Los Angeles, CA - March 25: The Los Angeles Dodgers and UNIQLO announced a partnership renaming the Dodger Stadium playing field to UNIQLO Field at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles on Wednesday, March 25, 2026. (Photo by Keith Birmingham/MediaNews Group/Pasadena Star-News via Getty Images) | MediaNews Group via Getty Images
CLEVELAND, OHIO - DECEMBER 23: Darius Garland #10, Jarrett Allen #31 and Jaylon Tyson #20 of the Cleveland Cavaliers wave to fans prior to a game against the New Orleans Pelicans at Rocket Arena on December 23, 2025 in Cleveland, Ohio. 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 Nick Cammett/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Cleveland Cavaliers have only had their new core four players of James Harden, Donovan Mitchell, Evan Mobley, and Jarrett Allen all together on the court for three games this season. Friday’s contest against the Miami Heat could be their fourth.
Allen, who has missed the team’s last 10 games with a knee injury, is questionable for Friday’s rematch.
The Cavs made a bold decision at the deadline by sending out a much-younger Darius Garland for Harden. That move was done with the hopes that they would have a better chance of winning a title in the next few seasons, even if it cost them some long-term security. One of the issues of doing a move that drastic is that there isn’t much time to see how it all works.
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Allen was the biggest beneficiary of the Harden acquisition. He displayed an instant chemistry with Harden, which led to him playing the best basketball of his career in February. This resulted in team success as well, as the Cavs registered a +8.5 net rating (87th percentile) and 124.2 offensive rating (96th percentile) in the 256 minutes Harden and Allen shared the floor.
We know those groupings work. We don’t know for sure how it works when you throw Mobley into that mix. The Cavs have only played 35 minutes with all four on the court together. Those lineups have done incredibly well — +36.7 net rating — but it isn’t close to being a large enough sample size to draw any conclusions from. Figuring out how that lineup looks is critical to team success in the postseason.
Additionally, the Cavs have struggled defensively without Allen. That’s been seen in recent games as they’ve consistently over-helped to stop dribble penetration, which has led to giving up open threes. Having an additional rim protector should theoretically help with some of those issues.
This new group would ideally like more time to gel before playoff basketball starts. There’s only nine games left in the regular season. At the very least, Friday could be an opportunity to see how this looks when at least the team’s top players are fully healthy.
On the season, Allen is averaging 15.3 points and 8.5 rebounds per game on 63.6% shooting.
The Cavs will still be without Jaylon Tyson (toe), Craig Porter Jr. (groin), and Dean Wade (ankle) on Friday. Miami could be missing Jaime Jaquez Jr., who’s questionable for Friday’s game with an ankle sprain.
While the Pittsburgh Penguins are in the midst of a playoff push, one young defensive prospect finds himself on the outside looking in.
But all the while, he's taking care of business in the Western Hockey League - and he's leadong the charge of his team into a playoff push of their own.
Penguins' top defensive prospect Harrison Brunicke has been having his way as of late for the Kamloops Blazers of the WHL, as he registered two goals and 15 points in the final 11 games of his team's regular season. The 19-year-old blueliner from Johanessberg, South Africa finished his 2025-26 regular season at point-per-game with the Blazers, putting up 24 points in 24 games in what will be his final junior season.
The 6-foot-3, 203-pound Brunicke - one of the Penguins' top prospects - broke the Penguins' NHL roster out of training camp, and he registered his first NHL goal in his second NHL game, which came against the New York Islanders - the team chasing the Penguins in the Metropolitan Division standings. Brunicke's defensive game left a bit to be desired, though, so after nine NHL games, an AHL conditioning stint, and an appearance at the World Junior Championship, Brunicke was sent back to Kamloops in January.
And, there, he has become the Blazers' most relied-upon shutdown defenseman, playing at all strengths and being deployed in key situations. Brunicke's defensive game is something the Penguins' organization wanted him to work on upon being sent back to junior hockey, and they've kept a close eye on his progress in that area, which has been tangible.
Brunicke turns 20 in June, so he will be AHL-eligible next season. He also figures to make a serious push for a full-time spot on the NHL roster next season.
However, there is a small chance Penguins' fans may get to see him sooner. Should Kamloops be eliminated while the AHL and NHL seasons and/or playoffs are still going on, Brunicke is eligible to be recalled or loaned to the AHL. If he were to appear in one more NHL game in the regular season or the playoffs this year, it would be his 10th, meaning his entry-level contract would be triggered.
If Opening Day were a prophecy, instead of merely a beginning, the Mets should start planning for a late October destiny.
If they can replicate for a whole season what they did Thursday afternoon -- when they were a patient, pitch-eating juggernaut that pushed reigning Cy Young winner Paul Skenes from the game before he could record a third out -- they can rewrite history. Suddenly, that 2025 debacle could look more like a painful-but-necessary learning experience, one that nudged David Stearns to remake his lineup into the relentless, dynamic force last year’s team never found a way to be.
Because for one sunny afternoon in Flushing, everything went perfectly for a new-look Mets lineup that included five players who did not appear for them in 2025. By taking close pitches and fouling off uncomfortable strikes, they picked apart one of the best pitchers of this generation so completely that he left the game before finishing one inning, by far the worst start of his career.
“Look, that first inning was pretty impressive,” Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said. “Not gonna lie.”
That first inning was a masterclass in all the things the Mets could not do last year – creating sparks, then igniting them into a full-fledged flame.
Francisco Lindor worked a walk. Juan Soto blooped a hit into short center, at which point Lindor hustled to third base, challenging Oneil Cruz’s cannon in center to take an extra base.
That brought up Bo Bichette, the former American League batting champion, heralded as a runners-in-scoring-position savant the Mets sorely needed. He fell into a two-strike count. He fouled off a pitch up and in. Then he muscled a fly ball just deep enough to right field to score a run, giving the Mets a walk, a bloop, a sprint, and a chip shot. Something out of nothing.
Jorge Polanco, another new addition, singled. Then, Luis Robert Jr. – known as an avid chaser of strikes and balls, alike – worked a walk in just the second 10-pitch plate appearance he has had in the last three years. A batter later, Brett Baty delivered a go-ahead triple. He said seeing so many Skenes offerings to Robert helped.
“That’s what we harp on. We’re a complete lineup,” Baty said. “And if you wear the pitcher down, somebody is going to get a mistake and do some damage with it.”
Now, of course, any team can have a good inning on any given day. And many teams can even have that good inning against Skenes, though it must be said the Mets were helped by two misreads by Cruz that turned Baty’s ball from a sacrifice fly to a triple and Marcus Semien’s bloop into a double a batter later.
But what was encouraging for Mendoza, he said later, was that the Mets put together a similar inning in the fifth inning. Carson Benge reached base for the first time in his career with a walk. Francisco Alvarez singled. Lindor walked for the third time in five innings to load the bases. At that point, Soto poked a ten-hopper through the left side, the kind of hit that can materialize when hitters put the ball in play with runners in scoring position instead of prioritizing big swings and damage.
A batter later, Bichette worked a 13-pitch at-bat that ended in a strikeout.
“I wrote that down,” Mendoza said later. “Even though he struck out, then we see a four-pitch walk right away, right behind him. He’s going to make him work. We’ve got a lot of guys who are going to grind at-bats. Even if we didn’t get the exact result we wanted in that particular situation, the other guy benefitted from it.”
Ironically, Bichette was the only player in the lineup who did not reach base Thursday. But that 13-pitch at-bat preceded a walk and another single that helped the Mets add on after the Pirates started climbing back.
“I know he might have had a couple strikeouts today or something, but he was grinding,” Baty said. “The strikeouts I had too, I was trying to grind, get the pitch count up. All through the lineup, I think we were super scrappy today.”
Unfortunately for the Mets, the keyword in that sentence is “today.” Whether Thursday was a harbinger or aberration will be clearer in time. Small sample sizes cannot be trusted – though they do not always lie.
“It’s 162,” Mendoza said. “There’s gonna be times where it’s gonna be hard. That’s the nature of the business. But just to see it out of the gate against one of the best pitchers in the league, it goes to show you that we’ve got some dangerous guys.”
And indeed, Thursday did demonstrate that when this remodeled lineup is at its most focused (and, perhaps, gifted a few lucky breaks), it is capable of being one of the game’s more productive groups.
Perhaps Benge will look more like the rookie who struck out in his first two at-bats Thursday more often than he looks like the guy who homered in his fourth. But the fact that he could follow two tough at-bats in his first big league game with two solid ones suggests he will not disappear when at-bats go badly.
SAN DIEGO — The sun hung lazily over Petco Park on Thursday afternoon, as the hope, promise and renewal of a new MLB season hung over the stadium like a golden glow. Opening Day offers a clean slate, like a wave washing away footprints on the shore.
But by the third inning, the tide had already come crashing in on the Padres.
And there was no lifeguard on duty to save them.
Starting pitcher Nick Pivetta delivers against the visiting Tigers on Opening Day. AP
This was supposed to be a pitcher’s duel. A heavyweight fight on the mound between two aces — Tarik Skubal, the reigning American League Cy Young winner, and Nick Pivetta, a late-blooming force who had clawed his way into National League Cy Young relevance last season.
Instead, it felt more like a public unraveling.
Because while Skubal carved, Pivetta collapsed.
Pivetta allowed six runs on seven hits, with four strikeouts and three walks in his Opening Day debut. His ERA after pitching just three innings? A whopping 18.00.
If Pivetta’s outing felt like a storm, Skubal’s was the calm that follows — controlled, precise, almost surgical. He allowed just one unearned run with no walks and six strikeouts, allowing just three hits over six dominant innings. Every pitch delivered with the quiet confidence of a man who understands exactly who he is on a mound.
And what he is … is one of the best pitchers on the planet.
Their lone flicker of resistance came off the bat of Ramon Laureano, a solo home run that briefly interrupted the inevitable. A momentary spark in a game already swallowed by darkness.
Everything else belonged to Detroit.
And to Kevin McGonigle, who finished his debut 4 for 5 with two RBI and two runs scored — a performance so composed, so fearless, it felt like watching the future arrive ahead of schedule.
There’s something poetic about a rookie stealing the spotlight on Opening Day. Baseball has always been a game that honors its past while quietly handing the keys to the next generation. On Thursday, that passing of the torch didn’t feel subtle. It felt loud.
What it means
Pivetta might be regressing. He struck out Kerry Carpenter to start the game, but it all went south from there. What followed felt like a slow leak turning into a flood. Walks piled up. Contact got louder. Confidence drained.
By the time the inning exhaled its final breath, the Tigers led 4-0. And the game, for all intents and purposes, was already over.
The Tigers’ Kevin McGonigle had an amazing MLB debut on Thursday. AP
Who’s hot
A 21-year-old kid, barely old enough to legally toast his own debut, stepped into the box and announced himself to the sport with the kind of audacity that makes veterans shake their heads. McGonigle delivered the game’s biggest hit on the first pitch he saw of his career.
McGonigle ripped a two-run double down the right field line off Pivetta in the first inning. A clean, violent stroke that split the afternoon open. It wasn’t just a hit. It was a declaration.
Welcome to the show, Kevin.
Who’s not
Nick Pivetta. The man who was among the sport’s top pitchers last season was supposed to take a step forward as San Diego’s dominant ace this season. Instead, he delivered a dud on Opening Day.
Pivetta loaded the bases after that opening strikeout, and instead of finding a way out, he spiraled deeper. A walk forced in the first run. Then came McGonigle’s double — a slicing line drive that seemed to carry the weight of inevitability with it.
When he left the game, it was 6-0 Tigers and the Padres were chasing the scoreboard.
Up next
The Padres (0-1) will try to shake off the sting Friday night when Michael King takes the ball in his season debut. Waiting for him will be another test — Framber Valdez, the longtime Astros ace now wearing Tigers (1-0) colors after a headline-grabbing offseason move.
With Pivetta’s implosion Thursday, King could step into the role as Padres ace with a dominant performance. For San Diego, it’s only one game. Baseball will always humble you and remind you to turn the page, but this was a bad start to the 2026 season.
For the Tigers, this felt like a warning shot to the American League: We’ve reloaded and are ready to compete for a title this year.
Forty-two years ago, the Tigers and Padres met in the 1984 World Series with Detroit coming out on top. Both teams would love to meet again in the Fall Classic this year. They’ll have to start with Game 2 of the opening series on Friday.
First pitch is set for 6:40 p.m.
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CHICAGO — Cubs second baseman Nico Hoerner has agreed to a six-year contract, according to a person familiar with the details, marking another major deal for the franchise.
The person spoke to the AP on Thursday on condition of anonymity because the agreement was pending a physical.
The long-term contract for Hoerner comes after All-Star center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong agreed to a $115 million, six-year deal with the Cubs. The team announced Crow-Armstrong’s contract after Thursday’s 10-4 loss to Washington on opening day.
The 28-year-old Hoerner was selected by Chicago in the first round of the 2018 amateur draft out of Stanford University. He is in the last season of a $35 million, three-year contract that was finalized in March 2023.
Hoerner was a key performer last year as Chicago won 92 games and reached the playoffs for the first time since 2020. He batted .297 with seven homers, 61 RBIs and 29 steals in a career-best 156 games. He also won his second Gold Glove.
But the Hickory, North Carolina native is also from another era, joining Michigan State’s Tom Izzo and Houston’s Kelvin Sampson from the old guard of coaches to make it to the Sweet 16 this year. His No. 6 seeded Tennessee team faces No. 2 seed Iowa State Friday, March 27 at the United Center in Chicago.
With that longevity comes a fascinating perspective about the place he’s been for the past decade, the places he might have left for previously, and the places he probably won’t go now that everything about college sports is different.
“The obvious problem today is there's some fan bases that still think they have an entitlement and they think it's going to be the same way,” Barnes said on Thursday in reference to North Carolina basketballl. “The game has changed totally because of NIL.”
The statement perhaps minimizes the remarkable consistency forged under Barnes over the past decade on Rocky Top. This is the fourth Sweet 16 appearance in a row for Tennessee under Barnes, and no active coach has more all-time wins (860) without winning a national championship. The Vols have advanced past the first weekend of the men's NCAA Tournament nearly as many times with Barnes (5) as they had in the previous 106 seasons of program history.
He’s also 23 years removed from a Final Four appearance with Texas and may never be on another blueblood wish list again because of his age and the lifetime contract he signed with the Volunteers last year. But now, with his coaching career much closer to its ending than the beginning, he might not need to be.
That's what he believes, and so do his counterparts actually being featured on all those UNC hot boards this week. The 2025-26 college football season was proof of concept for some.
“We may not have the tradition that some of these other places had," Oats said in reference to Alabama, for instance, "but Indiana football probably didn't have that tradition, either, and they won it. I think their athletic department supported them, they got a good coach and they won it.”
This alignment between administration and coach, Barnes emphasized Thursday, is more important than ever in a system he acknowledged as “broken” because of the rapid evolution of the NCAA rulebook. “You need money. We know that,” Barnes said. “But there’s a lot more to it than that."
There's a scenario, for instance, in which he would have already retired in the wake of all the change in college basketball if not for the presence of Tennessee athletic director Danny White.
"I love coaching, and if I didn't have the leadership – I don't know," Barnes said.
In this way, perhaps coincidentally, he has been ahead of the curve working at a school with a powerhouse football program.
Barnes called Tennessee football the "greatest asset we have," rather than competition for resources, due to the revenue generated and the value of hosting recruits during games at Neyland Stadium in the fall. He joked NIL stands for "now it's legal," and yet the version of Barnes players get now seems a lot like the version they got before making six- and seven-figure salaries.
His recruiting pitch even includes the warning that, "this will be the hardest-working program you'll ever be in," Ohio State transfer Felix Okpara said.
“He’s as hands on as it gets. He’s ripping into you," added guard Bishop Boswell. "A lot of times it can be hard to hear, but at the end of the day, he demands perfection. I think the thing we respect the most about him is he’s the same every day. There’s no fall off, even if we might not always want to hear it.”
Barnes savors this part of the job. He loves practice most of all, he said, and told a story Thursday from when he worked for Wimp Sanderson at Alabama 40 years ago.
Barnes walked in on Sanderson "literally lying on the sofa in his office" with his hands behind his head before the first game of the season, and the coach told Barnes this would be a great job "if you never had to play games." Only Barnes lost his train of thought as the memory flooded back to him and asked to hear the question again.
What's his driving force after so many years, so many accomplishments and so many changes? This time, Barnes gave the canned answer.
ST. LOUIS (AP) — Alec Burleson hit a two-run homer to cap off an eight-run outburst in the sixth inning as the St. Louis Cardinals rallied for a 9-7 win over the Tampa Bay Rays on Thursday.
Rookie JJ Wetherholt also homered for St. Louis.
Jonathan Aranda homered for Tampa Bay, which took a 7-1 lead with six runs in the top of the sixth.
St. Louis answered back with eight runs in its half including run-scoring sacrifice flies by Wetherholt and Ivan Herrera, which tied the game 7-all.
Burleson followed with a blast to right field.
Both teams sent 11 batters to the plate in the inning.
Jonny DeLuca had a two-run single to highlight the sixth inning for Tampa Bay, which had won four of its previous five games on opening day.
Riley O’Brien picked up the win with 1 1/3 innings of scoreless relief. Ryne Stanek earned the save. He struck out Richie Palacios with the bases loaded to end the game.
St. Louis outfielder Nathan Church added a two-run hit in the sixth. Church, Burleson and Victor Scott II had three hits each.
Yandy Díaz, Ben Williamson and Nick Fortes had three hits each for the Rays.
Tampa Bay starter Drew Rasmussen allowed just one run on four hits over five innings in his first opening day assignment.
Cardinals starter Matthew Liberatore surrendered one run on seven hits in five innings.
The Cardinals are in rebuilding mode after trading veterans Sonny Gray, Brendan Donovan, Nolan Arenado and Willson Contreras in the offseason for prospects.
The game time temperature of 91 degrees was the hottest opening day in the history of Busch Stadium, eclipsing the previous mark of 73 degrees on April 5, 1999.
Up next
After a day off on Friday, Tampa Bay RH Joe Boyle (1-0, 3. 52 ERA last season) will face RHP Michael McGreevy (8-4, 4.42) in the second game of the three-game set on Saturday,
SCOTTSDALE, ARIZONA - MARCH 23: Kevin McGonigle #85 of the Detroit Tigers warms up before a spring training game against the Colorado Rockies at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick on March 23, 2026 in Scottsdale, Arizona. (Photo by Chris Coduto/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Well, it doesn’t get a whole lot better than that. Kevin McGonigle suited up for the first game of his major league career, and when the smoke cleared he had four hits, two RBI, two runs scored, and had a solid day defensively at third base.
McGonigle stepped in against the Padres’ Opening Day starter, right-hander Nick Pivetta, in the first inning with the bases juiced. That could set a rookie’s knees a-quakin’ but instead McGonigle said he knew he’d get something up in the zone, with Pivetta hunting for a pop-up or shallow fly ball to keep the run from scoring at third, and he was correct. Pivetta tried to jam him with a 92 mph cutter up and in, and the young batsmith smoked it down the right field line for a two-run double.
With that out of the way, McGonigle could settle in and do his thing, and his thing is raking. Three more hits followed, one a little infield squibber that he beat out, one a solid single to right centerfield, and one a third inning double off the top of the wall in right field that was followed by a two-run homer from Dillon Dingler. McGonigle became just the 15th player to collect four hits in an MLB debut going back to 1900.
Of note is that fact that McGonigle had hits on four different pitch types, a fourseamer, a sinker, a cutter, and a changeup. Guaranteed he’ll see a lot of breaking balls the next two days in San Diego.
It didn’t take long after draft day for Kevin McGonigle to seize the top spot in the Tigers’ farm system rankings, and by last year he was already near the top of top 100 lists around the game. On draft day, there were minor concerns about the small framed infielder’s raw power projections and ability to stick at the shortstop position. There were never many doubts that he would hit, and hit a lot.
He’s methodically erased the other concerns along the way. McGonilgle has launched numerous tape measure shots over the past year, and while he had work to do to develop his footwork and become more efficient in his actions defensively, he’s clearly put in the work to make that a reality. Hall of Famer Alan Trammell has put in a lot of time working with him on his defensive actions since last season, and that work has paid off big this spring. McGonigle looks a lot slicker anywhere you put him on the field, and while his arm is just average for a shortstop, and not geared to make crazy throws from deep in the hole, his range, quick transfer, and accuracy make up for a lot. I’ve thought he’d be an average shortstop for a while now, but his work this spring has him tracking more like an above average defender.
The final note of the day was the 30.2 feet per second sprint speed he posted on Opening Day in beating out an infield single. We’ve mentioned that his speed is underrated, but frankly that was a shocking number to see. Only Trea Turner averaged a higher sprint speed in the major leagues last year, and he averaged 30.3 feet per second. Stealing bases has been a more modest part of McGonigle’s game in the minor leagues, but the opportunity is clearly there for him to steal a lot more bags than expected. He stole 22 in 2024, but only 10 last year in a somewhat abbreviated season caused by a sprained ankle on Opening Day that cost him six weeks. Perhaps he didn’t push the ankle last year, but he’s clearly back to full speed and apparently one of the fastest players in baseball to go with his rather outrageous gifts in all other aspects of the game.
We didn’t see a home run, but it won’t be long. The other aspect of his game the Tigers’ faithful didn’t get a chance to see was his plus power. Here’s a sampling from earlier in the spring. Only Riley Greene and Javier Báez have more raw power than Kevin McGonigle, and he’s going to get to all of it once he settles in fully as a major leaguer. He makes tons of hard contact, and his swing and approach are already built to pull a lot of balls in the air.
All around, a very good day for the Detroit Tigers and Kevin McGonigle. Every player’s major league debut is special, but for a talent like this, it was a real coming out party that showcased to the Tigers’ fanbase just how good a player they’ve got here. By day’s end, McGonigle had the balls he hit for doubles in his locker, and was anxious to meet up with the family who helped get him here, saying “I didn’t do this. WE did this together.”
Good stuff. We’re going to have a fun time watching this young man’s major league career unfold, and his buddies in the farm system will be chomping at the bit this year to join him.
The Vancouver Canucks have been presented with an interesting opportunity over their final 12 games of the 2025-26 season. On Thursday, the Canucks will face the Los Angeles Kings, who are desperate for points as they fight for a spot in the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Thursday is not the only time Vancouver and Los Angeles will play three more times before the end of the regular season.
In a way, the Canucks hold the Kings' playoff fate in their hands. With Los Angeles currently three points plus the tie-breaker below the playoff bar, the Kings will need to take all six points for Vancouver over the next few weeks. Even one slip-up could mean the end of their playoff hopes, as Los Angeles only has 11 games remaining on their schedule.
Overall, the Kings have struggled as of late, which is why they have dropped below the playoff bar. Los Angeles is 3-3-3 in its last 10, but has picked up a single point in three of their previous four games. Ultimately, the Kings should be motivated heading into all three games against the Canucks, which means Vancouver must be ready for the opening puck drop if they want to play spoiler this season.
After Thursday, the next meeting will be in Los Angeles on April 9. As for the final meeting, that will be held at Rogers Arena on April 14. So far this season, the Canucks and Kings have played once, with Los Angeles picking up a 2-1 overtime win in November.
Nov 29, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Vancouver Canucks center Aatu Raty (54) celebrates a goal that was called back for offsides during the first period against the Los Angeles Kings at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images
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HOUSTON (AP) — Mike Trout homered to launch what he hopes will be a bounce-back year, leading the Los Angeles Angels to a season-opening 3-0 win over the Houston Astros on Thursday.
Trout also walked three times and played center field for the first time since April 2024. The three-time MVP played 130 games last season, his most since 2019 because of various injuries.
Making his franchise-record 14th opening day start, the 34-year-old Trout broke a scoreless tie in the seventh inning when he sent a 96 mph fastball from reliever AJ Blubaugh (0-1) 403 feet onto the train tracks in left-center. It was his fifth opening day homer, also a club record.
The Angels snapped an eight-game road losing streak in season openers, starting 1-0 on the road for the first time since 2013.
Oswald Peraza hit an RBI single in the eighth and Nolan Schanuel homered in the ninth.
José Soriano (1-0) allowed two hits and four walks in six innings while striking out seven. Four relievers completed the three-hitter, with Jordan Romano working the ninth to earn the save in his Angels debut.
Hunter Brown started for Houston and allowed four hits and four walks in 4 2/3 innings. He struck out nine.
The Astros went 0 for 7 with runners in scoring position while stranding nine runners.
Houston designated hitter Yordan Alvarez may have been robbed of a home run in the first inning because the retractable roof at Daikin Park was closed. Alvarez hit a towering shot toward the right field foul pole, but it ricocheted off a horizontal rafter and landed in foul territory.
It was ruled a foul ball. The Astros challenged, and the call was upheld after a review. Alvarez later struck out swinging.
Up next
The teams resume the four-game series on Friday, with lefty Yusei Kikuchi starting for Los Angeles opposite right-hander Mike Burrows.
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - OCTOBER 27: A general view during the playing of the national anthem before game three of the 2025 World Series between the Toronto Blue Jays and the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium on October 27, 2025 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Today’s Lineups
DIAMONDBACKS
DODGERS
Ketel Marte – 2B
Shohei Ohtani – DH
Corbin Carroll – RF
Kyle Tucker – RF
Geraldo Perdomo – SS
Mookie Betts – SS
Gabriel Moreno – C
Freddie Freeman – 1B
Nolan Arenado – 3B
Will Smith – C
Carlos Santana – 1B
Max Muncy – 3B
Jordan Lawlar – LF
Teoscar Hernandez – LF
Alek Thomas – CF
Andy Pages – CF
Tim Tawa – DH
Miguel Rojas – 2B
Zac Gallen – RHP
Y. Yamamoto – RHP
The season kicks off for the Diamondbacks, in Los Angeles against the World Champion Dodgers. The game is scheduled to start at 5:30 pm, and I’d probably recommend tuning it as close to that point as possible, unless you want to see the Dodgers getting their World Series rings and all that malarkey. [Hey, we are still the last team to beat Los Angeles in a post-season series] Mind you, with tonight’s game being a national game on NBC and Peacock, I’ve a feeling the broadcast is going to skew quite Dodgers heavy. If they mention us before the fourth inning, I’m going to call that a win.
It has been twenty-five years since the D-backs last beat the Dodgers on Opening Day. So it’s clearly about time, amIrite? That was a 3-2 victory in 2001, behind Randy Johnson, with a two-run shot from Luis Gonzalez in the seventh inning giving Arizona a come from behind victory. Since then, there have been four defeats and, to be honest, it has rarely been close. Only one of those losses has been by a margin less than six runs, with an overall run tally of 8-31. The last time we saw LA on Opening Day was in 2023, when Zac Gallen couldn’t get through five innings and took the L in an 8-2 loss. Still, that season ended up not too bad, didn’t it?
That’s definitely something to remember. It’s very easy to over-react – especially if you get pummeled, like the Giants did last night, or your ace and reigning Cy Young winner can’t get through one inning, like Pirates’ fans had to witness earlier today. But there’s a reason the baseball season is 162 games. It’s almost certain this team will lose sixty of them and win sixty of them. It’s what happens over the remaining forty-two – barely a quarter of the season – which will determine whether this year is a success or failure. So the odds are that today, in and of itself, won’t “matter” in the grand scheme of things.
Still, we hope for the best. There’s a lot of changes to look at here, with half the Diamondbacks line-up different from Opening Day last year:
1B: Naylor > Santana
3B: Suarez > Arenado
LF: Gurriel > Lawlar
CF: McCarthy > Thomas
DH: Grichuk > Smith
On the mound, while Gallen remains the starting pitcher, none of the three relievers to come out against the Cubs (Ryne Nelson, Jalen Beeks and Bryce Jarvis) are in the 2026 version of the Arizona bullpen. All told, of the 26 players on the 2025 Opening Day roster, only eleven are also on the roster today. That feels low, though I haven’t checked to see how it compares to other teams. There may not have been a lot of high-profile changes over the winter – re-signing Kelly and Gallen were far and away the biggest moves – but there has certainly been a significant amount of roster churn. We’ll start to see how it works out tonight! Try and not over-react. 😀
PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA - MARCH 26: Cristopher Sánchez #61 of the Philadelphia Phillies pitches in the first inning on Opening Day against the Texas Rangers at Citizens Bank Park on March 26, 2026 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Emilee Chinn/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Thursday’s Opening Day game against the Texas Rangers had everything a Phillies fan could want: A Schwarbomb, an impressive debut from a rookie, filthy pitching from Cristopher Sanchez, and a way-too-interesting ninth inning. Put it all together, and the Phillies improved to 1-0 on the season with a 5-3 win.
After Sanchez worked around two ground ball singles in the first, the Phillies scored their first runs of the season with the old bloop-blast combination. Trea Turner beat out an infield single, and Kyle Schwarber went opposite field.
In the fifth, Crawford improved to 2-2 in his career with another single, and when Turner followed with another hit, it looked like the Phillies were ready to pile on. But Eovaldi struck out Schwarber and Bryce Harper, which left things in the hands of Alec Bohm.
There were a lot of complaints about Bohm serving as the team’s cleanup hitter, but for one game, it certainly worked out well.
Sanchez was faring far better than Eovaldi. He looked to be in midseason form as he tore through the Rangers’ lineup. He even seemed to be getting stronger as the game went on, striking out the last four batters he faced.
There are some questions about the Phillies’ bullpen, and manager Rob Thomson tried to cover the final three innings with middle relievers Jonathan Bowlan, Zach Pop, and Kyle Backhus. Bowlan and Pop were able to get through their innings – including the Phillies’ first ever ABS challenge.
I question why Thomson didn’t use closer Jhoan Duran in the ninth. Yes, you normally don’t want to use your closer with a five-run lead, but it’s Opening Day: You’ve got an off day tomorrow, so why not give the festive crowd what they want to see? Not to mention, this would have been an excruciating loss, so why mess around?
Instead, we got Backhus, and the Spring Training darling did not look good. Two batters in, and the lead was cut to 5-2.
After another single, Backhus was finally able to retire a batter, but a poor fielding decision by Bryson Stott and an errant throw by Bryce Harper, put a runner at third base.
Duran belatedly entered the game, and although he allowed the tying run to reach the plate, he eventually got Even Carter to ground out to secure the win.
Sadly, the Phillies’ momentum will be stalled by tomorrow’s off day. I understand why they schedule the break, but it’s one of the most annoying things in sports. On the bright side, we get an extra 24 hours to celebrate the big days by Schwarber, Bohm, Crawford, and Sanchez There are certainly worse fates in the world!
The Detroit Red Wings are once again facing a critical juncture in their ongoing rebuild, with the team teetering on the edge of missing the playoffs and potentially extending their postseason drought to a decade.
Frustration among the fan base has been building for years, as many feel that Steve Yzerman’s careful, long-term approach has taken far too long to bear fruit. That sentiment is starting to be echoed by NHL insiders as well.
On Wednesday, David Pagnotta told Daily Faceoff’s The Sheet that this offseason could be pivotal for Yzerman’s job security.
“This is a, I don’t wanna say last kick at it, but this is a you-know-what or get off the pot here for Steve Yzerman this offseason,” Pagnotta said.
David Pagnotta: Re Red Wings: This is a, I don't wanna say last kick at it, but this is a you-know-what or get off the pot here for Steve Yzerman this offseason - The Sheet (3/25)
Since taking over the GM role in the 2019-20 season, Yzerman’s teams have gone 221-245-60, the seventh-worst record in the NHL over that span. Critics point to the slow pace of the rebuild, though it should be noted that Yzerman inherited a franchise in rough shape.
He has also drafted a series of highly touted prospects, including Moritz Seider, Lucas Raymond, Simon Edvinsson, Sebastian Cossa, and Marco Kasper, with hopes that 2025 first-round pick Carter Bear will continue that trend.
Finding draft gems has historically been the foundation of Detroit’s Stanley Cup success, with past cornerstones like Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg emerging outside of the first round.
While Yzerman has shown skill in the draft, he hasn't been able to find gems like Red Wings teams of the past with Yzerman's best find in recent years being 2023 seventh round pick Emmitt Finnie. Minimal additions at the deadline like Justin Faulk and David Perron this season, have limited Detroit’s depth at the most important time of the season as injuries struck key players like Dylan Larkin and Andrew Copp.
Despite these challenges, the rebuild appears to be nearing its finish line. The Red Wings are just a piece or two away from becoming a legitimate playoff contender and potentially a dark horse for the Stanley Cup.
What remains uncertain is whether that push will happen under Yzerman’s leadership or if the organization will look for a new voice to guide the team forward. Time, performance, and the upcoming offseason will likely determine the next chapter for the Motor City franchise.
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On Thursday, ahead of their game against the Calgary Flames, the Anaheim Ducks announced they’ve recalled center Nathan Gaucher from the San Diego Gulls of the AHL.
This call-up comes on the heels of an upper-body injury sustained by Ducks forward Jansen Harkins, who left Tuesday’s game against the Vancouver Canucks after just 2:05 TOI.
Gaucher (22) is in his third full season in the AHL and has produced a career-best 26 points (12-14=26) in 57 games. After scoring just eight points (4-4=8) through the first 36 games in 2025-26, Gaucher’s offense has turned a corner, and he’s tallied 18 points (8-10=18) in his last 21 games, including a hat trick and five points (3-2=5) in his last two.
Dating back to his draft year, Gaucher (22nd overall in 2022) never projected as a traditional top-six producer or contributor, but instead, displayed more of a traditional middle-six, 200-foot center skillset.
He assumed similar duties on back-to-back Canadian World Junior Championship teams, winning gold medals in 2022 and 2023 and scoring a total of six points (2-4=6) in 14 games.
Throughout his professional career, and even dating back to his final year in the QMJHL, Gaucher has suffered injuries or slow starts, potentially hindering his development.
This season, he’s taken on a larger role with the Gulls, earning more ice time at 5v5 and playing a key role on their penalty kill.
Once a pure force of nature with an NHL-ready frame and motor, Gaucher has now refined many of the details in his offensive and defensive games alike. He now recognizes how to efficiently pressure, engage, and utilize his 6-foot-3, 227-pound frame to win pucks on the forecheck or in his end.
Offensively, with his powerful stride, he’s causing turnovers, winning races to loose pucks, and is becoming more calculated and confident with the puck on his stick, letting plays develop before effectively continuing a cycle. Much of his recent stretch of goalscoring has come off clever off-puck reads to find soft ice on the weak side or cutting into the slot to make himself a premium passing option.
If he were to find himself in the Ducks’ NHL lineup in any of their games down the stretch, one could expect him to provide much of what Harkins brought to the fourth line: energy, tenacity, and a disruptive forechecking presence. He can add layers of defensive impact with his open-ice speed, positioning, and willingness to physically engage opponents.
His play style is endearing to teammates, fans, and coaches alike, and he fits the mold of an important piece to the bottom six of a championship team should he continue building on his recent form.
The Ducks spent a relatively high pick on him in 2022, a pick acquired as part of a package in exchange for longtime Anaheim defenseman Hampus Lindholm, with the expectation that he would become a complementary player to the supreme offensive talents they would soon come to acquire when the team was eventually in playoff contention.
That time has now come for the Ducks, and at 22-years-old, Gaucher seems to have marinated in the AHL enough for the front office to be comfortable giving him an opportunity to earn his way onto the ice down the stretch, given the state of their current roster and position in the standings.
