Category: Sports News

Ryan Weathers allowed four runs in the first inning and the Yankees' offense produced next to nothing until the ninth inning 7-6 loss to the Atlanta Braves on Friday in North Port, Fla.

Here are the takeaways... 

- Weathers, whom the Yanks acquired in January for five players, is looking to crack the rotation, but didn’t get the start he wanted as his second pitch was smoked for a 393-foot home run to left field off Mauricio Doubón's bat. The lefty's 97 mph heater went right into the inside corner, and Doubon turned on it easily.

Weathers then allowed a double down the right-field line when a 1-2 changeup up in the zone got poked the other way by Ozzie Albies. He came around to score on Austin Riley’s one-out single up the middle against a drawn-in infield. After plunking lefty-hitting Mike Yastrzemski in the back, Weathers allowed back-to-back RBI singles, the first to left by Jonah Heim and the second to right by Kyle Farmer. A couple of loud outs kept it to just a four-run inning with the Braves sending nine men to the plate.

The 26-year-old bounced back with a 1-2-3 second with a pair of strikeouts and a double-play in the third, but then the first two men reached on singles in the fourth. Weathers then got back-to-back strikeouts to close his day.

His final line: 3.2 innings, seven hits, four runs, four strikeouts, and one HBP on 67 pitches (48 strikes).

- Atlanta starter Didier Fuentes, the hard-throwing No. 3 prospect in the Braves’ system, had no such issues navigating his 42-pitch start. He tallied five strikeouts without allowing a base runner over his three innings, getting Trent Grisham at a sweeper below the zone, Cody Bellinger swinging through a 99 mph heater off the plate, Ryan McMahon swinging at a sweeper off the plate, Oswaldo Cabrera whiffing on a sweeper down-and-in, and Ernesto Martinez Jr. looking at a fastball at the knees.

- Yovanny Cruz, a 26-year-old minor leaguer, showed off some good stuff in the 1-2-3 fifth, getting two strikeouts as he pumped in nine pitches of 100 mph or faster out of 15 total.

- Max Schuemann got the Yanks' first hit with one out in the fourth with a double on a bloop into no-man's land down the right field line. He finished 1-for-3 with a run scored.

- Bellinger ripped an RBI single up the middle off lefty Dylan Dodd in his second at-bat. He finished 1-for-3 with two strikeouts swinging, the second on an up-and-in 90 mph sinker.

- Grisham went 0-for-3 with two strikeouts swinging, the second flailing at a changeup off the plate.

- Randal Grichuk went 0-for-3 with a mile-high pop-out in foul territory to third, a terrible-looking swing on a strikeout on a ball in the dirt, and a groundout to short.

- McMahon went 0-for-3 with a pair of swinging strikeouts, but did put a charge on a ball (106.7 mph off the bat) in his final at-bat to lineout to left. 

- The Yanks scored five runs in the top of the ninth, capped by Jonathan Ornelas rocketing a monster, three-run home run: 460 feet and 113.1 mph off the bat. 

Highlight

An RBI single for Cody Bellinger 💪 pic.twitter.com/rkFUSmlwuI

— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) March 13, 2026

What's next

The Yankees host the Philadelphia Phillies in Tampa on Saturday, with Opening Day starter Max Fried climbing the hill for the 1:05 p.m. first pitch.

If the Cubs are going to snap their losing streak against the White Sox, they’re going to have to do it on the road — and on a Friday the 13th on top of that.

It’s a battle of Martins today, go figure:

Advantage to our Davis, in every way including 2026 Cactus League performance.

For the White Sox, it’s a mix of established lineup and late-spring tryouts. In the latter category sits Everson Pereira at DH, Jarred Kelenic in center, back from WBC Curtis Mead at third base and Dustin Harris getting his first taste of first base. None of them have options left, and not all will make the cut north with the White Sox, so we’ll have some DFAs from this group within two weeks.

As for the Cubs, who cares? They’re traditionally a lousy organization, with insidious ownership. Let’s get another rout, packed with homers, against them.

It’s a dual broadcast, on both CHSN and WMVP, at 3:05 p.m. CT.

Giants reliever Erik Miller on track for Opening Day after making spring debut originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

SCOTTSDALE — Giants reliever Erik Miller would prefer not to know when he’s going to pitch. He used to get “starter’s anxiety” the night before his spot in the rotation came up, and one thing he has loved about life in the bullpen is the fact that he can be tapped on the shoulder at just about any time late in a game and asked to go throw 97 mph fastballs to a tough lefty.

But spring training innings are mapped out well in advance, and for Miller, that’s particularly important right now. 

The left-hander had missed all of camp with lower back tightness, but he returned to game action on Friday and looked like, well, himself. Miller gave up a leadoff single but then struck out three straight Cincinnati Reds in the fourth inning.

Miller will get back out there Monday, and the Giants will try to keep him on a regular schedule in order to have him ready for the New York Yankees — Cody Bellinger, Jazz Chisholm and others — on March 25. After Friday’s spring debut, manager Tony Vitello said he sees no reason why Miller can’t be ready for the opener. 

“In my opinion, he does (have time),” Vitello said. “I don’t think there was anything drastic going on. I’m a karma guy, I don’t want to say too much (but) he was in a position where he was able to keep (playing catch) so I think he’s in a good spot and I think he feels that way.”

While there are checkmarks for every reliever to hit in the spring, Miller on Friday looked like someone who is ready for regular-season games. His fastball was up to 97 mph and averaged 96.5, and he got two strikeouts on his slider. 

“That’s about as good as I can ask for,” Miller said. “I threw strikes — that’s the main thing. Strikeouts are a benefit but for the most part I was throwing stuff where I wanted to. Yeah, it was good. Obviously, it’s been a long time since I’ve thrown in a big league game.”

Miller’s last appearance against big leaguers was July 2 of last season. He dealt with elbow discomfort throughout the second half and spent all of August and September rehabbing, but the elbow hasn’t been an issue this spring. 

Miller said he usually has back problems a couple of times a year, but this spring, the discomfort returned after he thought he had turned a corner. That led to him being delayed until eight days before the Giants fly home, and they can’t afford any setbacks at this point with their top left-handed arm, and a pitcher who could end up throwing in the eighth and ninth quite often. 

Miller figures he’ll need at least four or five appearances to get ready, but the early schedule could help. The Giants are off on two of the first five days of the season, giving Miller a bit more time to get fully up to speed. 

More Moves

A day after making their first round of spring cuts, the Giants sent relievers Juan Sanchez and Wilkin Ramos to minor league camp. The 25-year-olds are both likely to begin the season with Triple-A Sacramento. 

Sanchez briefly seemed to be in the mix for the Opening Day roster before Miller returned and Joey Lucchesi signed. The lefty had a good spring, allowing just two hits in six scoreless appearances. He walked five and struck out seven, and Vitello was impressed.

“I just think he’s got all the things you want out of a guy intangible-wise,” he said last week. “He just needs to be as good as he can be physically, because when he’s at his best it’s pretty good. The deception piece is there and the stuff is good enough.”

Noteworthy

The misters were on at Scottsdale Stadium for most of Friday’s game and it’s only going to get hotter in the coming days. It’s supposed to be over 100 degrees for the final four days of camp, so some teams in the Cactus League are considering moving some 1 p.m. games to the evening next week.

The Giants entered the day with a .296 average as a team this spring, but Rafael Devers is still trying to find his timing after missing time with hamstring tightness. Devers was 0-for-3 on Friday and is hitless in 18 at-bats this spring. Willy Adames is just 4-for-31. 

While there are zero concerns with those stars, Jerar Encarnacion looked like he was slumping his way off the roster about a week ago. He has found his swing, though. Encarnacion tied Thursday night’s game with a sac fly in the ninth and went 2-for-4 on Friday with a scorched RBI double. 

The Giants could use his right-handed pop off the bench, and there’s a chance he starts the season as the DH if he makes the initial roster and Bryce Eldridge does not. Vitello was especially pleased with Encarnacion’s defense and baserunning lately, noting how hard he is going.

“Jerar is an inspiration right now with the way he’s playing,” Vitello said.

Download and follow the Giants Talk Podcast

This week, we asked you, fourth months in advance, whether you would draft UCLA shortstop Roch Cholowsky No. 1 overall in July.

Your answer was yes, overwhelmingly.

“A lot” can change over the course of spring baseball, both at the college and high school levels. But Roch sure seems to be a lock about right now.

There were national questions for you to answer as well, centering on PEDs:

Yes, PEDs are back in the news after Jurickson Profar (older brother of White Sox infield prospect Jurdrick, South Side Sox’s No. 1oo prospect for 2026) was suspended for a full season after his second positive test for banned substances. Overall, most agree the system is working as intended.

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Did you miss out on this round of questions? No worry, sign up here to participate in our weekly emailed surveys, and have your White Sox voice be heard!

This week’s Reacts is brought to you by FanDuel.

San Diego Padres at Athletics, March 13, 2026, 1:05 p.m. PST

Watch: Padres.TV/MLB Network

Location: Hohokam Stadium – Mesa, AZ

Listen: 97.3 The Fan

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On the road again. pic.twitter.com/8HfpPFTTba

— San Diego Padres (@Padres) March 13, 2026

Friday baseball 😃 pic.twitter.com/AUS6CLuvaB

— Athletics (@Athletics) March 13, 2026

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

When Phillies fans entered the off-season, most knew long-time right fielder Nick Castellanos was on his way out. The free-swinging, undisciplined and inconsistent slugger never quite gave the Phillies the type of production his five-year, 100 million contract, or his production in previous stops, warranted, and his well-documented off-field friction with Phils coaches and manager Rob Thomson only hastened his exit.

Too often fans watched Castellanos flail at sliders as they dove out of the strike zone and gazed in amazement as he actively avoided taking bases on balls like they were covered with ricin. Clearly the Phillies needed a change, so how did they replace him?

By signing another player with almost the same exact offensive traits.

Adolis Garcia, the former Texas Rangers All-Star who has seen his production drop precipitously since an All Star campaign and magical postseason run made him a household name in 2023, is the new right fielder. He’s coming off his second straight subpar season in which he posted a .665 OPS with 19 homers in 135 games, and out of 120 players with at least 1000 plate appearances over the last two years, Garcia’s .675 OPS is tied for 4th-worst, 117th.

So, why did the Phillies sign him?

Aside from the value he brings with his speed on the bases and above-average defense in right field, Garcia possesses a good deal of power at the plate. When he makes contact, he hits the ball hard, with a 46.7% hard-hit rate a season ago that puts him in the 70th percentile, according to Baseball Savant’s metrics. His 92.1 mph exit velocity is still one of the best in the sport, in the 89th percentile of all big league hitters last season.

So, what’s the difference between his outstanding 2023 and his two worst seasons of 2024 and last year?

Plate discipline.

When Garcia hit 39 homers, knocked in 107 runs and scored 108 times three years ago, all with an OPS of .836, he walked 65 times in 555 plate appearances. He swung at just 29.5% of pitches outside the strike zone that season, giving him the highest walk rate of his career, 10.3%.

It wasn’t an elite walk rate, but it put him in the 74th percentile of big league batters, which is well above average. More patience means better pitches to hit and more advantageous hitters’ counts in which to feast on fastballs. In 2023, Garcia found himself ahead in the count in 34.6% of his plate appearances. In ‘24 and last season, that number fell to 29.2% and 29.7%, respectively. He found himself behind in the count more frequently, 36.2% of the time last year, 33.1% in ‘24 and 31.4% in ‘23.

One ominous note is the bat speed, which has steadily declined from 73.7 mph in 2023 (72nd percentile of MLB batters) to 72.1 mph last year (49th percentile). In other words, Garcia’s bat speed went from being among the top 25% in the sport, to right around the mid-line. A player rarely gains bat speed as he progresses through his 30s, and with Garcia entering his age-33 season, history tells us he’s unlikely to return to the 75th percentile of hitters in that metric.

The drop in bat speed has resulted in an increasing inability to hit every MLB batter’s bread and butter — the fastball.

In 2023, Garcia feasted on four-seamers, blasting 26 homers with a .527 slugging percentage against them. In ‘24, however, his slugging percentage against four-seam fastballs dropped to .367 and, last year, it was .421. There appears to be a direct correlation between a drop in bat speed and increasing ineffectiveness against the fastest pitches a hitter will see.

If the bat speed is dipping, how can he compensate? Being more selective should help. So far this spring, Garcia has been very patient, drawing a walk in 15.4% of his plate appearances. Granted, he’s only had 26, so we’re talking about an extremely small sample size, some of them against pitchers who will spend most of the regular season in the minors. So no one should be too concerned about his .182/.308/.227 slash line or the fact he has just one extra-base hit this spring (a double).

Aside from a return to “elite” levels from Bryce Harper, the emergence of Garcia as a real power threat from the right side of the plate could be the biggest difference between a dangerous Phillies offense and the inconsistent one we’ve seen over the last few seasons.

Trend lines usually trend in one direction, barring an outside influence that changes the scales. Is Phils’ hitting instructor Kevin Long that outside force? Could moving from Texas’ Globe Life Field, which ranked as the 2nd-worst ballpark for hitters last year, to Citizens Bank Park, ranked 11th-best, do the trick? Garcia’s .675 home OPS was a tick better than his .655 road OPS, so it’s fair to harbor some skepticism about the move to a new park, although there’s no doubt frustration regarding his home park could affect the way he hits everywhere.

Phillies fans hope there’s an answer, because if Garcia’s 2026 season resembled his ‘25 and ‘24 campaigns, the Phils’ outfield will once again feature among the league’s least productive outfields and continue what has been an Achilles heel over the last two years.

St Mirren striker Jake Young is confident the players can shake off the shock departure of Stephen Robinson and deliver a strong performance against Rangers on Sunday.

Robinson and assistant Brian Kerr departed Paisley on Wednesday morning and took over at Aberdeen on Thursday.

The appointment came 10 weeks after the departure of Jimmy Thelin and well after speculation over a move north for Robinson had gone quiet.

Young said: "It was a bit of a shock regardless of that speculation and it did seem to come about quickly.

"Obviously we got through to the [Scottish] cup semi and the manager was speaking about that and moving forward and using it as a platform, so all of that still stands, but I think that shows how quickly it did come about.

"Obviously it's big news, but we have just got to remain professional and it's business as usual.

"We've got a game to prepare for Sunday, we know the situation we're in, we know we've still got a lot to play for.

"It was a bit of a shock, but we had a couple of meetings and just got back to work.

"It's just a time for all of us to come together and stick with it really, and still show what we're here to do."

Young only arrived at St Mirren in January and, after a controversial red card hindered his initial impact, the 24-year-old has scored in his past two games.

He felt he was already improving under Robinson but has plenty of optimism for the coming months, starting with Sunday's visit of Rangers, for which Craig McLeish and Jamie Langfield will act as the caretaker coaching team.

"Obviously it's not ideal," the former Stevenage player said. "Any player that gets brought in by a manager, they want to work with that manager and the short time I've had with him has been great with me, and I already feel like I'm coming on as a player.

"So yes, I'm disappointed on that front, but it's not the only reason I came to the club.

"There's obviously much more attraction than just one thing that brought me here, again starting with the game Sunday against Rangers, you're on TV, we've got a semi-final, there's a lot of other things that I'm here for."