Category: Sports News

In a proceeding that attempted to redefine “exhibition, nonetheless televised for your enjoyment or something like it,” the Braves routed Team Colombia as a warm-up before the latter proceeds into World Baseball Classic play later this week. It’s tempting to describe Team Colombia’s efforts in this game as “going through the motions,” but that wouldn’t be accurate, as they played pretty sloppy ball defensively, and had to use loaner pitchers from Atlanta to get through the game.

The Braves’ lineup of regulars (plus fill-ins for their own guys at the WBC or… suspended for doing dumb stuff again) plated eight runs in the first three frames. Former top prospect Luis Patino struggled as Colombia’s starter, more or less showing why the Padres moved on from him after years of elbow troubles and ineffectiveness. Patino managed just a 1/2 K/BB ratio, and his inning had to be finished by a loaner from the Braves, Isaac Gallegos. Amusingly, Gallegos actually would’ve wrapped up his appearance after just a handful of pitches, but Gio Urshela, playing shortstop, made a not-great throw to first on an Eli White grounder, and the Colombian first baseman absolutely pooched the attempt to scoop the ball.

The Braves also blew up Colombian hurler Pedro Garcia in the third, as six consecutive Braves reached against him, including back-to-back homers by White and Sandy Leon. (In Garcia’s defense, Urshela muffed another ball behind him, as well.) Another loaner, Riley Frey, had to work in Garcia’s stead, and he actually got outs from Drake Baldwin, Austin Riley, and Ben Gamel… but Matt Olson drilled a double as well.

The Braves had fun overall, though the level of competition was really just kind of sad.

On the pitching end, the Colombian lineup wasn’t particularly impressive, so take the Braves’ collective 9/3 K/BB ratio from their pitchers with a grain of salt. Elieser Hernandez got the start and was cruising early, but was pulled after 2 2/3 when his command collapsed. Tyler Kinley, Dylan Lee, Jhancarlos Lara, and Austin Pope all threw a perfect frame with a strikeout, and then James Karinchak came in a threw a frame with a walk and a strikeout as well.

There was a point where the game descended into silliness, as Colombia requested loaners not just on the pitching end but also to take the field. Luke Williams had a pop single because Luis Guanipa couldn’t flag it down in left field, that sort of thing. The mercy rule was apparently in effect for this game, and the Braves were a couple of runs from triggering it, which created a weird situation like Shay Schanaman pitching the eighth against his own team in a way where, if he gave up some runs, the game would just end. But, he didn’t, and this one went nine, even if it was a scrimmage more or less the whole time.

The WBC begins in earnest with real competition later tonight. Meanwhile, the Braves will host the Blue Jays tomorrow afternoon in what may be a less silly exhibition contest.

The Mets came back to beat Team Israel, 5-2, in a exhibition matchup Wednesday at Clover Park. 

Here are some takeaways...

- Carson Benge continues to make a strong impression in his bid for an Opening Day roster spot. The 23-year-old outfielder accounted for the Mets' only offense in the early going of this one, taking a 1-2 offering from Israel lefty Ryan Prager just over the right field fence for an opposite-field solo home run. 

Benge played five innings in the field, and finished the day 1-for-3.

- David Peterson was strong in his first outing of the spring. He struck out a pair to dance his way out of a man on third with nobody out jam in the top of the first, worked around a one-out walk in the second, then used a double-play ball to erase a leadoff single in the third. 

The southpaw closed his line with two walks, a hit, and four punchouts over three innings. 

- Christian Scott followed Peterson, and he was tremendous in what was his first game action since July 2024. The returning right-hander worked around a two-out single and a stolen base in the fourth, then struck out three around a two-out single in the top of the fifth -- Scott came back out for the sixth and retired the final two batters he faced. 

He averaged 95 mph on his fastball as he struck out five over 2.2 innings of work. 

- Adbert Alzolay gave up the game-tying solo home run in the top of the seventh, then Nick Burdi handed Israel their first lead of the day with back-to-back extra base-hits in the eighth. 

- The Mets came storming back in the bottom half of the inning, though, led by some of their young talent. After versatile prospect Chris Suero started things with a leadoff walk, Jose Rojas lined a double, followed by a Ji Hwan Bae two-run single, then third base prospect Jacob Reimer laced an RBI single to make it a two-run game. 

Yohairo Cuevas followed that with an RBI single of his own, capping off the four-run eight inning surge. 

Highlights

Carson Benge with a homer the other way to get the Mets on the board vs. Team Israel! pic.twitter.com/PDaTHK689T

— SNY Mets (@SNY_Mets) March 4, 2026

What's next

The Mets return to Grapefruit League play as they face off with the Nationals on Thursday afternoon.

First pitch is scheduled for 1:05 p.m. in West Palm Beach. 

The Yankees defeated the Boston Red Sox by a score of 4-0 on Wednesday afternoon. 

Here are the key takeaways...

-- Hello, George Lombard Jr.!

Batting leadoff and playing shortstop, the highly touted prospect launched a solo home run off of Garrett Crochet to lead things off in the top of the first. Lombard demolished a 97 MPH fastball on a 1-2 pitch, easily clearing the Green Monster-esque wall in left, traveling an estimated 392 feet.

His second time up, still facing Crochet, Lombard stung a single 108.5 MPH off the bat, good for a single up the middle. That chased Crochet from the game in the third (he would re-enter the game briefly in the fourth), with Lombard looking very much like one of the top infield prospects in baseball. 

-- Ben Rice continued his strong spring, ripping an RBI double off the wall in left in the third inning, putting the Yankees up 2-0.

Then, in the fifth inning, Rice stung a solo home run over the wall in right, pushing the Yankees lead to 4-0.

Rice went 2-for-3 with a pair of RBI, and now has a 1.138 OPS.

-- Luis Gil got off to a strong start, striking out the first two hitters that he faced. Gil had an easy first two innings, but walked two batters to start the third. To the right-hander’s credit, thought, he rebounded to strike out the next three hitters to escape the inning without allowing a run. 

Gil pitched into the fourth inning, and was pulled at 56 pitches in the middle of an at-bat. Gil's final line read 3.0+ innings, allowing zero runs on two hits, two walks, and six strikeouts.

-- Spencer Jones was kept in the ballpark, but he did have a bloop ground-rule double in the fourth, part of a run-scoring rally.

Jones went 1-for-3 with a strikeout. 

-- Right-handed reliever Jake Bird pitched another 1.1 scoreless innings, allowing just one hit. While Bird struggled last season after being traded at the deadline from the Rockies to the Yankees, he's pitched well this spring, totaling 4.2 scoreless innings.

-- Braden Shewmake, a 28-year-old infielder claimed by the Yankees off waivers from the Royals in January, made a phenomenal defensive play in the eighth. With the Yankees holding a four-run lead, the Red Sox loaded the bases with no one out. Following a strikeout, Shewmake not only made a diving catch on a humpback liner to shallow left, but then had the awareness to get to one knee and throw a strike home to nab the runner trying to score. 

Highlights

Leadoff homer for George Lombard Jr. against Garrett Crochet! pic.twitter.com/8Z6UY0zNMX

— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) 

Ben Rice with an RBI double off the Fort Myers Green Monster pic.twitter.com/7vGTfZwCh8

— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) 

A sparkler from Shewmake to get us out of the inning 🙌 pic.twitter.com/Ib3rf6kvPK

— New York Yankees (@Yankees) 

Up Next

The Yankees host the Minnesota Twins in Tampa on Thursday afternoon at 1:05 p.m.

The Phillies will embark soon on a season that is under some rather intense scrutiny. It’s not just the fanbase that is expecting some results this year when it comes how and where the team ultimately finishes, it’s national media as well. Look around at different people talking about who is on the hot seat and who is not, you’ll probably find multiple outlets talking about the Phillies. It’s also the players themselves. Everyone kind of knows what is at stake here with the team. While we largely preach patience here when it comes to the team, with the players that are impending free agents and the prospects that are nipping at their heels to take over that vacated spot, this does have a bit of a feel of the last hurrah for this form of the team.

Since 2022, we have come to see the team as it being led by a Bryce Harper-Kyle Schwarber-Zack Wheeler core, buffeted by other players like J.T. Realmuto, Alec Bohm, Aaron Nola and Ranger Suarez. With the departure of Suarez this past offseason, we have started to see layers of that team that went to the World Series in 2022 started to fall away. No longer are Suarez and Nick Castellanos gracing the corridors of Citizens Bank Park; now, we will see Adolis Garcia and Andrew Painter. Much as people would like to spin it as the team running it back, a more considered take is that there has been a decent amount of turnover.

Yet the players that remain still have that feel of “we’ve been here before”. Bohm, despite some of the team’s best attempts to move from him, remains probably the best option to give whoever hits third the protection that is required. Realmuto and Schwarber were brought back as the best available free agent options at their positions while Harper, Bryson Stott and Trea Turner continue to provide value in the infield. The outfield does have a different mix of players with Garcia joining Brandon Marsh and (probably) Justin Crawford to form maybe not the most powerful trio of outfielders in the game, but certainly some of the better defensive options the team has had in many a moon.

The pitching staff even has a different vibe to it. This isn’t one led by Wheeler, though he still remains one of the better pitchers in the game. No, this one now has a different Ace in Cristopher Sanchez, backed (at least until Wheeler is ready to resume his duties) by a burgeoning frontline starter in his own right in Jesus Luzardo. The bullpen looks like one of the best overall units on paper now that they have finally decided to hand specific roles to specific pitchers, anchored by Jhoan Duran and Brad Keller at the end of games.

This is a good team, but what ultimately will define a successful season?

The “ring mentality” that has permeated fanbases around the game has warped what constitutes a successful season. We have been conditioned to think that a season is a failure if it is not draped in confetti on the final day the team is together. Many people are criticized for believing that a team has had a good season if they make it to the playoffs, shouted down by those that would like hardware to show for their troubles.

Make no mistake, the Phillies should and could contend for a World Series title this season. Should they join the overwhelming majority of other teams in the game and not hoist the Commissioner’s Trophy at the end of the season, there will be disappointment to go around for all, but that should not push their season to the dustbin of obscurity. They have a roster that should make the playoffs and should contend for the National League pennant and should put up a fight if it reaches the World Series.

It just has to.

But the question here is: what does the team have to do this year to make it successful? That’s what we ask of you.

Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across the MLB. Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Phillies fans and fans across the country. Sign up here to participate in the weekly emailed surveys.

Today the Texas Rangers invite the World Baseball Classic squad from Brazil to Surprise, AZ for a tune-up.

The game may seem even more exhibition-y than a regular Cactus League contest, but it is noteworthy for Texas in that both former New York Mets favorites Jacob deGrom and Brandon Nimmo will be making their 2026 spring debuts with Nimmo suiting up for Texas for the first time.

RHP deGrom will make the start for Texas opposite a lefty named Enzo Sawayama for Team Brazil.

Here’s the lineup:

I don’t believe this game is being broadcast anywhere but you can follow along on Gameday. First pitch from Surprise Stadium is scheduled for 2:05 pm CT.

Go Rangers!

After yesterday’s excursion into international waters, normal, Cactus League service resumes this afternoon for the D-backs with a relatively short trip to Hohokam Park. The D-backs come into this game with a four-game winning streak (not including yesterday, obvs), not having lost a regular pre-season game in a week. It’s the offense who has been getting it done: while Arizona has conceded 22 runs over those four victories, they have scored 33. They have all been pretty close, each ending in a save situation. In fact, the last six Diamondbacks’ contests have all been decided by three runs or fewer. Here’s the line-up for this afternoon:

After Brandon Pfaadt, candidates to pitch are from the following: RHP Yilber Díaz, LHP Brandyn Garcia, RHP Tom Hatch, RHP Andrew Hoffmann, LHP Philip Abner, RHP Paul Sewald, RHP Isaiah Campbell, RHP Gerardo Carrillo, RHP Jonathan Loaisiga and LHP Spencer Giesting. Plenty to choose from there, and a few names who I expect to be competing for spots in the bullpen by the end of the month. As for Pfaadt, this is his first game in the Cactus League: he has thrown on the backfields. This is because he is being eased into action after having a “side issue” earlier in the off-season. We’ll see how deep he goes into the game today.

No TV or radio today, so a Gameday only kind of afternoon. Probably be fairly quiet.