Category: Sports News

The morning was good enough: I was able to sit down with catcher Shea Langeliers, OFer Henry Bolte, and pitching coach Scott Emerson for interviews I will post in the coming days. There is also a chance I might be able to catch up with Jacob Lopez and/or Denzel Clarke on Monday.

Then came the afternoon as the A’s managed 15 of the game’s 17 hits, 12 of its 13 runs, and scored in 6 of the 8 innings in which they batted. Langeliers has batted 3 times since our interview and he has yet to hit anything but a HR. I take only partial credit.

But perhaps more encouraging was some of the individual contributions. Here’s what the Eyeball Scout saw…

Jacob Lopez

Lopez got ahead 0-2 to the game’s first batter and then walked him. But then he found his mojo and for 4 hitless innings he was every bit the Jacob Lopez we saw last season. His breaking pitches were moving a ton and his fastball, sitting mostly at 90-91 MPH, got the usual high number of swings and misses. A healthy Lopez makes the A’s rotation so much better and based on today he appears to be just fine.

Leo De Vries

I get it: the hyperbole and optimism gets old. He is a talented young man and not some Norse god. But De Vries had 2 at bats today and both were impressive — and led to a 2-2 day with 2 RBI. His first PA he spit on a tough 2-2 off speed pitch just barely below the knees (it was so close I thought the Royals might challenge it) and then muscled a single into CF. His second PA showed amazingly quick wrists as he rifled a ball into the LF corner for a 2-run double.

Yes it’s only spring training, but it’s also a fact that De Vries is now batting .400/.442/.625 and the quality of the at bats is hard to ignore. At SS he made a slick play on a ball he had to charge and throw across his body; he also missed a throw trying to make a swipe tag on a stolen base. The latter was the classic “try to do too much” that reminds you that we are in fact watching a teenager, while the former suggests a true SS.

Tommy White

Yes he’s hitting the cover off the ball and had a nice opposite field poke through the hole among 2 RBI hits today. But what made an impression to the Eyeball Scout today came in the field with White at 3B. A ground ball was slapped near the bag at 3B with White off the line. He came over and in and in a “do or die” attempt he made a slick pickup off a tough second hop and then fired a strike across his body to 1B to get the out.

The questions around White have always been primarily whether he can stick at 3B. Well for at least one play he sure made me rethink my skepticism.

Colby Thomas

Thomas is another player who has raised my eyebrows as to whether he is “a keeper”. For all his flaws, and they are very much there, one thing that is evident is that he can really mash LHP. Today’s hit, off a lefty, was just scorched to LF, hit fairly close to the SS but by him in a blur. I believe the exact exit velocity was “Fosse wow”.

Wander Suero

I’ve seen Suero twice now, once on TV and once in person today. I don’t know that he’s any great reliever but I have to say I kind of like his stuff and think he could be in play for a meaningful call up during the season. His velocity isn’t anything special — today he was throwing mostly 90-91 MPH — but like Lopez his fastball seems to play up.

Perhaps his “Luis Tiant-lite” delivery and slight short-arm action helps to create deception. He also gets a fair bit of late movement on his pitches, some cutting away late. In these regards he reminds me a lot of Justin Sterner. Whether that’s a compliment or an insult is up to you, that’s just who comes to mind.

Other notes…Scott Barlow had an effective appearance (1.2 IP, 0 hits, 0 runs, 1 BB, 4 K) but was throwing only 88-89 MPH and leaned heavily on his slider. He also threw 33 pitches and only 18 strikes. Cade Marlowe had a “grind it out” PA for a walk and roped a double into the RF corner and carries a .333 BA forward as he tries to penetrate the OF depth chart.

Lots to like today, and frankly not much to worry about. The A’s started the Cactus League slow at the plate and in the win column, but maybe they are peaking at the right time. We’ll see you from Goodyear on the morrow!

While it may just be Spring Training, the White Sox can at least say they took one game from the Dodgers this year. The Good Guys took care of business in their 7-2 victory — but it may have come at a heavy price.

The Sox bench came through today. Lenyn Sosa and Luisangel Acuña led a first three-spot inning in the second. Sosa’s leadoff double and Acuña’s single and steal got Chicago on the board first, thanks to Dalton Rushing’s throwing error. Tristan Peters ponied up a sac bunt and Derek Hill tripled, later scoring on another Dodger error to add to the lead.

Sosa and Peters were especially eager to evade the next flight to Charlotte, as they drove in three more runs in the third. Sosa ended his game with two hits, two runs and an RBI, while Peters topped his three-RBI day off with a Freddie Freeman home run robbery to get Grant Taylor out of bases-loaded, sixth-inning jam.

But the bench wasn’t the biggest news of the day. It was Mike Vasil.

Vasil was incredibly efficient, throwing 3 ⅔ scoreless innings using just 46 pitches. He allowed a pair of hits and walks but punched out three, including Andy Pages and Mookie Betts.

Unfortunately, the Sox can never have nice things.

After walking Freeman and Muncy at the end of the fourth, Vasil voluntarily left the game after reporting a sore right elbow. He’ll undergo further testing, but it’s never a good sign when a pitcher willingly walks off the mound. Let’s hope Chicago doesn’t miss both Kyle Teel and Vasil for longer than April.

Chicago’s bullpen characteristically couldn’t finish the shutout. Taylor and Tyler Gilbert gave up a run apiece in the sixth and seventh. Luckily, Tyson Miller managed to close out the game, granting the Sox a well-earned win that might still turn out costly.

Record: 10-12. Change on 2025: -1.5. 5-inning Record: 5-15-2.

The Diamondbacks came back from five runs down, powered largely by Jacob Amaya’s grand-slam (below). An eighth inning home-run by Angel Ortiz then gave Arizona the lead, as they won consecutive games for the first time since March 4. It wasn’t a great day for the D-backs’ pitchers though, who allowed sixteen hits. Zac Gallen was responsible for almost half of those, giving up seven hits over 2.2 innings, with no walks, a hit batter and one strikeout. Zac was charged with three runs, all earned, and threw 55 pitches. All the other damage came off Kevin Ginkel, who gave up four hits and four runs in the fourth, including a three-run homer, while recording two outs.

There was better work from the other pitchers. Joe Ross tossed a pair of scoreless frames, followed by zeroes from Ryan Thompson (albeit around two hits) and Juan Morillo, before Logan Mercado notched the same with two strikeouts and a walk in the ninth. On offense, Amaya singled in addition to his home-run and drove in a total of five runs, with Tim Tawa, James McCann and Avery Owusu-Asiedu each recording two hits. Tawa also walked, while Luken Baker got a hit and a walk. Corbin Carroll got his first post-hamate hit, going 0-for-3 as a designated hitter.

Tomorrow, it’s a game against the Padres at Salt River Fields, with Brandon Pfaadt starting. That one will be on dbacks.tv and will actually have own own broadcasters! There’s also the USA/Dominican WBC semi-final to enjoy.

Today, was a split-squad day for the Colorado Rockies.

First, the Rockies traveled to play the Milwaukee Brewers, where they lost, 8-4. For more details, click here.

Please enjoy just over four minutes of game highlights:

The Rockies also welcomed the Chicago Cubs to Salt River Fields, where they managed a 4-3 walk-off win on a Braxton Fulford home run. For more details, click here.

Unfortunately, we don’t have video of that.

However, we do have this defensive gem from Ethan Holliday:

And please enjoy these Kyle Freeland Ks:

Tomorrow the Rockies will travel to play the Los Angeles Angels at 2:10 pm.

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TAMPA — As far as aces go, Max Fried is about as low-maintenance as they come. 

So in what has been a relatively uneventful spring for the Yankees, Fried has fit right in with a ho-hum buildup toward his start on Opening Day in San Francisco. 

But as the Yankees await the early season returns of Carlos Rodón and then Gerrit Cole from the injured list — potentially forming a three-headed monster that Fried said was part of what drew him to the organization in the first place — the left-hander’s value as an anchor of the rotation remains significant. 

“He’s how you hoped it would be,” manager Aaron Boone said Saturday at Steinbrenner Field after Fried threw 75 pitches across 5 ¹/₃ innings of a 6-4 loss to the Phillies. “He loves the game — that’s evident. You live that with a guy all year long, you see who really loves it, and he loves the craft of pitching. He loves all that being on a team is about. He’s similar to [Aaron Judge] in that way, where it’s team above him, is how he kind of embodies it. Super accountable. Demands a lot of himself and his teammates. 

“And the thing that’s really stood out to me is how great of an athlete he is. It’s fun to watch him control the running game, get off the mound. I’m quite confident if we were ever in a situation that I needed a center fielder or something, he could go out and do that well.” 

Boone added with a chuckle that he does not see that scenario actually happening, though Fried, the four-time Gold Glover and former Silver Slugger, would probably be game for it. 

Instead, the Yankees just need Fried to deliver more of what he did in his first season in pinstripes.

Despite a rough stretch late in the summer after a blister threw him out of rhythm, Fried pitched to a 2.86 ERA across 32 starts and 195 ¹/₃ innings, living up to the first installment of his eight-year, $218 million contract. 

Now more comfortable in his surroundings with a year in The Bronx under his belt, Fried is the sure thing in a rotation that is projected to open the season with high potential but also some relative inexperience behind him in Cam Schlittler, Will Warren, Ryan Weathers and Luis Gil. 

“It’s definitely a different position to be in, but it’s not like Carlos and Gerrit aren’t around,” Fried said. “So you still have those guys around, they’re going to be available to me and all of those guys as well. Anything I can do to help anyone, I’m obviously willing because at the end of the day, we all want the same thing: we want to win and perform well.” 

That includes doing the little things well, like fielding his position.

During a bunt defense drill earlier in camp, Fried was vocal and invested, providing some extra juice to an otherwise mundane part of every spring training. 

“He drives a lot of the conversation, too,” Boone said. “A lot of the drill stuff that we’ve done, fundamental stuff, he’s a big voice and is pushing guys and is asking questions. He’s kind of setting the tone and setting the standard.” 

In Saturday’s exhibition, Fried was charged with an error on a pickoff throw to second base, though it should have gone to Jazz Chisholm Jr. for dropping the throw. It led to one of the three runs he allowed on five hits, though he did not walk a batter and felt his command was as good as it’s been all spring. 

Fried will have one final tuneup next week before it gets real on Opening Day against the Giants, holding down the fort until his fellow established veterans join the fold. 

“When I signed, one of the things I was most excited about was to be able to pitch with Gerrit and Carlos, knowing the success that they’ve had and the talent they have,” Fried said. “They’re some of the best pitchers in the game. Knowing that I get to learn from them and be able to get to know them personally, I’m really excited about it.”

The Brewers put up a win in the Cactus League today, but for most fans, they were just interested in today’s bulk pitchers: Jacob Misiorowski, the starter, and Brandon Sproat, who followed. Both did pretty well, and a balanced Brewer offense, powered by homers from three guys who aren’t necessarily known as power hitters, did plenty.

The Miz didn’t get off to a great start. The first three batters of the game, Tyler Freeman, Cole Carigg, and Jordan Beck, all singled. Beck’s knocked a run in, and TJ Rumfeld followed with a sacrifice fly that made it 2-0. After that, though, Misiorowski locked in—he finished the first with a strikeout and a groundout, and then went three more innings without allowing another hit. He did walk two in that stretch, but he ended up with four innings, two earned runs, six strikeouts, and two walks.

The Brewer offense, meanwhile, didn’t have much trouble answering the Rockies. Some bad luck in the first inning cost them a potential rally—after Sal Frelick led off with a hit, Joey Ortiz, perhaps a little sharper than his teammates due to the competitive baseball he’s been playing in the World Baseball Classic, smoked a line drive that turned into a double play. But in the second inning, Milwaukee got to one of the better Colorado pitchers, Victor Vodnik. Things started with a Jake Bauers walk, a wild pitch, and, one out and a wild pitch later, a Brandon Lockridge walk. That brought David Hamilton to the plate, and he got a hanging 1-0 changeup that he crushed 107mph and 431 feet for a three-run, scoreboard flipping homer.

Vodnik got the second out but then gave up consecutive hits to Jett Williams and Frelick before getting pulled. That brought Ortiz back to the plate, and he reached on an infield single that was about 40mph slower than the batted ball that turned into a double play in the first. That scored Williams to make it 4-2, and the Brewers very nearly broke it completely open after that; Christian Yelich walked to load the bases and Bauers hit a fly ball at 112 mph, but Beck caught it for the third out.

Brandon Sproat was the next pitcher in for Milwaukee, and after he threw a three-up, three-down top of the fifth, Ortiz led off the bottom of the fifth with a wall-scraping homer to right. He didn’t exactly crush the ball, but it was one of those up-and-away pitches that when Ortiz is looking good he does damage on. Another Yelich walk and this time another monster shot off Bauers’ bat—this one 113 mph—found grass in the outfield, scoring Yelich from first. Bauers scored a couple batters later on a Hamilton groundout, and Milwaukee led 7-2.

Beck led off the sixth with a solo homer off of Sproat. Ortiz hit another ball hard in the sixth, but it was caught in center field. The game hummed along for a while—Jared Koenig came in with two outs in the eighth, walked a guy, and ended the inning with a groundout. Lockridge hit a homer (on his 29th birthday) in the bottom of the inning, and Sproat returned for the ninth. Sproat did allow a single and a run-scoring double in the ninth, but he finished the game with Milwaukee winning 8-4.

Milwaukee almost got through this one with just two pitchers, as Misiorowski pitched four innings and Sproat pitched 4 2/3. Both pitchers allowed two earned runs on four hits; Miz, as mentioned, struck out six and walked two, while Sproat struck out three and didn’t walk any. Misiorowski threw 70 pitches, Sproat 65.

On the offensive side of the ball, Frelick and Ortiz were the two Brewers with multiple hits, while Ortiz, Lockridge, and Hamilton homered. Bauers also had a nice day, as he went 1-for-2 with a double, two batted balls with exit velocities higher than 112 mph, and a walk.

Meanwhile, some non-spring training news: Andrew Fischer came a couple feet from hitting a grand slam in Italy’s game against Puerto Rico today. A fan reached over the wall and caught it, and it was instead ruled a two-run double (in a game Italy won by two), but Fischer crushed it. I think he can hit. Video below:

The Brewers continue their Cactus League slate tomorrow in Scottsdale against the Giants at 3:05 p.m. No TV for that one, either.

Even as far as spring training games go, this was a pretty forgettable one for the Dodgers, coming out on the losing end of a 7-2 effort against the White Sox. After a strong start to his spring, Justin Wrobleski didn’t showcase his best stuff, laboring through a difficult outing against a White Sox lineup that, to claim it doesn’t quite stand out, would be putting it lightly. Wrobleski came into this game without allowing a single earned run in three appearances (2 starts), and despite nearing 70 pitches, couldn’t quite crack three full innings, responsible for five of the seven runs Chicago scored.

Facing a lineup built almost entirely of right-handed hitters, Wrobleski didn’t allow a ton of hard contact and was probably a bit unfortunate in giving up four runs—his struggles to find the zone consistently were partially to blame, conceding a couple of walks and hitting the zone only 40% of the time.

Putting up a pretty unproductive effort were the Dodgers’ star hitters, who, unlike the White Sox, couldn’t fully capitalize on all of their free passes. Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman, and Max Muncy combined for four walks, and only one of them (Betts) came around to score.

Still needing to fill a bulk of the game with relievers after Wrobleski’s day was done, Dave Roberts turned to Alex Vesia, among others, with a couple of points to highlight regarding his appearance. Traditionally, almost exclusively a four-seamer-slider arm, Vesia tossed in a few more changeups than usual, and his fastball velocity was still well below his career norm (91.5 MPH in comparison with the 92.7 MPH average last season). Following Vesia, Tanner Scott and Alex Vesia both tossed a scoreless inning.

The second Dodger run came courtesy of Zach Ehrhard. The young outfielder, subbed in during the game to play right field, hit a triple in the top of the seventh and came around to score on a Ryan Fitzgerald groundout. That’s particularly noteworthy given it was the only extra-base hit the Dodgers had the whole game. The Dodgers loaded the bases in the ninth, but couldn’t do anything with it.

Up next

Youth versus experience will be on display as the Dodgers face the other Chicago-based club, with Emmet Sheehan going against Jameson Taillon in a split-header day, with games against the Cubs and the Rangers. River Ryan will be the other starter. Both games start at 1:05 PM Pacific time.