Category: Sports News

Record: 12-12-1. Change on 2025: -1. 5-inning Record: 8-15-2.

Arizona stretched their unbeaten streak to five games with an emphatic victory over the Cubs at Salt River Fields. It looked unlikely, considering the D-backs were 5-1 down in the middle of the third. But scoring fifteen unanswered runs is never a bad thing. A six-run third was followed by a seven-run fourth, Arizona pounding out seventeen hits and five walks. Jordan Lawlar reached base three times on a hit and two walks, while there were two-hit days for Geraldo Perdomo, Carlos Santana and Jorge Barrosa. Good to see Corbin Carroll hitting his first post-hamate home-run. Alek Thomas (top, with Carroll) and Barrosa also went deep, and the team were 7-for-13 with RISP.

Given all of the above, what the pitchers did was almost irrelevant. Merrill Kelly’s second appearance was an improvement on his first: he went 2.2 innings, allowing five hits and two runs, with no walks or K’s. Joe Ross somehow got the W, despite an ugly outing which included allowing a grand-slam. But Juan Morillo struck out three of the four batters he faced, and there was a clean inning from Paul Sewald too. Kade Stroud’s rough spring continued in the eighth, because he allowed as many home-runs as he recorded outs (two of each). But all told, a pretty satisfactory day for the Diamondbacks.

Tomorrow, it’s over to Camelback Ranch for an evening game against the other residents of Chicago, the White Sox. 6:05 pm first pitch there, with Michael Soroka making his first start since coming back from the World Baseball Classic as part of Team Canada.

Wednesday was a very hot afternoon in the Phoenix area. The temperature reached 101 degrees, breaking the record for the month:

“Hot” also described the Cubs bats, at least early in the game. The D-backs came back, though, hitting Edward Cabrera hard, and won the game 16-8.

The D-backs scored first, off Cabrera in the first inning. The run was unearned. Corbin Carroll reached on an error by Matt Shaw, who was playing right field. Carroll then stole second and scored on a single by Geraldo Perdomo.

Carroll suffered a broken hamate bone during a BP session earlier in camp and this was just his fourth Spring Training game. Perdomo had been off at the WBC playing for the Dominican Republic and this was his first game back. So the D-backs took advantage of a couple of their good players being back in the lineup.

The Cubs took the lead in the third, when the teams combined for 11 runs. Shaw led off with a double and scored on a Miguel Amaya single. After Michael Conforto hit into a double play, the Cubs loaded the bases on a single by Kevin Alcántara and walks to Jonathon Long and BJ Murray.

Jefferson Rojas followed with a grand slam, his third homer of the spring. This kid is going to be a really good player.

That ball was a towering drive that went a long way [VIDEO].

Here’s a look at the homer [VIDEO].

The D-backs flipped the script in bottom of the third. First, on a two-run homer by Alek Thomas, another player back from the WBC. Then Cabrera walked Nolan Arenado and he was replaced by minor leaguer Grayson Moore, who gave up a single and two more walks, making it 5-4. A wild pitch tied the game and then Moore gave up a two-run double to give Arizona a 7-5 lead.

Cabrera re-entered the game in the fourth and well, maybe he shouldn’t have. He served up another homer, this one to Carroll, then D-backs hitters continued to tee off on him until the score was 10-5 Arizona. Then minor leaguer Dawson Netz, who had relieved Moore in the third, entered to relieve Cabrera. At this point you are forgiven if you think the heat has gotten to all of these men. The D-backs just kept scoring. One run was charged to Cabrera, but Arizona wound up with an eight-run inning and led 14-5 at the end of the fourth.

Here’s a look at Cabrera’s outing [VIDEO].

After all the minor leaguers were done relieving Cabrera and each other, Gavin Hollowell shut the D-backs down 1-2-3 in the fifth. Hollowell has thrown well this spring and might have an Opening Day bullpen spot.

Ben Brown entered to throw the sixth, against mostly D-backs minor leaguers. He loaded the bases on three singles, but got out of the inning with a pair of strikeouts, both swinging.

Alcántara smacked a two-run homer in the eighth, his first of the spring, and one of three hits he had on the afternoon. Long followed with another long ball, also his first home run of the spring. Alcántara’s homer went a long way [VIDEO]

Manager Craig Counsell’s son Brady, playing for the Diamondbacks, went 1-for-2 in this game and scored twice.

The Cubs have Thursday off, and then will play their only split-squad game of Spring Training 2026 on Friday. Both games were originally scheduled for Friday afternoon and both have been moved to Friday evening because of a forecast high of 106 degrees.

Against the Reds at Sloan Park Friday, Matthew Boyd will face Brandon Williamson. That game will begin at 8:05 p.m. CT. No TV for the Sloan Park game, there will be a radio broadcast on the Reds flagship station WLW 700.

Against the A’s at Hohokam Stadium Friday, Jameson Taillon will go for the Cubs. At the time of this recap the A’s didn’t have a starter listed. That game will begin at 8:10 p.m. CT and be televised on Marquee Sports Network and NBC Sports California. There will be a radio broadcast with the A’s announcers on ATH Audio.

The Dodgers continued sorting out their roster on Wednesday, sending both pitcher River Ryan and utility man Ryan Fitzgerald to minor league camp.

Ryan, who is on the 40-man, was optioned, while non-roster invitee Fitzgerald was reassigned to the minors. Earlier Wednesday, the Dodgers also optioned pitcher Kyle Hurt and selected infielder Santiago Espinal to the roster.

Ryan has been quite impressive this spring, returning after Tommy John surgery and missing all of last season. In his four appearances and 9 2/3 innings, Ryan had a 1.86 ERA with four walks and 12 strikeouts, fanning a third of his batters faced. But the Dodgers are taking the conservative route with his return, as we’ve seen in past years with Walker Buehler, Tony Gonsolin, and others in returning from surgery.

After Hurt and Ryan were optioned, only 16 healthy non-Ohtani pitchers remain in camp, which means only three more cuts to go to finalize the pitching side of the opening day roster.

Yoshinobu Yamamoto is starting opening day. Tyler Glasnow, Shohei Ohtani, and Roki Sasaki are rotation locks, the latter reiterated by manager Dave Roberts on Wednesday morning despite Sasaki struggling all spring. Emmet Sheehan and Justin Wrobleski are still vying for rotation spots. Both could claim them should the Dodger use a six-man rotation out of the gate, but also one of them could make the team as a reliever, too.

The Dodgers have four off days in the first 22 days of the regular season, including three Thursday off days in a row before a more taxing schedule kicks in.

Edwin Díaz, Tanner Scott, Alex Vesia, Blake Treinen, and Jack Dreyer are roster locks. Ben Casparius, Will Klein, and Edgardo Henriquez are in the mix for bullpen spots as well.

The other three still active in camp are starter Landon Knack plus non-roster relievers Chris Campos and Antoine Kelly.

Fitzgerald played in 18 games this spring, mixing time between second base, third base, and shortstop, with 17 of those games coming in reserve. Fitzgerald hit .333/.412/.533 with four doubles, a triple, and four walks, with eight runs scored and seven driven in.

Emerson Hancock had 70ish pitches to work with today and made them last for 3.2 innings – not as efficient as one would hope. He had to dance around some trouble right away, loading the bases in the first on three singles, but was able to work out of the trouble by striking out Reese McGuire, who chased after a high-and-away fastball at 96.5 mph, and getting Brock Wilken to ground into a forceout.

Brendan Donovan gave Hancock a little breathing room in the bottom of the inning with his first homer of the spring, ambushing a first-pitch fastball, poorly located, from Brewers starter Carlos Rodriguez:

But Hancock gave that run right back in the second, giving up a hard-hit single followed by a double; the runner then scored on a sacrifice fly. Hancock’s velocity was slowly climbing in the inning, working up from 94 to 95 to 96 on both his four-seamer and sinker, and he polished off the inning by dismantling Brandon Lockridge on four pitches: three straight sweepers before getting him swinging after a four-seamer away.

The Mariners built a lead in the bottom of the third thanks to a Luke Raley three-run homer that scored Brendan Donovan, who had walked, and Josh Naylor, who had singled, although some of the credit for Raley’s blast belongs to Naylor, who was an absolute pest at first base, urging Donovan into a double steal and just generally wreaking havoc with the pitcher. Rodriguez then delivered Raley a 94.5 mph fastball right in the middle of the plate and Raley, having a good spring now that he’s finally healthy and enjoying frequent playing time with so many outfielders away for the WBC…did not miss it.

Hancock was on his way to a shutdown inning in the fourth, opening with back-to-back strikeouts, but then left a 94 mph fastball on the plate for Cooper Pratt, who singled and then promptly stole second. Another single on a slider that wound up in the middle of the plate moved him to third, and then both runners scored on a Tyler Black triple to shave the Mariners’ lead down to 4-3 and end Hancock’s day. It’s a shame because the triple was actually on a well-located sweeper at the bottom of the zone that Black just flicked into the wind and floated into the deepest corner of Peoria Stadium, and Hancock had made several good pitches in the at-bat, obviously emptying the tank with some 98 mph fastballs. Baseball! Wyatt Lunsford-Shenkmen, who has one of my favorite nicknames (“The Law Firm”) came in and got a groundout to end the threat there.

In the bottom of the fifth, it was Luke Raley again, this time with an RBI double as he ambushed a first pitch from former Mariner Easton McGee. He then scored on Randy Arozarena’s first homer of the spring, making the game 7-3 and helping deliver the Mariners another Cactus League win.

Spring training doesn’t matter, but having a complete team in spring training does matter if you want to win games, it seems.

The morning belonged to cameras, photoshoots, and cover stories. 

By the afternoon, it belonged to the mound.

Shohei Ohtani was revealed as the April cover of Sports Illustrated–posed beside Aaron Judge, both men dressed like baseball’s answer to royalty in suits underneath the headline: “Super Powered.”

Hours later at Camelback Ranch, the illusion gave way to reality. The tailored suits were gone. The spotlight remained.

Ohtani made his 2026 Cactus League pitching debut against the San Francisco Giants on Wednesday. He dominated his rivals with 4 and 1 third scoreless innings on 61 pitches. 

Shohei Ohtani is back on the mound for the Dodgers, starting their Cactus League game against the rival Giants. Here’s the first out of the game. pic.twitter.com/FX9O7tGAFT

— Michael J. Duarte (@michaeljduarte) March 18, 2026

Shohei Ohtani collects his first #SpringTraining K with a 99-mph fastball pic.twitter.com/adGtN2yuQs

— MLB (@MLB) March 18, 2026

Ohtani did not hit in the game, but will be the DH in Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts lineup on Friday. 

Inside the cover story by Tom Verducci, Ohtani and Judge are leading a “new golden era of baseball.” That might be selling it short.

Ohtani and Judge have seven MVPs between them and the former can dominate you twice in the same night like he did in Game 4 of the National League Championship Series against the Milwaukee Brewers. 

That’s more than just a golden era. That’s the dawn of a new day for a sport that is now global because of Ohtani. 

Roberts said Ohtani is expected to pitch again in the Freeway Series, setting up his 2026 regular season debut at Dodger Stadium against the Cleveland Guardians somewhere between March 30 and April 1st.

A sparse crowd braved the heat, which was approaching 100 degrees when Dodgers right-hander Shohei Ohtani walked off the mound at Camelback Ranch. But those who did were treated to a dominant pitching performance from the four-time MVP in his first start of spring training.

They repaid the favor with a standing ovation.

"I've learned that you don't ever underestimate or try to make predictions on what Shohei's going to do,” manager Dave Roberts said. “He's always going to deliver. Yeah, I thought he would be a little bit more rusty than he was today. The breaking ball was good, got some swing and miss. The fastball command, he was working ahead in the count today. So across the board, really good."

Ohtani limited the San Francisco Giants to one hit and overshot the innings goal Roberts laid out Wednesday morning by pitching to one batter in the fifth inning. Ohtani didn’t give up a run in those 4 ⅓ innings, and the only other blemishes on the performance were a pair of walks and a hit batter.

“I was pretty happy with the pitch count today,” Ohtani said through interpreter Will Ireton. “In terms of the next outing, I do want to be better at executing in two-strike counts. I just didn’t finish off hitters as much as I wanted to.”

Read more:Shaikin: The big hit? The WBC. Still looking for that big hit? Team USA.

Ohtani is scheduled to make a start in the Freeway Series against the Angels before his first start of the season. If the rest of spring training goes smoothly, Roberts said he expects Ohtani to be ready to throw about five innings in his first regular-season start.

At that length, the Dodgers won’t need to designate long relievers to piggyback Ohtani's starts. But Roberts stressed the importance of still carrying relievers who can throw multiple innings as the starters continue to build up early in the season.

“Once the season starts you’ve got to see how he’s feeling, how his stuff looks, how he’s throwing the baseball,” Roberts said after the Dodgers' 5-1 win that was stopped after the eighth inning due to the heat.

Most of Ohtani’s build-up has taken place outside of competition, as he balanced playing in the World Baseball Classic for Team Japan as a position player, and addressing pitching on the side. By last week, he’d ramped up to a four-inning live batting practice session against his teammates on the national team in Miami.

“It actually didn’t feel like it was my first spring training outing,” Ohtani said. “I do see this as more of an extension of a live BP situation. So it didn't feel too bad going into this game.”

Ohtani didn’t hit on Wednesday. With the heat and his unique spring, the team wanted to let him focus on pitching. He’s expected to be the designated hitter in Cactus League play Friday.

“In terms of the hitting, it did help that I played in an atmosphere that was pretty intense and competitive,” Ohtani said. “So the fact that I had to get things going earlier in the offseason maybe was the only thing that really affected my preparation. But I think it helped me more so than it hurt me, as I played through these meaningful games in the World Baseball Classic.”

Ohtani used a wide range of his arsenal Friday, landing an especially effective curveball for a called third strike against Heliot Ramos in the fourth inning.

“Never really surprised with him,” catcher Dalton Rushing said. “Everyone knows what he's capable of. Everyone knows his main goal when he goes out there. He expects perfection every single time. And I think he was very, very close to it today.”

Roki Sasaki erratic in latest Cactus League start

Right-hander Roki Sasaki’s command issues, a theme this spring, returned in his start Tuesday evening against the Royals. But Roberts doubled down Wednesday morning on the team’s plan for Sasaki.

“He’s going to be one of our starters,” Roberts said. “I’ve been very consistent in the sense of, we don’t solely evaluate spring training in its entirety alone. So with that, he’s obviously got things to prove — consistency of getting guys out, consistency of strike-throwing. But he’s going to get that opportunity to start the season and we’ll see where we go from there.”

Read more:Yoshinobu Yamamoto's lead-up to Dodgers opening day 'hard to put into words'

Sasaki pitched in parts of five innings Tuesday, for a total of 3 ⅓ innings of work. Along with the four hits and three runs he surrendered, Sasaki issued four walks. Three consecutive free passes in the third inning prompted Roberts to temporarily pull Sasaki from the game.

"The first two innings I actually felt pretty good, intensity-wise,” Sasaki said through an interpreter. “It was OK. But the third inning I threw a lot of two-seamers that kind of threw my mechanics a little off."

Roberts also used a mound visit in the fourth inning when Sasaki said his calves were close to cramping up.

Roster moves

The Dodgers officially selected the contract of utility player Santiago Espinal, as expected. They also optioned right-hander Kyle Hurt, after he recorded a 3.68 ERA in seven Cactus League appearances this spring.

“He’s had a great spring,” Roberts said. “But I think for Kyle it’s the thought of, he hasn’t pitched a whole lot the last couple years. We realize how talented he is. But to get him to get a foundation this year — be able to go back-to-back, pitch two innings in a night then see how he is on the third day to go out and pitch and see how he responds. Those are things that are just kind of getting some tread, some wear on his tires for an analogy. That’s what he needs to do.”

Hurt was sidelined for much of the 2025 season while recovering from Tommy John surgery and finished with triple-A Oklahoma City.

The Dodgers also optioned right-handed pitcher River Ryan and reassigned infielder Ryan Fitzgerald to minor league camp.

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.