Yankees shortstop Ryan McMahon (19) throws to first against the Minnesota Twins in the fourth inning during spring training.
Observations for Yankees spring training on Tuesday.
In short order
Ryan McMahon started at shortstop for the fourth time this spring and looked fine.
It sounds like the Yankees are comfortable with him starting the season as their backup shortstop, giving them more flexibility in how they construct their bench. “I think he could handle that,” Aaron Boone said.
Yankees shortstop Ryan McMahon (19) throws to first against the Minnesota Twins in the fourth inning during spring training at George M. Steinbrenner Field. Mandatory Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images
Up for a challenge
Jake Bird had an inning-ending Strike 3 turned into Ball 4 via the ABS challenge system, but the Yankees reliever rebounded by striking out the next batter, giving him three punch-outs in a scoreless inning.
Caught my eye
Yovanny Cruz continued to turn heads by throwing another scoreless inning of relief with two strikeouts and a sinker that averaged 100.3 mph. He was delayed earlier in camp by a shoulder issue, likely costing him a chance to break camp with the team, but is putting himself in the conversation to help at some point this season. “If he throws strikes, he can impact things,” Boone said.
Wednesday’s schedule
Fifty-three weeks removed from Tommy John surgery, Gerrit Cole will make his spring debut against the Red Sox at Steinbrenner Field, set to throw an inning as he continues his comeback.
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Charlie Coyle had a goal and three assists, Danton Heinen scored his 100th career goal and the Columbus Blue Jackets beat the Carolina Hurricanes 5-1 on Tuesday night.
Mason Marchment, Denton Mateychuk and Mathieu Olivier also scored for Columbus, which has gotten points in a season-high 10-straight games (6-0-4). Cole Sillinger and Adam Fantilli each added two assist, and Jet Greaves stopped 27 shots.
Andrei Svechnikov scored and Brandon Bussi made 25 saves for the Hurricanes.
Marchment scored on a power play 5:25 into the first period, and the Blue Jackets have scored in the opening 10 minutes in 13 of their last 20 games. Coyle added another power-play goal in the final minute of the first.
Svechnikov scored his 25th goal of the season with 5:55 left in the second period before Heinen and Mateychuk scored 34 seconds apart.
Olivier capped the scoring 7:38 into the third period.
Up next
Hurricanes: Host Pittsburgh on Wednesday.
Blue Jackets: Host the New York Rangers on Thursday.
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 40 points and the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Orlando Magic 113-108 Tuesday night for their 10th straight win.
Chet Holmgren added 20 points and 12 rebounds for the Thunder and Ajay Mitchell had 16 points, five of them during a mid-fourth quarter run that put the Thunder ahead to stay.
Paolo Banchero had 32 points, 10 rebounds and five assists for Orlando. Jalen Suggs added 14 points for the Magic, who lost on a second straight night after a seven-game win streak of their own.
Gilgeous-Alexander's record 129th game scoring 20 or more points was accomplished on 14 for 27 shooting and 9 of 11 free throws. He hit 3 of 5 3-point shots, the final one giving the Thunder a 102-96 lead with 3:11 remaining.
His streak of 20-plus point road games, also an NBA record, reached 61 games.
Holmgren scored on three dunks and a midrange jumper while Oklahoma City opened the second quarter on a 19-5 spurt to lead 45-27, the largest lead of the game.
Jevon Carter started Orlando's response with back-to-back 3-pointers, and Banchero opened the third quarter with a scoring burst to put the Magic up by seven points.
Gilgeous-Alexander was on the bench when Mitchell scored inside to lift the Thunder to a 91-90 lead with 8:05 left. He followed with a three-point play and Isaiah Joe added a 3-pointer.
Center Isaiah Hartenstein played his third straight scoreless game for the Thunder, finishing with seven rebounds and eight assists in 16 minutes.
BOSTON (AP) — Daryl Watts scored her eighth goal of the season with 11:01 left in the third period, Raygan Kirk recorded her second straight shutout, and the Toronto Sceptres beat the Boston Fleet 2-0 on Tuesday night.
Toronto (8-1-5-8) leads the PWHL with 14 points (4-0-2-0) in six games since the Olympic break — the team’s longest point streak of the season.
Boston (9-5-2-4), which sits atop the PWHL standings with 39 points, lost a home game for the first time this season. The Fleet were playing at home for the first time in 48 days.
Watts, who won the Patty Kazmaier Award in 2018 with Boston College, cut to the left to create some separation and snuck it through the pads of goaltender Aerin Frankel to open the scoring. Watts also scored two goals in Toronto’s last game at Agganis Arena on March 26, 2025, a 4-2 win over the Fleet.
Blayre Turnbull added an empty netter with 26.5 seconds left after Boston pulled Frankel at 1:20. Turnbull is riding a four-game point streak with three goals and an assist to set a career high with 12 points.
Kirk made 26 saves for the first shutout win on the road in team history. Kirk also stopped 32 shots to shut out the Seattle Torrent 2-0 on Sunday.
Up next
Toronto has more than a week off before hosting Boston on March 27.
The Fleet host Seattle on Saturday and Vancouver on Tuesday before a rematch with the Sceptres.
Mar 13, 2026; Dunedin, Florida, USA; Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Spencer Miles (62) throws a pitch against the Minnesota Twins in the third inning during spring training at TD Ballpark. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images | Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images
It’s the most exciting time of the year. The grass is cut. The sun is shining. The bats are cracking. The gloves are popping. You can talk yourself into any prospect being the breakout star to come. You can convince yourself that (almost) any player is in the best shape of their life. Hope is in the air. More importantly, baseball is in the air.
It’s also, if we’re being honest, kind of the most boring time of the year. Baseball is back, but it’s not really back. The games are rarely televised, and when they are, they’re half-filled with players you won’t actually watch at any point during the regular season. Every bad performance feels like a warning sign, while every good performance smacks you over the head with aLooney Tunes anvil that reads, it’s just Spring Training, it doesn’t mean anything.
But that’s the case for everyone. For you, for me, for every San Francisco Giants fan, and every fan of the other 29 teams in the Majors. We’re all loving that baseball is back, but frustrated that it’s not more back. We’re all hanging on every pitch and every swing, while also wondering what — if anything — we can learn from those pitches and swings.
So let’s take a brief break from Giants baseball. After all, that’s what they’re doing today — taking their last off day until … uhh … the day after Opening Night. Let’s look at some players on other teams, and see how they’re doing this spring. After all, their fans are watching them just as closely as you’re watching Carson Whisenhunt and Parks Harber and Luis Arráez. Let’s see what they’re seeing.
Let’s start with the old friend who might soon be a new friend. Miles was poached by the Toronto Blue Jays in the Rule 5 Draft, which means that, if he doesn’t make the Opening Day roster, he’ll be returned to the Giants in time for Minor League Opening Day (assuming he clears waivers).
Right now, it’s looking like that will happen. Miles sticking with Toronto was always a long shot: he’s basically never played above rookie ball, appearing in just two Low-A games in his draft year in 2022. The walks and the subsequent 1.95 WHIP paint the picture of someone who probably needs more Minor League seasoning — not really a shock, given that he’s pitched just 14.2 innings in his Minor League career. His fastball velocity also hasn’t been quite as strong as some might have expected after his Arizona Fall League showing a few months ago.
But the strikeouts offer a strong reminder as to what a tantalizing talent Miles is, and how good he can be if he stays healthy. Really, his Spring Training has been perfect for the Giants. He probably hasn’t pitched well enough to be rostered, especially for a team with World Series aspirations that made significant bullpen additions after the Rule 5 Draft … including the signing of Tyler Rogers. But he’s stayed healthy and pitched well … things that bode well for his (likely) future with the Giants.
You’ve got to feel for Luciano. His 2025 was brutal — despite being the unanimous top prospect in the Giants organization for multiple years, he spent his final option year in AAA, never once getting called up to join a decidedly mediocre San Francisco squad. He started his offseason by getting unceremoniously waived early in the offseason, and not even because the Giants needed to clear a space to sign a player (though they did open up a space for the Rule 5 Draft). And then he entered the distinct cycle that unproven former top prospects who are out of options go through: his talent was intriguing enough that everyone wanted him, but far enough away that nobody wanted him on their Major League roster. So Luciano was claimed by the Pittsburgh Pirates and waived. And then he was claimed by the Baltimore Orioles and waived. And then he was claimed by the New York Yankees and waived. Finally, he cleared waivers, and was outrighted to New York’s AAA affiliate.
So far, his spring has been exceedingly ugly. After ending his 2025 in a 2-45 slump, Luciano started his spring by going 0-23 in his first 13 games, before mercifully picking up a hit — a 65-mph single — in his most recent game. All while running a 33.3% strikeout rate.
Something clearly happened to Luciano over the past few years. Perhaps it’s a confidence issue. Perhaps the back injury he suffered has messed up his swing. Likely it’s some combination of the two, and probably some other things as well. But it’s sad to see, and I’m certainly rooting for him to figure things out this year with Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. He’s been used strictly as a left fielder and designated hitter this spring.
I’ll admit it: I was very sad when the Giants traded Harrison, even though the Rafael Devers trade was emphatically a win for the Giants. And I was quite happy when the Boston Red Sox turned around and traded him to the Milwaukee Brewers this offseason. The Brewers are where young pitchers go to maximize their potential, and if Harrison does that … well … the Giants won’t have any regrets, but they’ll certainly wish that Boston had asked for one of their other young starters instead.
Harrison was dynamic in his first outing, recording eight of his nine outs with strikes. He got roughed up in his second outing but, you know … it’s spring. He’s talked excitedly about the changes that the Brewers have made with him, and his fastball looks quite lively. The 12 strikeouts in seven innings is reminiscent of the top prospect who once tore through the Giants system while setting records with his strikeouts.
He’s got a great chance to break camp in Milwaukee’s rotation, and I can’t wait to see what he does with that opportunity.
Black ended up with the Kansas City Royals after the Giants designated him for assignment early in the offseason. He’s working strictly as a reliever for the Giants’ 2014 World Series foe, and so far the results have been splendid. He’s yet to allow a run, and he’s ceding just a baserunner per inning. His stuff still isn’t quite dynamic enough to make the Giants regret letting him go, but he looks to have a decent shot at making Kansas City’s Opening Day roster as a part of the bullpen; and he still has an option year remaining, if not. I’m not going to put the cart in front of the horse, but if Black ends up having a quality year in the Majors, the Giants might have to think about re-evaluating what they’re doing with pitchers.
I’ve made no attempts to hide my belief that Teng can be a very good MLB pitcher. It hasn’t really been on display for the Houston Astros, though, as he’s back to struggling with walks. The Astros are using Teng as a swing man — he pitched three innings his last time out — and he’ll certainly factor into their Major League plans at some point this year. But if his spring performance is any indication, he’ll probably work on some things in AAA before making his Houston debut.
And that’s your old friends update. There are other old friends of course — Mike Yastrzemski, notably, is hitting .429/.543/.964 for the Atlanta Braves — but it seemed best to keep our focus on the unproven youngsters that left the Giants this offseason.
Maybe one of them will come back. Hopefully all of them will do well.
PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. — It was almost a year ago that torpedo bats caught the baseball world by storm, a 72-hour craze that generated some outrageous reactions along the way.
Except unlike the best of fads, the torpedo bats never actually went away, only the noise around them died down.
J.C. Escarra dabbled with one early last season, but did not see immediate results, so he went back to using his regular bat.
But with some help from the Yankees’ analytics department, the catcher has been using one again this spring — a heavier Aaron Judge model that they had turned into a torpedo bat, specifically designed to fit his swing — and strong results have followed.
The latest came on Tuesday, when Escarra collected a three-hit day, including crushing a 438-foot homer off Rays starter Ryan Pepiot in a 3-2 win at Charlotte Sports Park.
“I think it has to be the torpedo bats,” said Escarra, who also threw out a runner trying to steal second. “My boy Zac [Fieroh, the club’s manager of analytics and implementation in quantitative analysis] in the analytic hitting department, he’s doing a great job with my bats. I bought into the torpedo bats and maybe it’s that. Maybe it’s not, but I like to think so.
“This year, I said I’m going to live and die by this bat.”
The early returns have been encouraging, specifically in how hard Escarra is hitting the ball more consistently. His homer on Tuesday came off the bat at 108.4 mph, his second-highest exit velocity of the spring, behind only his first home run on Feb. 27 that came off the bat at 109.6 mph — both higher than his regular-season career-high of 107.1 mph. He came into Tuesday with an average exit velocity of 94.1 mph this spring, up from the 90.8 mph he averaged in his first season as a big leaguer.
J.C.Escarra reacts after hitting a home run during the Yankees’ 3-2 spring training win over the Rays on March 17, 2026. Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images
That has only reinforced what Aaron Boone and the Yankees believe about Escarra, who is likely to make the club as its traditional backup catcher behind Austin Wells.
“J.C. is a really good player — I tell him this, too — he just hasn’t gotten a chance yet,” Boone said.
“There’s no doubt in my mind that he’s a top-half-of-the-league catcher. … He can play, man.”
Last season, after winning over the fan base as the former Uber driver who made the team out of camp, Escarra hit .202 with two home runs and a .629 OPS in sporadic playing time — totaling 40 games and 98 plate appearances.
He was more impactful behind the plate, with above-average framing metrics, but was relegated to Triple-A by the second half of the season as Ben Rice took on more catching duties to keep his bat in the lineup.
It remains to be seen how much playing time Escarra will get this season with Rice now the starting first baseman but a crowded bench picture, though he is giving himself a chance to make a bigger impact with his bat — torpedo bat, to be specific.
“I found one that feels comfortable and they made it into how my swing works,” he said. “So I’m seeing it through. I like to think it gives me a little bit of an edge.
“It gives me the biggest barrel that I can use, so maybe that pitch I used to miss, now I’m foul-tipping it and giving me another chance to hit. Maybe I just missed it and then the next one I hit it a little better. It’s all about the small advantages it gives me. If it is proven that it helps me, then I’m going to see it through and keep using it.”
As for his defense, Escarra said getting better at throwing runners out has been a point of emphasis. He only caught one runner stealing on 20 attempts last season, and the Yankees overall had the 10th-lowest caught stealing percentage at 20.3 percent (26-for-128).
All of his work this spring is making sure he is ready to go when called upon.
“I know my role, and I’m going to try to be the best at my role,” Escarra said. “Whatever the team needs, I’m going to be ready for it.”
WASHINGTON (AP) — Jalen Duren had 36 points and 12 rebounds for the Eastern Conference-leading Detroit Pistons, who lost fellow All-Star Cade Cunningham to back spasms in the first half of a 130-117 victory over the Washington Wizards on Tuesday night.
Cunningham was hurt early in the first quarter while diving for a loose ball. He played for a few more minutes before being taken out at the 6:40 mark, and the team said during the second quarter he would not return.
Reserve Daniss Jenkins added 15 points for the Pistons, who have won four of five and sent the Wizards to their 13th straight loss. The teams meet again on Thursday; should Detroit prevail, Washington would equal its 14-game skid from early this season that sent it to a 1-15 start.
Bub Carrington scored a season-high 30 points for the injury-depleted Wizards, who had little-used veteran Anthony Gill in the starting lineup. Rookie Will Riley added 21 points and Justin Champagnie scored 18.
The Wizards have been surprisingly tough against the Pistons this season, with a victory at Detroit on Feb. 5 and an overtime loss in November. Washington kept this one within double digits before Duren gave the Pistons a 78-67 lead midway through the third quarter.
Detroit extended its advantage to 22 points late in the period.
Up next
The teams conclude their season series Thursday at Washington.
The Knicks pushed their winning streak to four with a 136-110 victory over the Indiana Pacers on Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden.
Here are some takeaways...
- Jalen Brunson was forced to sit out this one for the first time since Jan. 17 due to a neck issue. Jose Alvarado slid into the starting lineup for the first time as a Knick in his place, and he immediately provided a spark on offense, knocking down his first two shots from behind the arc.
Alvarado wasn't the only Knick feeling it in the early going, as OG Anunoby led the way with 15 first-quarter points. Anunoby scored 25 the last time these two teams matched up, and he drilled six of his first nine shots on the night to help New York carry a four-point advantage after 12.
- Mitchell Robinson came into the night listed as questionable with a back injury, but he was cleared to play and showed no ill-effects as he pulled in an offensive rebound early in the second quarter and then found a cutting Karl-Anthony Towns for a lay-in plus the foul.
The Pacers remained red-hot, though, and were able to open a slim lead of their own.
- New York tightened things up defensively over the final minutes of the half, and back-to-back threes from Josh Hart helped push the lead back up to eight heading into the break. Hart was four-for-four from three over the first two quarters, leading all scorers with 19 points.
Both teams combined for 136 first-half points on 59 percent shooting from the field and 11 threes apiece.
- The second half started the same way the first ended, as Hart immediately knocked down his fifth three of the night. Towns and Anunoby found their way to the 20-point mark early in the third as well, and the Knicks quickly opened up their largest lead of the night at the time (17).
Indiana was able to cut the gap back down to as many as 10, but the Hart heroics continued, as he stretched out to a game-leading and new Knicks career-high 33 points with just one miss on 13 shots when the third quarter came to a close.
- With things getting back out of reach early in the fourth, Robinson was having his way with the Pacers down low. He slammed down an alley-oop from Tyler Kolek then reeled in another offensive board and got the putback to push him into double-figures, as well.
- Mohamed Diawara, Pacome Dadiet, Kevin McCullar Jr, and a now green-haired Jeremy Sochan played the final minutes of the game with the Knicks leading by 20+ points.
- Hart didn't score again, finishing with 33 points. Anunoby had 26 points and eight boards, Towns 22 and 11, and Alvarado put together a 16-point and 10-assist double-double in his first start as a Knick. Big Mitch Robinson had eight points and eight rebounds off the bench, and Jordan Clarkson stayed hot with 10 more points.
New York shot 54 percent from the field, turned the ball over just nine times, and dished out a season-high 38 assists.
Game MVP: Josh Hart
Hart didn't score in the fourth, but still led all scorers with the highest-point total (33) in his Knicks career.
New Western Australian coach Beau Casson has responded to talk of a spat between Australian all-rounder Cameron Green and a journalist during WA’s Sheffield Shield clash with New South Wales at Sydney’s Cricket Central.
WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 17: Bub Carrington #7 of the Washington Wizards drives to the basket during the game against the Detroit Pistons on March 17, 2026 at Capital One Arena in Washington, DC. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2026 NBAE (Photo by Kenny Giarla/NBAE via Getty Images) | NBAE via Getty Images
The Washington Wizards lost to the Detroit Pistons on Tuesday night, 130-117 at Capital One Arena.
Washington started out decently in this game and raced to a quick 9 point lead though it ended up being a 32-all tie. However, the Pistons, who are leading the NBA’s Eastern Conference, are the more talented team. They quickly took over and had control the rest of the way. Though Washington shot 16-of-37 from the three point line, better than Detroit’s numbers, they were outrebounded 50-35.
Jalen Duren was a main part of the Pistons’ charge tonight. He scored 36 points and grabbed 12 rebounds to lead all scorers. For the Wizards, Bub Carrington scored 30 points on 12-of-16 shooting, so this was a performance that was nice to see despite the result.
The Wizards will face the Pistons again on Thursday at home. Tip off at 7 p.m. ET. See you then.
The first domino in the 2026 NBA Playoffs has fallen.
The Oklahoma City Thunder, the team with the best record in the NBA, became the first squad to clinch a postseason berth Tuesday, March 17 with its 113-108 victory over the Orlando Magic. This marks Oklahoma City’s third consecutive trip to the postseason.
The reigning NBA champions, the Thunder have led the Western Conference wire-to-wire since the start of the season and now sit atop the standings with a 54-15 record, which is 3.5 games ahead of the challenging San Antonio Spurs.
Oklahoma City, however, has its sight on bigger prizes, as the Thunder have the chance to become the first team to repeat as NBA champions since the Golden State Warriors did so in 2018.
Reigning NBA Most Valuable Player Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has carried Oklahoma City this season in the face of several injuries to its other key stars. Forward Jalen Williams, a first-time All-Star last season, has played just 26 of a possible 69 games and continues to be sidelined by a right hamstring strain. Gilgeous-Alexander is once again the odds-on favorite to win MVP and ranks second in the NBA in scoring, entering Tuesday night averaging 31.6 points per game.
In the team’s playoff-clinching game against the Magic, Gilgeous-Alexander scored 40 points on 14-of-27 shooting and added two assists with five rebounds.
TORONTO -- Calum Ritchie recorded a goal and an assist, while Matthew Schaefer added an assist in their hometown debuts, helping the New York Islanders to a 3-1 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday.
Ilya Sorokin made 23 saves to earn the 150th win of his NHL career.
Here's how the game unfolded:
Brayden Schenn scored his first goal since joining the Islanders ahead of March 6th's NHL Trade Deadline. He received a nifty Ritchie feed on the power play at 4:15 of the first period:
Ritchie casually sets up Schenn as if they’ve been playing on the power play together, forever.🚨 #Isles 1-0 pic.twitter.com/E8P9LG8sFM
Ritchie doubled the Islanders' lead to 2-0 at 9:43 of the first period. Barzal, stationed on the left half-wall, fed Ritchie down low before the rookie cut to the top of the crease:
Steven Lorenz got the Maple Leafs on the board at 4:40 of the second, but the Islanders responded at 11:57 of the third after Emil Heineman wired a Tony DeAngelo one-time feed for his 19th of the season:
"This is the Arizona ass-kicking Invitational, and we're accepting all challenges," Barkley said.
"Listen, Michigan has a great team. I love coach (Dusty) May, I think that (LJ Cason) injury might hurt them a little bit. I think the injuries are going to hurt Duke. Now you could have gone back and forth between UConn and Florida, who is at No. 1 seed.
"Obviously I think St. John's got screwed a little bit in the seeding," Barkley added.
"And I'm going to make one thing perfectly clear: Miami Ohio got screwed, too. They should be a higher seed. They went 31-0, and I know my man Bruce Pearl, who I love, disagrees with me. I'm not a big proponent of strength of schedule. It's not their fault everyone in their conference sucks. They only played the schedule they were dealt. They should be in the main draw. And I don't usually root for teams other than Auburn to be honest with you, but I'm rooting for Miami Ohio to advance in this tournament."
Miami plays in Wednesday's First Four against SMU.
Nolan McLean #26 of Team United States pitches against Team Venezuela during the first inning at loanDepot park on March 17, 2026 in Miami, Florida.
Nolan McLean likely would have been the Game 1 starter had the Mets made the playoffs last year.
And while that didn’t come to fruition, he got the ball Tuesday night in a playoff-like atmosphere on a global stage. For the most part, he showed the tantalizing talent that has made him one of the best prospects in baseball.
“I felt good out there, proud of the way I competed,” said McLean, who graded his start a seven out of 10. “Stuff felt great, filling up the zone, tried to control everything I could.”
McLean, who averaged 95 mph on his fastball during his rookie campaign, was consistently hitting 98 and above against Venezuela.
Nolan McLean of Team United States pitches against Team Venezuela during the first inning at loanDepot park on March 17, 2026 in Miami, Florida. Getty Images
“I thought Nolan pitched his tail off. We were not prepared for him to go five [innings],” manager Mark DeRosa said after the loss. “We were thinking he’d give us three, he’d give us four, and we were going to go right to the bullpen and see where the game was at.
“That’s a testament to him. He had unbelievable stuff tonight.”
McLean got off to an inauspicious start when Ronald Acuña Jr. rocketed a 108.4 mph single on the first pitch of the ballgame. But the righty settled down, inducing a double play from Maikel Garcia before Luis Arraez hit a lazy fly ball to center. In all, the frame took him just five pitches.
He started the second inning with dominant stuff, striking out the first two with filthy breaking pitches before working around a bloop single.
Venezuela broke through in the third, thanks in part to McLean uncorking a wild pitch to put two runners in scoring position. Garcia came through this time with a sacrifice fly, but McLean avoided further trouble.
United States pitcher Nolan McLean aims a pitch during the first inning in the championship game of the World Baseball Classic against Venezuela, Tuesday, March 17, 2026, in Miami. AP
He finally had an easy fourth inning, his first clean frame of the night, but allowed a leadoff homer to Wilyer Abreu in the next inning.
“I thought Mac threw the ball great,” Bryce Harper said. “He’s a special talent. He’s going to be a special talent for a long time.”
McLean’s Venezuelan counterpart, Eduardo Rodriguez, proved to be even better, though, keeping the United States off balance and mostly off base. He yielded one hit and one walk with four strikeouts in the first 4¹/₃ innings.
United States manager Mark DeRosa hugs starting pitcher Nolan McLean at the end of the championship game of the World Baseball Classic against Venezuela, Tuesday, March 17, 2026, in Miami. AP
On the hook for most of the night, McLean was spared from taking the loss after Bryce Harper’s two-run homer tied the game briefly in the eighth inning.
The move comes days after Boston signed lefty reliever Danny Columbe to a big league deal. The contract for Kahnle should give the Red Sox more depth in the bullpen.
Israel pitcher Tommy Kahnle (43) looks on toward catcher C.J. Stubbs (not pictured) after the game against Nicaragua at loanDepot Park. Sam Navarro-Imagn Images
Thanks in large part to an All-Star season from Aroldis Chapman, the Red Sox ranked second in MLB — and tops in the American League — in reliever ERA (3.41) and ninth in WHIP (1.25).
Kahnle, 36, pitched last season with the Tigers, holding a 4.43 ERA and 1.302 WHIP across 66 appearances. He also saved nine games for Detroit, which made the playoffs as a wild-card entrant. He was mostly undone by an ugly July in which he carried a 19.64 ERA across 11 games.
Most of his innings, 195 2/3 to be exact, came over six seasons and two separate stints for the Yankees. He was first acquired by New York in a pre-trade deadline deal with the Rockies in 2017.
His best season in The Bronx came during his last in 2024, when he recorded a career-best 2.11 ERA over 42 2/3 innings.
Kahle didn’t allow a single earned run through his first eight playoff games in 2024 but allowed two without recording an out in Game 5 of the Fall Classic, taking the loss as the Dodgers took the series.
Tommy Kahnle pitching during the 2024 World Series for the Yankees. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post
He’s known for wielding his changeup as his primary — and sometimes only — offering, and he deployed it at an 86 percent clip in 2025.
Kahnle also pitched two scoreless innings for Team Israel at this year’s World Baseball Classic.
