arizona, where he spent the 2025 season.

Beeks is a ground ball pitcher who doesn’t strike out a lot of guys and isn’t great at avoiding walks. He has been durable the past two seasons, however, appearing in 132 games, and he had a decent season for Arizona in 2025, putting up a 3.77 ERA and a 3.88 xERA.

Beeks will make five free agent relievers signed to major league deals by the Rangers this offseason, with the other four being Tyler Alexander, Alexis Diaz, Jakob Junis, and Chris Martin. The Rangers also acquired Rule 5 pick Carter Baumler.

With Alexander, Beeks, and holdover Robert Garcia, the Rangers have three lefties who would appear to be slated for the Opening Day bullpen. Jacob Latz is also a bullpen candidate, but he appears more likely to be in the Opening Day rotation, as he appears to currently have the edge over Kumar Rocker for the final spot.

Diaz has struggled mightily to throw strikes this spring. Throwing strikes has never been his strong point, but his control issues have been particularly bad the past couple of seasons. The Rangers felt there were some things they could do with him to improve in that regard, but it hasn’t appeared to have taken yet. He has an option remaining, so it is possible that he could be sent down to start the season.

The Rangers will have to open up a 40 man roster spot to add Beeks. Waiver claims Dairon Blanco and Michel Otanez would seem to be the most likely candidates to be dropped. However, Texas will also need to open up a roster spot for Andrew McCutchen (or Mark Canha, though McCutchen would seem to be the heavy favorite for that bench spot), so neither player would seem to be safe.

In addition, Evan’s article mentions that Gavin Collyer, Payton Gray and Josh Sborz are in contention for a bullpen spot. None of them are currently on the 40 man roster, so if any of them were to earn a spot on the Opening Day roster, a 40 man move would have to be made there, as well.

As of now, Alexander, Beeks, Garcia, Martin, Junis, and Winn would appear to have six of the eight bullpen spots. One would think that Baumler has shown enough to start the season on with the club, though it remains to be seen whether he will be able to pitch well enough to maintain his hold on a job.

That would, barring injury, leave one bullpen spot open for Diaz, Collyer, Gray, Sborz, Luis Curvelo, or someone else.

The Cincinnati Reds will play under the lights on Thursday when they travel across the Land of the Endless Strip Mall to take on the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Not resting on their World Series laurels, the Dodgers are 12-6 in Cactus League play so far this spring, proving that they are equally adept at winning games that don’t matter as they are at winning games that do.

The Reds will send left-hander Nick Lodolo to the mound for the start as he looks to stretch out to four full innings for the first time this spring. Cincinnati is also sending out a lineup chock full of regulars for the evening, one that includes Elly De La Cruz and Sal Stewart hitting back to back in the 3/4 holes.

Sal, for the record, will slide back over and play 1B on the night. Spencer Steer is also in the lineup showing his versatility as he’ll play in RF (while Noelvi Marte gets a night at DH).

First pitch is set for 9:05 PM ET, and you’ll be able to watch it through MLB.tv thanks to SportsNet LA carrying Dodgers coverage.

Here’s the travel roster for the night, one that features top prospect Tyson Lewis available off the bench as well as Tejay Antone down in the bullpen.

JUPITER, Fla. — One of the two pieces to the Mets’ projected Opening Day lineup who had been absent from the Grapefruit League emerged Thursday.

Luis Robert Jr. got into his first major league exhibition game and played five innings in center field for the Mets in their 3-1 loss to the Cardinals at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium. Robert finished 1-for-3.

That leaves Francisco Lindor, who is rehabbing from hamate bone surgery in his left hand, as the Mets’ only projected Opening Day starter who still hasn’t played in the Grapefruit League. The shortstop has been playing defense in minor league games as he awaits clearance to begin taking at-bats.

Robert, with his history of leg injuries that have impacted his last two seasons in particular, was slow-played this spring in an attempt to keep him healthy for the long haul.

“They explained to me that they wanted me to strengthen parts of my lower body that they thought were a little bit weaker,” Robert said through an interpreter. “And then eventually I would progress to the point where I would be able to play games.”

With Opening Day set for March 26 at Citi Field, the shackles appear to have been removed: Manager Carlos Mendoza said there was a possibility Robert would play again Friday night, giving him starts in back-to-back games.

Robert, 28, arrived in a January trade that sent Luisangel Acuña and Truman Pauley to the White Sox.

“He’s right where he needs to be,” Mendoza said. “He’s a healthy player. He was a healthy player when we got here. We just wanted to make sure that we needed to improve in certain areas, but as far as things we’re going to be looking for, he’s playing, so now it’s just getting the back-to-back … and trying to get him up to seven, eight innings, hopefully a full game depending how the game goes.”

The best of Robert was on display in 2023, when he posted a .264/.315/.542 slash line with 38 homers and 80 RBIs for the White Sox over 145 games to finish 12th in the American League MVP voting.

But injuries have limited Robert to 100 games in 2024 and 110 games last year. Robert struggled offensively both seasons.

“If we can keep this guy healthy, it’s excellent,” Mendoza said. “We saw it in 2023, he was, when healthy, one of the best players in the league. The tools are unbelievable. The guy can go get it in the outfield, he’s got speed, can steal bases, can hit it as far as anybody in the game as well, so there is a lot to like. We have just got to keep him on the field.”

The Mets will have Juan Soto in left field and top prospect Carson Benge is a candidate to start in right. Other outfield options in camp include Brett Baty, Tyrone Taylor, MJ Melendez and Mike Tauchman.

Taylor has extensive experience in center field and could back up Robert there, although Benge can also play the position. Tauchman’s and Melendez’s center field experience is limited.

Robert should benefit from the fact he won’t be asked to carry this lineup, with a supporting cast that includes Soto, Bo Bichette and Jorge Polanco.

“It feels good to be in a lineup like this,” Robert said. “Just to have a lineup with so many stars is real exciting.”

What kind of player can Robert be if he’s healthy for a full season?

“I think the year that I did play almost a full season, those numbers that I was able to put up, I think I can put up that type of year again, or even better,” Robert said.

MESA, Arizona — It’s getting hot in the Valley of the Sun — over 90 degrees Thursday, when the average high is about 77 — and Edward Cabrera is heating up, too, getting ready for his spot in the Cubs rotation.

Cabrera threw 60 pitches (43 strikes) in throwing until there were two out in the fourth. He struck out three. He left with the lead and the Cubs hung on to defeat the Mariners 7-4.

One of Cabrera’s strikeouts was notable. In the first inning, former Cubs prospect Brennen Davis was at bat with one out and a runner on first. Cabrera ran a 3-2 count on Davis and then threw a pitch that was called ball four. Carson Kelly challenged, and the call was overturned, resulting in a called strikeout. Here’s the at-bat in question:

Davis had a pretty good at-bat, as you can see, fouling off a bunch of Cabrera’s offerings. But you can also see that pitch 10, the one that was overturned, was definitely in the zone. This was a good use of the ABS challenge in the first inning. Not that you’d necessarily do that in a regular-season game, but it was definitely good practice for Kelly to challenge that pitch.

The Mariners scored a run in the third off Cabrera on a single, stolen base, fly to right and infield out. The Cubs took the lead in the bottom of the inning. BJ Murray led off with a double and went to third on a single by Michael Busch. One out later, Ian Happ doubled in both runners. Sorry — no video available.

As noted, Cabrera was lifted in the fourth. Here’s his pitch breakdown [VIDEO].

The Cubs extended their lead to 3-1 in the fifth. Jefferson Rojas singled with one out and took third on another single by Busch. Nico Hoerner hit a sacrifice fly, scoring Rojas, but Busch was tagged out trying to take second.

The Cubs broke the game open in the seventh, all with minor leaguers and NRI’s. The most important hit was a home run by Chas McCormick, who still has a chance to make the Opening Day roster.

Of Cubs relievers who will be on that roster, Phil Maton threw a scoreless inning, but he did walk a pair. Otherwise the collection of relievers was guys who won’t be there Opening Day (Corbin Martin, Jack Neely, Tyler Beede and Vince Reilly).

Attendance watch: 14,717 paid to see this afternoon affair. That makes the season total for 12 dates 147,731, or 12,311 per date.

The Cubs will head to Glendale to take on the White Sox Friday afternoon. Ben Brown will start for the Cubs and Davis Martin goes for the Sox. Game time is again 3:05 p.m. CT and TV coverage will be via the White Sox channel CHSN. There’s also a radio broadcast with the Sox announcers on WMVP/ESPN 1000.

Record 8-12. Change on 2025: -1.5. 5-inning record: 4-14-2.

Another day, another spring-worst margin of defeat. After losing by ten runs yesterday, the D-backs went one better (or worse?) this afternoon at Salt River Fields. It was an ugly afternoon for the Arizona pitchers, who handed out a dozen free passes to Colorado hitters, thanks to nine walks and three hit batters. The worst culprit was Brandyn Garcia, who threw 26 pitches to five batters in the sixth, without recording an out: one hit, two walks and two plunkings, part of an eight-run inning. But it had started well. Taylor Clarke and Juan Morillo tossed three hitless innings. John Curtiss also pitched well, with 1.2 scoreless frames. Drey Jameson? Less so: three runs in his 1.2 frames, on two hits and three walks.

The Diamondbacks actually led after the first inning here, before the Rockies got those pesky thirteen unanswered runs. Jordan Lawlar singled, then Tim Tawa got his second home-run of spring, to give Arizona a 2-0 lead before they had a hitter retired. It was all very much downhill from there, however. The D-backs got only four hits and three walks the rest of the way. LuJames Groover accounted for half of the hits with his double and single; Tawa added a walk to his home-run. At least all thirteen runs were earned, I guess? Arizona’s collective ERA in the Cactus League is now 6.22.

We hope for better tomorrow up in Surprise against the Royals. That will see Merrill Kelly return to the mound, as he restarts his build-up: fingers cross that goes well.

PHOENIX –– At this point of spring the last two years, the Dodgers were already breaking camp, departing Arizona early for season-opening overseas trips.

This year, the team still has two weeks to go –– which has made its stay at Camelback Ranch feel long, tedious and bereft of much remaining intrigue.

“With that comes just being bored and tired,” manager Dave Roberts quipped last week.

“We’re not entirely sure what to do with ourselves,” third baseman Max Muncy added. “But we know how to make sure that we’re ready.”

Thus, now is a good time to take stock of how camp has gone for the club and evaluate which players have –– and haven’t –– impressed as the calendar moves closer to Opening Day.

Stock up

Tyler Glasnow: In a camp that has featured few standout starting pitchers (because of injuries and WBC absences), Glasnow has been an exception. He came into the spring saying his mechanics felt as good as they had in four years and has backed it up with three strong outings, striking out 13 batters while walking only two in his nine Cactus League innings. “He looks as good as I’ve seen him,” Roberts said. “I just think that things are slowing down for him now, I really do.”

Andy Pages: Last year was shaping up to be a breakout year for Pages, who hit 27 home runs in the regular season. But then he went ice cold in the playoffs and was benched in the World Series. Now, the third-year slugger is using that October setback as motivation, showing improved plate discipline this spring while batting .385 with five extra-base hits in 10 games. “How he finished last year, I think it’s a sour taste in his mouth,” Roberts said. “He just wants to make sure that doesn’t happen again. And to his credit, he looks fantastic.”

Freddie Freeman: Coming off a fully healthy offseason in which he finally recovered from an ankle injury that had plagued him since the end of 2024, Freeman hoped his swing would feel better from the outset this year. So far, that’s appeared to be the case. Freeman is batting .471 with three doubles and eight RBIs in just seven games. More importantly, he has already found his trademark opposite-field swing consistently –– raising hopes for a resurgent 2026.

Others: Santiago Espinal (who has likely assured himself of an Opening Day roster spot), Teoscar Hernández (who is hitting .440 while getting a bunch of spring at-bats), Tanner Scott (who has five strikeouts and no runs allowed in four innings) and James Tibbs III and Zach Ehrhard (two outfield prospects the Dodgers acquired in a trade for Dustin May at last year’s deadline who have had impressive springs).

Stock down

Ryan Ward: After winning MVP honors in the Triple-A Pacific Coast League last year, and being put on the 40-man roster at the start of the offseason, it appeared Ward was positioned to battle for an Opening Day spot. Instead, his clearest route to playing time was dashed with the signing of Kyle Tucker. And this spring, he has struggled mightily, hitting just .156 before being optioned to minor-league camp last week.

Edgardo Henriquez: Given all the injuries in the Dodgers bullpen, Henriquez seemed to have a clear path to an Opening Day role this spring. But command issues have continued to plague him, with four walks and two hit batters leading to seven runs allowed in four Cactus League innings. He is still battling for a spot but has struggled to capitalize on his opportunity to this point.

Alex Freeland: Tommy Edman’s ankle injury put Freeland in a battle for a potential Opening Day second base role at the start of camp. But his swing remains a work in progress, hitting just .148 this spring. Now, he appears likely to head back to Triple-A to begin the season.

Wait and see

Roki Sasaki: He’s been the most interesting player in camp but for a lot of the wrong reasons. His two Cactus League outings were disconcerting, as he struggled to command his fastball. He looked much better in a recent B-game against White Sox minor leaguers but mostly because they unsurprisingly failed to touch his splitter. He remains in line to be in the Opening Day rotation yet still has much to prove against MLB competition in his return to a starting role.

Blake Treinen: After two sharp outings to begin the spring, Treinen’s last two appearances renewed concerns from his career-worst season last year. In one of them, he gave up four runs on three hits and two walks while recording just one out. In the other, he gave up two more hits while failing to record a strikeout. He remains confident a bounce-back season is on the horizon in 2026, but there still seems to be much to iron out to get there.

Mookie Betts: After spending the offseason trying to rewire his swing, Betts is 5 for 14 and has expressed renewed confidence in his mechanics at the plate. However, he hasn’t played much in the Cactus League because of an intentionally slower ramp-up process in camp and has just one extra-base hit. Coming off a career-worst 2025, questions remain about whether he can bounce all the way back to his old MVP-level form. It will take more time to get clear answers.

Dodgers pitcher makes progress

Snell’s path back: The biggest development from Dodgers camp Thursday came before their game against the Reds. For the first time this spring, Blake Snell threw a bullpen session, marking a key step in his return from offseason shoulder problems. Afterward, Snell said he and the team were still nailing down his return timeline, but he held out hope he could be back before the end of April.

Baby Betts: Mookie Betts left Dodgers camp Wednesday to return to Los Angeles to be with his wife, who is expected to give birth to the couple’s third child. Manager Dave Roberts expected Betts back with the team this weekend.

Caught my eye: Andy Pages has had a big spring with the bat. But on Thursday night, he flashed his premium throwing arm in center field, too, throwing out a runner at third base. Pages’ cannon was a weapon last year, when he had 10 outfield assists.

Up next: The Dodgers have another night game Friday, when they face the Mariners at Peoria Sports Complex.