Category: Sports News

Lousy Smarch Weather! Hey look at that, no more March baseball, which really shouldn’t even be a thing. Now we’re playing in April, like the good baseball gods intended where it is also cold and rainy. Nevertheless, DAY BASEBALL on a WEDNESDAY! Let’s get into it.

The Mariners had their first true stinker of a game last night in a lifeless 5-0 shin-kicking by the Yankees, but the M’s can bounce back today and stroll off with a series win versus the big baddies of the AL East. Taking the mound for the Mariners is Furious George Kirby versus Cam Schlittler, who has all the letters in his last name for multiple frowned upon words and names. Fun fact: Kirby, who grew up in Rye, New York, has pitched at least 7.0 innings in both of his career starts against the Yankees. Let’s see if he can match or top that in today’s tussle.

Lineups!

And these guys:

I will begrudgingly hand it to them for the cool 80’s Fleer/Topps mash-up style baseball card graphics, though. Big shoutout to friend of the site Dave Sims, too.

Pre-Game Reading

• More on the Yanks in the series preview from Jake
• Last night’s recap
• Kate on why M’s fan should get excited for Colt Emerson this season
• Check out the 2026 Everett AquaSox roster

Game Info

First pitch: 1:40 PM PDT
TV: Mariners TV, which you can a subscription to online or watch on several cable networks. Kate’s got the details.
Radio: 710 KIRO, in Rick Rizzs’s final season

The Nationals minor league rosters are here. We now know where all of the Nats prospects will start the season. Every level has intriguing names, but the Fredericksburg Nationals and Rochester Red Wings look like must watch teams. With a new player development focused regime in place, it will be very interesting to watch the Nats minor league teams this season.

The Fred Nats are the team I am most excited about, so let’s start with them. They have some of the best collection of 18-20 year old talent you will see in the minor leagues. Eight of the Nats top 30 prospects will start the season in Low-A, including four of the top 10. The star of the show is number one overall pick Eli Willits, but there is so much more than just him.

This team is stacked across the board. Gavin Fien, who was the headlining piece of the MacKenzie Gore trade, will also start his season in Low-A. Interestingly, Fien was listed as an infielder/outfielder. Most evaluators thought Fien would be a third baseman in pro ball, but the Nats seem like they will give him reps in the outfield.

Another infield prospect who will be getting time in the outfield is Luke Dickerson. The Nats second rounder from 2024 is repeating Low-A after a lackluster first season. However, he has the tools to be a breakout candidate. One guy on this team who has gotten a lot of buzz this spring is Ronny Cruz, who came over in the Michael Soroka deal. He played last season in rookie ball, but was really impressive in my viewings of him and always seems to be on the tip of Paul Toboni’s tongue. 

On the pitching side, we saw some aggressive assignments. I figured Landon Harmon and certainly Miguel Sime Jr. would start their seasons in rookie ball. However, they are both with the Fred Nats. That shows the Nats front offices’ belief in these two teenaged arms. Both have massive upside.

Moving on to High-A Wilmington, the Blue Rocks are not as stacked but have some interesting names. They should also be seeing some of the players who are on the Fred Nats right now at some point this season. To start the year, they have a couple solid names though.

Two guys who stick out are Devin Fitz-Gerald and Angel Feliz. Fitz-Gerald has only played 10 games in Low-A and Feliz has only played 31. However, with the amount of infield talent the Nats have at the lower levels, some of those guys had to go to High-A. Picking those guys shows confidence in their skills, as well as their ability to handle adversity.

Ethan Petry is another intriguing name to watch. He has big power upside but will have to keep his swing and miss in check. Former top prospects who have lost their shine, such as Elijah Green and Cristhian Vaquero are also here. Wilmington is a bit light on the pitching side, with Yoel Tejada being the best arm there.

Moving up to Double-A Harrisburg, the Senators roster is filled with a mix of journeymen, bounce back candidates and some top prospects. Seaver King is one guy I will be watching very closely. He has performed in the AFL and in Spring Training, but he needs to do it in the real games.

An under the radar name in Harrisburg is Sam Petersen. He has not been very durable in his pro career, but whenever he has been on the field, he has raked. Caleb Lomavita is another guy who is trying to regain some momentum.

On the pitching side, it is a weird and interesting mix. The top prospect here is Alex Clemmey. Despite being around for what seems like a long time, he is still just 20 years old. That means he is ahead of schedule being in Double-A. I am interested to see how his game evolves this year. Davian Garcia and Eriq Swan are two more arms to watch. Shinnosuke Ogasawara is also down here.

We have already talked a bit about the Rochester Red Wings, but I am going to talk about them some more. It is such a fascinating roster filled with prospects and guys who used to be top prospects. Of course, the biggest name down here is Dylan Crews, who is trying to get his career back on track.

However, Crews is far from the only guy at this level. Harry Ford, Robert Hassell, Abimelec Ortiz and Christian Franklin are a few more big name bats in AAA. All of these guys are hungry to establish or re-establish themselves as big leaguers. Most should get an opportunity at some point this season, but they will have to earn it.

It is not just bats though. There are a number of really intriguing arms. Mitchell Parker was a mainstay in DC the last two years, but he is a Rochester Red Wing now. Luis Perales and Riley Cornelio are two fun prospects in the Red Wings rotation. Andrew Alvarez proved himself last September, but he is back in Rochester.

There are also a number of relievers with MLB experience. We will see a lot of current Red Wings in Nats uniforms this year. This is the most exciting AAA team I think the Nats have ever had.

There is a lot of depth throughout the organization now. That is so exciting and it is a new phenomenon. The biggest names are in Low-A and Triple-A, but every level has guys who fans should be interested in seeing. If you are a Nats fan into minor league baseball, you should have a blast this year.

Detroit Tigers (2-3) vs. Arizona Diamondbacks (2-3)

Time/Place: 3:40 p.m., Chase Field
SB Nation Site: AZ Snake Pit
Media: Detroit Sportsnet, MLB.TV, Tigers Radio Network
Pitching Matchup: LHP Tarik Skubal (1-0, 0.00 ERA) vs. RHP Zac Gallen (0-1, 9.00 ERA)

The Atlanta Braves took on the Athletics today in the series finale as both staff aces took the mound. Both teams have struggled offensively to start the season, which may be shocking to some because both team’s lineups look solid on paper in comparison to the rest of the league.

The key to this game seemed to be if the heart of the Braves’ lineup can come through. Outside of Drake Baldwin, the rest of the top four have struggled to start the season. It looked like they may get the ball rolling in the first inning. The Braves showed patience with Ronald Acuña drawing a walk after an ABS challenge, Drake Baldwin walked, and Austin Riley walked. However, no runs were score and it was partly due to Acuña being picked off. The pickoffs have hurt the Braves multiple times this season already.

Olson and Yastrzemski both struck out, resulting in zero runs on three walks in the inning. The Braves kept putting runners on in the second inning to put the pressure on and finally produced some runs. Albies walked, Smith singled, and Acuña walked again. Harris struck out and Dubón popped out along the way, but with the bases loaded this time Drake Baldwin continued his clutch start to the season with a single to score two and put the Braves up 2-0. Olson struck out to end the inning, but it was clear that the Braves had Severino’s number today up to this point.

Severino had his revenge in the third inning by striking out the side, but that did not stop the Braves from continuing to put pressure on him. In the fourth inning Severino struck out Harris, but then gave up back-to-back singles to Smith and Dubón which led Elvis Alvarado relieving him. This strategy did not pay off. Acuña moved Smith over to third on a 103.4 MPH fly out and then Baldwin came through yet again with a two run double to make the score 4-1.

Olson finally got out of his slump and hit a single to knock in Baldwin for another run. Riley flied out, but the damage had been done. The only other offense from the Braves was a single by Riley, but the five runs were enough. The pitching yet again was the main story of the day.

Chris Sale looked to continue his scoreless streak as he just came off a six inning outing where he surrendered zero runs. He looked good today. One could argue that he looked even better than last game even though he gave up a run.

Sale sat down the first eleven hitters he faced picking up two strikeouts along the way until former Braves’ farm hand Shea Langeliers took him deep to left field in the fourth inning to make the score 2-1 Braves. Sale was not shaken and struck out Brent Rooker to end the top of the fourth. Sale ended up pitching six total innings and did not surrender another base runner.

A slightly developing story is that Chris Sale is inducing grounders at a career high rate. In his first game this season Sale induced a ground ball 53.8 percent of the time. His career average is only 42.7 percent. Today alone he induced seven ground balls today. Do we have an evolving Sale? All-in-all Sal had an excellent start.

Saurez, Lee, and Iglesias came in and finished the job allowing a combined two hits, and zero runs while striking out two and giving up zero walks. The bullpen has been lights out for the Braves so far this season.

This 5-1 win was much needed in a game that was important in a sense that it was a game that the Braves were supposed to win. With so many injuries, the Braves must win these types of games if they want to stay in contention.

The key takeaways are that Drake Baldwin continues to rake, pickoffs need to slow down, the offense plate discipline is looking nice with five walks, the bullpen is still lights out, and Chris Sale may be a groundball pitcher now.

Next game is 9:40 PM EDT against the Diamondbacks.

The Texas Rangers scored three runs but the Baltimore Orioles scored eight runs.

If you had told me that the first week of the season would end with Texas taking their first two series on the road but with their two losses coming in the starts made by Nathan Eovaldi, I would have said “well, ok, baseball do be like that sometimes” but it certainly wouldn’t have been my first guess.

Near my last guess would have been how hittable Eovaldi has been so far. Like in his outing on Opening Day, Eovaldi ran into two-out troubles with Baltimore scoring their first four runs — two in the 2nd, two in the 3rd — after Eovaldi had retired two hitters.

That isn’t to say Eovaldi was unlucky. He simply wasn’t good today. And even after he got through those two-out run-scoring rallies, he allowed a home run in the fifth and saw another inherited run hit his ledger all while finishing the day with just four innings pitched with six runs allowed on eight hits and three walks with five strikeouts.

You know Eovaldi isn’t on track when he’s walking guys. Eovaldi hasn’t had a season in which his walk rate was a number above 2 since 2019. Mostly though, Eovaldi just hasn’t looked right so far this season in his two starts. For a guy coming off a great season, albeit one that was lousy with various injuries, it certainly a concern but one the Rangers are hoping their veteran bulldog can work through.

Ironically, the Rangers had their own two-out rallies going against Baltimore starter Trevor Rogers, but though they scored two runs off of one in the top of the 4th to cut the lead to 4-2, another died without a run in the previous inning and eventually the Orioles padded their 4-2 lead before Texas could mount a comeback.

Overall, the Rangers had a successful first stint to open the year with two series wins. Now they just have to see how Eovaldi bounces back.

Player of the Game: Old LSB comment section punching bag Leody Taveras had his revenge on the Rangers today as he went 2-for-2 with two walks, two RBI, and a run scored while reaching in each of his plate appearances.

The 6-9 hitters for Baltimore had seven hits, reached three more times via walks, and drove in five runs. You won’t win many games when the opposing bottom of the order does that much damage.

If you’re looking for a positive from the Rangers, Josh Jung had a couple of hits and an RBI after an abysmal first handful of games to start the year.

Up Next: The Rangers will take a day off on Thursday before opening up their home slate with a series against the Cincinnati Reds. The starting pitcher for Texas is still TBD but perhaps it will be RHP Kumar Rocker. The Reds, meanwhile, will expected to opt for RHP Brady Singer.

The Friday afternoon home debut first pitch from The Shed is set for 3:05 pm CDT and will be aired on the Rangers Sports Network.

San Francisco Giants (2-3) at San Diego Padres (1-4), April 1, 2026, 1:10 p.m. PST

Watch: Padres.TV

Location: Petco Park – San Diego, Calif.

Listen: 97.3 The Fan

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Taking the mound against the Dodgers this Wednesday will be Gavin Williams, a pitcher who, in a way, sort of defied the odds over the last year or so to put up solid numbers despite concerning peripherals. Look no further than the 11.8% walk rate Williams ran last season in order to contemplate that his 3.06 ERA is no model of sustainability. Well, start number one in 2026 didn’t inspire much confidence in his ability to take steps forward in that department—Williams’s final line of two runs allowed in five innings of work against the Mariners represented a strong performance, but how he got there despite walking six batters is quite the surprise.

Although Shohei Ohtani leads the league in walks in this early sample, with six, the Dodgers as a team haven’t been that prone to the free pass. Ultimately, though, unlike in Williams’ case, in which the first sample of 2026 merely follows an established trend in the past, the Dodgers’ ability to be patient is well-known. If they can replicate that against Williams, there might be room for a blowup in here for an offense that hasn’t surpassed five runs in a game since Opening Day.

Early wins have come primarily on the backs of pitching and complementary pieces rising to the occasion. Sure, the stars have had their moments here and there, like that Mookie Betts three-run shot against the Diamondbacks, but we’re waiting for their first massive game. Something else to keep an eye on regarding Williams, a right-hander, is that he had pretty aggressive reverse splits last year, and he’s been better against lefties over the course of his career.

Wednesday’s game info

• Teams: Dodgers vs. Guardians
• Ballpark: Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles
• Start time: 5:20 p.m. PT
• TV: SportsNet LA
• Radio: AM 570 (English), KTNQ 1020 AM (Spanish)

Last night’s debut hero, Jose Fernandez, remains in the line-up for this afternoon’s game. However, in an interesting move, he goes across the diamond, taking the place of Carlos Santana at first-base. Fernandez has only 139.1 innings of experience at the position – just sixteen starts. Eight of those were in 2024 with High-A Hillsboro, and the other eight last year at Double-A Amarillo. After last night’s remarkable performance, it feels like Torey Lovullo simply was unable to leave him out of the line-up. Certainly, he did better than Nolan Arenado had done at third; with Santana’s OPS+ being negative 14, the bar is similarly low at first!

Of course, this afternoon, he’s only having to face the back-to-back Cy Young winner, in Tariq Skubal. Now, being the reigning champion there doesn’t preclude you getting knocked around. Just ask Paul Skenes, who didn’t even make it out of the first inning on Opening Day. But that fate certainly did not befall Skubal in his inaugural appearance, who tossed six innings on three hits, allowing only an unearned run, with no walks and six strikeouts. It’s definitely nice for the D-backs to have secured the series win already: a victory here would therefore fall into the “house money” category.

We will certainly need Zac Gallen to pitch a damn sight better than he did. After more or less cruising through four innings, the wheels came off in the fifth, where Gallen was charged with four runs, without recording an out. I also note Alek Thomas getting a day off, with Jordan Lawlar moving over to centre, and Tim Tawa getting the start in left. Ketel Marte moves to DH, with Ildemaro Vargas playing second in his utility role. I’m under no illusions that this is going to be other than a tough game for Arizona, going up against one of the best pitches in baseball. They’ll need to play clean, and take advantage of whatever opportunities they can find, if they are to complete the sweep and get back to .500.