Category: Sports News

Observations from Yankees spring training Thursday:

A good chime

Cody Bellinger went 0-for-1 with a walk.

More importantly, he left feeling healthy after playing right field in his first spring training game in nearly a week.

The former MVP — who had been out of action with a mild back injury — is scheduled to start again Friday. 

Black’ mark

Paul Blackburn was unable to extend his spring success, allowing two runs, three hits (one home run) and two walks against the Twins while striking out three over 2 ¹/₃ innings.

The 32-year-old had thrown six scoreless innings in his first two spring training appearances.

Caught my eye

The Ryan McMahon shortstop experiment hasn’t gone according to plan.

After the starting third baseman committed an error on a fairly straightforward grounder during his debut at shortstop Tuesday, McMahon recorded another error Thursday after sliding to his knee to get a ball in the hole, then forcing a wild throw to first.

McMahon later made another impressive stab up the middle but again threw off-target. 

Friday’s schedule

Cam Schlittler will make his spring debut in Friday night’s game against the Rays at Steinbrenner Field.

Oswaldo Cabrera also will make his first appearance of the spring, returning to action for the first time since breaking his ankle in May. 

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — The Mets got a look into their potential near future on Thursday, when Jorge Polanco started at first base, with Brett Baty behind him in right field. 

Both players looked fine, but went largely untested in a 7-4 loss to the Nationals. 

They likely won’t be as fortunate when the regular season comes and more unpredictable plays develop. 

Baty and Polanco are doing what they can to be as prepared as possible. 

Baty, who played the outfield — but only left — in the minors, is still adjusting to balls moving in the opposite direction of what he’s used to seeing when he’s on the left side of the field.

He agreed with manager Carlos Mendoza’s decision to keep him on the right side of the diamond for the foreseeable future, either at first base or in right field. 

“When he mentioned it, I didn’t even think about it, but it’s a good plan,’’ Baty said. “It makes sense.” 

And though Baty and Polanco said they were growing more comfortable at their new positions, they acknowledge it’s too early to say just how good they’ll be once Opening Day hits in three weeks. 

But the fact that they are both learning first base — along with Mark Vientos, who is away from the team and playing third base for Team Nicaragua in the World Baseball Classic — has helped. 

“There’s no ego with him,’’ Baty said of Polanco, primarily a middle infielder during his lengthy MLB career. “He wants to play, and he’ll play wherever. We’re both bouncing ideas off each other, working on our footwork. It’s good to have both [of] us there working — and Mark, too, when he was here.” 

Polanco, who made a smooth play on a sharp grounder from Keibert Ruiz in the third inning, taking the ball himself, said he’s also feeling more comfortable at first base. 

“He’s engaged with the dugout and the movement from batter-to-batter [and] pitch-to-pitch,’’ Mendoza said. 

Some scouts remain skeptical that the Mets’ rotating group of players will be successful. 

In addition to Polanco, Baty and Vientos, there’s Bo Bichette moving from shortstop to third base. 

Bichette made a high throw to first after a nice stop and has said he’s growing more accustomed to the hot corner after a few weeks of work. 

But the reason the Mets want them to make adjustments in the field is because they want them in the lineup. 

Bichette had two hits and Baty hit an opposite-field homer. 

“It was good to see him drive the ball the other way,’’ Mendoza said of Baty’s blast.

Game No. 1: Australia (ɐı̣ןɐɹʇsnⱯ) at Czechia (Česká)

Venue: Tokyo Dome — Tokyo, Japan

Australia looks to keep the momentum going after their exciting shutout victory over Chinese Taipei yesterday in which former Rockies farmhand Robbie Perkins and young Cleveland Guardians second baseman Travis Bazzana both hit home runs. Meanwhile, Czechia looks to rebound after a difficult loss to Korea. Czechia’s pitching staff gave up four home runs—two by Shay Whitcomb, one by Jahmai Jones, and another to Bo-gyeong Moon—to put the game out of reach despite the offense playing four runs on nine hits. Former Rockies draft pick Terrin Vavra hit a three-run home run while Martin Červinka, Marek Chlup, and Willie Escala all had multi-hit games.

First Pitch: 8:00 PM MDT

TV: FS1

Radio: MLB Audio; Sirius XM

Lineups:

LHP Josh Hendrickson vs RHP Tomáš Ondra

Game No. 2: Japan (日本) at Chinese Taipei (中華臺北)

Venue: Tokyo Dome — Tokyo, Japan

The victors of the 2023 tournament finally join the fray. Japan went undefeated in 2023 as their star-studded lineup headlined by Shohei Ohtani handled every obstacle in their way. This year, Ohtani is joined fellow Dodger Yoshinobu Yamamoto and plenty of other MLB players alongside NPB’s best. Also on the roster are Munetaka Murakami, Kazuma Okamoto, Seiya Suzuki, Yusei Kikuchi, Masataka Yoshida, and new Rockies starting pitcher Tomoyuki Sugano.

Chinese Taipei has a tall task ahead of them if they want to rebound from last night’s loss to Australia. They were shut out and lost their team captain Chen Chieh-hsien to a finger fracture after he was hit by a pitch. Chen is hoping to return to the tournament at some point, but the timeline is unknown.

First Pitch: 3:00 AM MDT (March 6th, 2026)

TV: FS1

Radio: MLB Audio; Sirius XM

Lineups:

RHP Yoshinobu Yamamoto vs RHP Hao-Chun Cheng

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The Dominican Republic enters the tournament loaded with MLB talent and as one of the favorites to win the World Baseball Classic. They’ll kick things off against Nicaragua at LoanDepot Park on Friday, March 6.

My top Nicaragua vs. Dominican Republic predictions and World Baseball Classic best bets call for the star power of the Dominicans to pave the way to a lopsided victory in this tournament opener.

Nicaragua vs Dominican Republic prediction

Nicaragua vs Dominican Republic best bet: Dominican Republic -4.5 (-115 at DraftKings)

Not only does the Dominican Republic lineup feature a who’s who of MLB superstars, but lefty Cristopher Sanchez will start Friday, and he spun an elite 2.50 ERA and 1.06 WHIP for the Philadelphia Phillies last season.

The Nicaraguans just don’t pack the same punch at the dish or on the mound, and in particular, projected starter Erasmo Ramirez has onlystarted four games since the beginning of the 2019 MLB campaign. 

Finally, I also value the elite Dominican bullpen arms available in the tournament opener. Camilo Doval, Gregory Soto, and Abner Uribe are all proven MLB talents.

Nicaragua vs Dominican Republic same-game parlay (SGP)

Sanchez posted a high-end 9.4 K/9 last season in the majors, and he’ll face a far easier Nicaraguan lineup on Friday. 

Turning to star outfielder Juan Soto, the perennial MVP candidate finished third with a .1500 OPS during the 2023 WBC, and he’s posted a rock-solid .275 batting average over the past three MLB seasons.

Juan Soto star player prop

Juan Soto best bet: 2+ hits (+145 at DraftKings)

In addition to Juan Soto's highlighted WBC and MLB numbers, his underlying 18.1 barrel percentage and 55.1% hard-hit rate are elite marks, and Soto will have excellent lineup protection to prevent the Nicaraguans from pitching around him.

Nicaragua vs Dominican Republic opening odds

• Moneyline: Nicaragua +700 | Dominican Republic -1400
• Run line: Nicaragua +4.5 (-105) | Dominican Republic -4.5 (-115)
• Over/Under: Over 9.5 (-110) | Under 9.5 (-110)

How to watch Nicaragua vs Dominican Republic and game info

This article originally appeared on Covers.com, read the full article here and view our best betting sites or check out our top sportsbook promos.

Since Sunday’s beatdown of the Cincinnati Reds, the A’s have outscored their opponents 52-24! What a thrill it has been too, seeing production not only come from staples like Tyler Soderstrom and Brent Rooker, but also prospects such as Junior Perez.

That narrative continued today against the Angels in Tempe.

A pair of walks to Nick Kurtz and Shea Langeliers in the top half of the 2nd made it a 2-run lead early. With the bases loaded, Soderstromstepped up to the plate and absolutely unloaded on a 94 mph fastball from Aneurys Zabala for a Grand Slam. On the very next pitch thrown by the 29 year old right-hander, Rooker would take him deep. Just like that the A’s are up 7-0 and it’s only the 2nd inning. The damage wouldn’t end there. In Austin Wynn’s second at-bat (first resulted in a double) he’d get a hold of one. Another fastball served up by Zabala, another home run for the A’s. That’s 8 total runs and three tanks for the Green and Gold. They’d load the bases once again with two outs but Kurtz would roll over on a 3-1 fastball.

Aneurys Zabala’s day would be over after less than an inning of work, but oddly enough, starter Alek Manoah’s wouldn’t. Manoah would re-enter the game in the 3rd inning and aside from the Rooker ground-rule double, he pitched pretty decent compared to his first go around. Manoah’s day would end with a line of 2.1 IP, 3 hits, 5 ER, 5 BB, and 3ks.

In the 3rd, 4th, and 5th inning of offensive work for the Angels, they’d chip 4 runs off of A’s starter Luis Morales and Brady Basso. Morales looked really sharp through his first few innings, but once the 4th frame rolled around he kind’ve lost it. The bad juju vibes carried over into Brady Basso’s outing. A couple more runs would be tagged to his name on 4 hits. The highly touted Jamie Arnold would also give up a run on a homer to Denzer Guzman, but overall his day should be considered a success.

No one, however, on either team that is, had a less productive day than the 32 year old Geoff Hartlieb. The A’s right-hander got kicked around by the Halos, to the tune of 5 ER in less than an inning! Would not be surprised if he’s banished to the Phantom Zone by sundown.

Overall, A’s pitching was a bit of a mess today. Thankfully the offense got it done when called upon. Five more runs were tacked on by the Green and Gold in the 6th. Max Muncy’s single brought home Joshua Kuroda-Grauer. Michael Stefanic’s double scored Muncy as well as Bryan Lavastida. He’d then round the bases thanks to a towering cranker by Junior Perez!

Clark Elliot’s 3-run homer in the 9th capped off the last of it. They’d finish with 16 runs on 12 hits and no errors. In the hits department, the Angels came out on top. 15 of their hits resulted in 11 runs. Zero errors were committed by the Halos. Their defense wasn’t to blame, it’s the pitching! The pitching is just absolutely atrocious – – and by the looks of it, we’re not that far behind them!

Tomorrow, the A’s will be squaring up against the Colorado Rockies for the first time this spring. As of right now, it’ll be Chase Dollander (who made his big league debut against the A’s) vs. JT Ginn. Following Friday’s game, the club will split into two. Half will be staying in Arizona to take on the Cubs and the Dodgers, and half will be charting out to Las Vegas, Nevada for this season’s rendition of Big League Weekend against these same Angels!

Lots of fun baseball ahead for the Green and Gold!

What were your impressions of today’s game and do we like Chris Townsend in the booth? I personally am not a fan. I don’t like his energy. He clearly doesn’t have the stamina to be covering a full game. If I had to listen to him and Jenny Cavnar in a tandem, talking about dippin’ dots and beating traffic for 162 games, I’d probably resort to the Play-O-Graph.