Category: Sports News

Tempe Diablo is certainly one of the most picturesque of the Cactus League parks, with a wonderful backdrop of the Twin Buttes. Or is that Twin Butte? Google is indecisive on the matter. But it’s certainly iconic, and rather better than the 101 freeway which runs behind the fence at Salt River Fields. The D-backs have won two in a row, and three of the last four, to pull their spring record back even at 4-4. Pitching-wise, last night’s one run conceded was a huge improvement, considering they had averaged eight runs per game allowed to that point. Hopefully this will continue today, as we see one of our top pitching prospects on the mound:

If you are wondering why we haven’t seen Brandon Pfaadt make an appearance in the Cactus League to date, he had “a little bit of a side ache” which started over the winter, and the team are being cautious. Torey Lovullo said that “stopped his offseason progression. It was all offseason… Everything was good, but I think we just put him on pause for about a week just to let him rest. He’s going to be available and built up just fine, so he’s going to throw one, maybe two innings depending on how that first inning goes, but everything’s right exactly where we want it to be with Brandon.” Mind you, I remember there being “minimal” concern about Merrill Kelly too…

No TV for this one, but you can tune in on Arizona Sports 98.7 FM or online, with Chris Garagiola & Brandon Webb bringing you the game.

A longtime Met is heading to a new ballclub.

Starling Marte has agreed to a major league contract with the Royals on Saturday, MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand reported.

Terms of the deal — which is still pending a physical — are not yet clear.

The 37-year-old Marte spent the past four years with the Mets after signing a four-year, $78 million contract before the 2022 season.

That first season ended up being both his most productive and the one where he spent the most time on the field, as he slashed .292/.347/.468 with 16 homers and made the National League All-Star team.

Injuries, though, limited him to just 278 games and a .694 OPS over the final three years of the contract.

In 2024, he played a key role in the “OMG” Mets playoff run, as he collected three hits in the wild-card round against the Brewers, including an RBI single in the ninth inning of the clinching game.

In six games over the NLCS loss to the Dodgers, he was one of the Mets’ best hitters, going 9-for-27 with four doubles and four RBIs.

In a part-time role — mostly as a designated hitter — in 2025, Marte had a 111 OPS+, which was his best mark since 2022.

Outside of his playing ability, Marte emerged as an important person in the clubhouse, as outfielder Juan Soto told The Post’s Mike Puma in August.

“He’s literally the leader of this team — I feel like he’s actually the captain of this team,” Soto said. “He’s bringing everybody together. He’s bringing the energy that we need. He’s a guy who has been stepping up every single time, it doesn’t matter what.

“He’s actually the real deal of the team. He’s the model of the team. Everybody, when they want to talk and get to know something or have a conversation, they can go to him. He’s actually the real deal.”

He now joins a Royals team that finished 82-80 one year after they reached the playoffs as a wild-card entrant before losing to the Yankees in the American League Division Series.

DH proved to be one of the weaker spots in Kansas City’s lineup last season with a .615 OPS.

Involved in their first split-squad day of the year, the reigning champs will play simultaneous games against the Cubs and Rangers, with Justin Wrobleski facing Chicago and prospect Jackson Ferris pitching against Texas.

Saturday Game info

• Teams: Dodgers vs. Cubs
• Stadium: Camelback Ranch, Glendale
• Time: 12:05 p.m. PT
• TV: SportsNet LA
• Radio: AM 570

Saturday Game info

• Teams: Dodgers @ Rangers
• Stadium: Surprise Stadium, Surprise
• Time: 12:05 p.m. PT
• TV: no broadcast
• Radio: 105.3 The Fan

It’s a tense battle of division rivals today as the White Sox make the long trek to famed Goodyear, Ariz., apt home for the Guardians since Cleveland is only a José Ramírez homer from the base of Goodyear in Akron.

Well, OK, it’s not really a tense battle, it’s as meaningless as all spring games, but we can pretend.

Shane Smith, who gave up three runs in less than two innings in his first Cactus League start, will be leading the parade of Sox pitchers, and Tanner Bibee will have the 76 Trombones roll (they led the big parade, remember?) for the Guardians.

Bibee will face a Chicago lineup that’s a tad low on firepower, with both Munetaka Murakami of to Team Japan and Colson Montgomery sitting this one out, as well as both Kyle Teel and Edgar Quero.

Smith, on the other hand, will have to take on both Ramírez and Steven Kwan.

First pitch is scheduled for 2:05 p.m. Central, with temps expected to go over 90° during the afternoon. According to the Sox schedule, the game will be on CHSN, only on the web, but you’ll be spared John Schriffin because it will be the Guardians broadcast.

Spring Training is now more than a week old. Are we sick of it yet? Probably not, but we’re getting there. Fortunately, we’ve got the WBC starting up next week, so that should be fun. In the meantime, we do have a little bit of bonus excitement for Royals fans in Scottsdale, Arizona. Presumptive number two starter Seth Lugo will get the start today and he will be followed by ace Cole Ragans, who is making his spring debut. And for even more excitement, it is the first game that will be aired on Royals TV, for free! Out-of-market viewers can also watch on MLB Network or MLB.TV.

Here is the lineup:

Bobby Witt Jr. leads off again. During yesterday’s broadcast they mentioned this was primarily because he is expected to do it during the WBC. So don’t get your hopes up too high that he’ll do it during the regular season, but hey, if he does it in the WBC and it goes well…

We also get more Jac Caglianone, after he mashed a 120.2 MPH exit velocity double yesterday. Kevin Newman continues to get a ton of playing time as he starts at third. And Brandon Drury will look to overcome a slow start to his spring and show off some positional diversity by playing at first today.

Here are the pitchers being rostered for today after Lugo and Ragans:

• Eli Morgan
• Mason Black
• Christian Chamberlain
• Andrew Pérez
• Frank Mozzicato
• Caden Monke
• Helcris Olivárez

Monke, Pérez, and Chamberlain will probably only pitch in an “emergency’. I’m excited to see if Olivárez and Black can continue their strong springs; Mozzicato has a chance to make an impression on the coaching staff after doing anything but that in the minors so far.

Regardless, let’s watch our first Royals baseball of the spring!

*Why on earth do we have a photo from photo day where we can’t see the player’s face, but we can see the sponsor patch on his arm? WHAT ARE WE DOING HERE?

Behind a dominant start from senior right-hander Ruger Riojas, the No. 3 Texas Longhorns remained undefeated and notched their first ranked victory of the 2026 season with an 8-1 victory over the No. 9 Coastal Carolina Chanticleers on Friday night at Daikin Park in the BRUCE BOLT College Classic.

Riojas struck out a career-high 11 batters with the help of his overpowering fastball that reached 98 miles per hour, holding the Chanitcleers scoreless on one hit and one walk over five innings. In keeping with the early-season preferences of head coach Jim Schlossnagle and pitching coach Max Weiner, Riojas departed after throwing 71 pitches.

Through three starts, Riojas is now 3-0 on the season with a 1.13 ERA having allowed just two earned runs over 16 innings pitched with 30 strikeouts. Against Coastal Carolina, he threw six different pitches with his four-seam fastball and his sinker grading out at his best pitches even though he got an 84.6 percent whiff rate on his changeup, the pitch he threw most frequently.

In relief, senior right-hander Max Grubbs allowed one runs on two hits in 1.2 innings, giving up the only extra-base hit of the night for Coastal Carolina. Redshirt junior left-hander Ethan Walker struck out the batter he faced to end the seventh inning before freshman right-hander Brett Crossland and junior right-hander Hudson Hamilton each pitched around a walk in their inning of action.

Four home runs among the 12 hits by the Longhorns paced Texas at the plate, led by a 3-for-4 performance by junior center fielder Aiden Robbins, who led off the scoring in the third inning with a mammoth 466-foot, two-run home run that hit the train tracks in left field.

Redshirt senior third baseman Temo Becerra, who arrived at Texas with three home runs in 430 at bats at Stanford, left the field twice, driving in three runs.

Junior designated hitter Ashton Larson also hit his first home run in burnt orange and white, an opposite-field shot into the Crawford Boxes.

Texas also added runs on an RBI double by sophomore shortstop Adrian Rodriguez and a sacrifice fly by Robbins.

On Saturday, Schlossnagle’s team tries to remain undefeated with a matchup against former Big 12 rival Baylor. First pitch is scheduled for 7 p.m. Central on Astros.com and the Houston Astros YouTube channel. The Bears also notched a ranked win on Friday, upsetting the No. 11 Rebels, 6-5, in 10 innings.

We have another spring exhibition game this afternoon as the A’s play host to the San Francisco Giants. The A’s are just 1-5 so far this spring but what better time to get back into the win column than against these guys?

Right-hander Luis Morales will be getting the ball for today’s start. Though it should be short, this is his second appearance as the team ramps him up for a long season. All signs indicate he’ll break camp in the rotation but how they manage his workload for six months is the real story. He’s already made it into a spring game reaching 17 pitches so the club will be looking to ramp that number up today.

The A’s lineup this afternoon shakes out like this:

Jacob Wilson back atop the lineup, with Nick Kurtz behind him. A small change and one that might not stick but at least Kotsay is hearing all the criticism of having his power hitter bat leadoff. Lots of regulars in today’s lineup but we’ll also see Leo De Vries get the start at shortstop, his long-term home with the big league team. Sneak peak of the future?

The Giants have veteran Tyler Mahle on the mound today for his first appearance this spring. It’s his first outing of 2026 so we can’t expect to see him for too long. Here’s how their lineup looks this afternoon:

Though it’s meaningless, we want a win! Let’s go A’s!

Seattle Mariners at San Diego Padres, February 28, 2026, 12:10 p.m. PST

Watch: Padres.TV

Location: Peoria Sports Complex – Peoria, AZ

Listen: 97.3 The Fan

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