Worldwide Sports News

The Cubs didn’t send too many regulars to Glendale to face the White Sox — Michael Busch, Miguel Amaya (back from the WBC) and Moisés Ballesteros were the only ones among 40-man roster players, and Michael Conforto and Chas McCormick among the non-roster guys trying to make the team.

Plus, it was basically a bullpen day for the Cubs pitching staff.

All of that led to a 4-2 loss for the Cubs on a very warm afternoon, 89 degrees at game time. (Not as warm as it’s going to be next week, though.)

Riley Martin, a left-hander who might be in the Iowa Shuttle mix this year, allowed the Sox one run in two innings of work. One thing Martin got was the benefit of an inning-ending strikeout when Amaya successfully challenged a call [VIDEO].

Instead of ball 2, that wound up being strike three. Again, this is really good practice for the regular season, though it wouldn’t be that often you’d see this sort of ABS challenge in the first inning.

Ethan Roberts threw a scoreless third, and then the Sox scored a pair off Collin Snider in the fourth and fifth, one of the runs unearned, and another run off Jeff Brigham in the sixth.

By that bottom of the sixth, the Cubs had put two on the board on this hit by Amaya [VIDEO].

That ball was well struck and could have gone for a double, but instead it was ruled a two-base error on Jarred Kelenic. That’s a bit surprising, as I have seen many plays this spring that I thought were errors that were ruled hits. In any case, Amaya looks great. If he stays healthy I think he’s going to have a big year.

Also perhaps primed for a big year is Ballesteros, who went 2-for-3. Busch went 1-for-3 as the DH in this game.

The Cubs loaded the bases with nobody out in the seventh off former Cub Sean Newcomb, but two strikeouts and a popup ended the inning with no runs scoring. Newcomb actually looked pretty good and he had a very good year split between the Red Sox and A’s in 2025. If he’d have done that with the Cubs (17 games with a 9.13 ERA in 2022) he’d probably still be a Cub. Just shows you how fungible relievers are.

After that it was all minor leaguers finishing up things.

FWIW, if you’re interested, here is a game thread for the two WBC quarterfinals tonight.

The Cubs will visit Salt River Fields in Scottsdale to take on the Rockies Saturday afternoon. Ben Brown will start for the Cubs and Kyle Freeland will go for the Rox. Game time Saturday is 3:10 p.m. CT. No TV Saturday, but there will be a radio broadcast via WSCR The Score.

The Cincinnati Reds are playing a pair of Cactus League games on Friday evening down in the desert of Arizona, but neither of those games are televised. What is televised this fine Friday evening, however, is more World Baseball Classic action.

Down in Miami, the Dominican Republic will play South Korea, with the DR serving as the home team in this Quarterfinals matchup. Veteran lefty Hyun Jin Ryu will toe the rubber for South Korea, while Philadelphia’s burgeoning ace Cristopher Sánchez – a fellow lefty – will start for the Dominican. That game can be viewed on FS2 and FOX Deportes, with first pitch at loanDepot park set for 6:30 PM ET.

The nightcap will feature the United States squad facing off against Team Canada from Daikin Park down in Houston. San Francisco Giants bulldog righty Logan Webb will start for the US while Arizona Diamondbacks righty Mike Soroka will go for Canada. First pitch in that game is slated for 8:00 PM ET, and that game will be carried on FOX (and on FOX Deportes).

You can find more information (such as tonight’s lineups and overall rosters) at MLB.com’s World Baseball Classic page.

Firstly, this is going up early as it will also be a thread for the WBC quarter-finals, which get under way very shortly. We start with the appetizer of Korea taking on the Dominican Republic, and at 5 pm Arizona, we get the main course: USA vs. Canada. That’s of particular interest to us, because the Diamondbacks’ Michael Soroka will be starting on the mound for Team Moose. After their manager thinking they had already sauntered into the knock-out stages, before the Italians proved otherwise, I suspect America will not be taking this game with anything other than the utmost seriousness.

As for the Diamondbacks, they have a night game today. Mind you, given how the weather is looking for next week, might be worth moving ALL games to the evening, and this seems to be happening in some case.

Gamewise, let’s just hope today goes better than Wednesday and Thursday, where the D-backs were outscored by a margin of 25-4. While the pitching (clearly) hasn’t been good, the offense has basically evaporated over the past week or more. Over the past ten games, Arizona has scored a total of only twenty-one runs, and has not delivered (hypothetical spring) tacos in that time. Of course, it is only spring training. But, still…

Not quite got tonight’s line-up for the D-backs at this stage – I’ll update this a bit nearer first pitch in Surprise. But it is scheduled to be Merrill Kelly’s return to the mound as he ramps up again after his back problem. Following him, expect RHP Andrew Hoffmann, LHP Philip Abner, RHP Kade Strowd, RHP Paul Sewald, RHP Isaiah Campbell, RHP Jonathan Loáisiga and RHP Bryce Jarvis. And after what feels like forever, tonight’s game is reported to be available to watch, though it will be the Kansas City feed you’ll get. Personally, I look forward to getting the inevitable “The content you requested is not available. Please try again later” message from MLB.

Here’s your line-up for the D-backs.

The Dodgers take on the Seattle Mariners on Friday night in Peoria.

Lineup

Miguel Rojas DH
Kyle Tucker RF
Teoscar Hernández LF
Alex Call CF
Santiago Espinal 3B
Alex Freeland SS
Nick Senzel 2B
James Tibbs III 1B
Eliézer Alfonzo C

Landon Knack starts for the Dodgers.

Other pitchers

Blake Treinen, Ben Casparius, Will Klein, and Edgardo Henriquez are scheduled to pitch on Friday.

Veteran right-handers Yency Almonte (wearing number 93) and Keynan Middleton (95) are active in a big league game for the first time this spring. Each signed a minor league deal with the Dodgers. Also active are Kelvin Ramirez (90) and Matt Lanzendorfer (87).

Other position players

Michael Siani makes the trip to Peoria, as do non-roster invitees Ryan Fitzgerald, Zach Ehrhard, Noah Miller, Zyhir Hope, and Seby Zavala.

Up from minor league camp are Chris Newell (00), Griffin Lockwood-Powell (92), Charles Davalan (01), Austin Gauthier (89), Yeiner Fernandez (02), and Kyle Nevin (91).

The second and final battle of Camelback Ranch is upon us on Saturday afternoon, with the Dodgers taking on the White Sox, this time with Chicago as the home team.

Back on February 26, the Dodgers beat the White Sox 7-6 in their first meeting this spring. These two teams will meet during the regular season from June 12-14 in Chicago, with a weekend rematch of the 1959 World Series.

On Saturday, Justin Wrobleski continues his march toward a potential rotation spot, making his fourth appearance of spring training, and his third start. The left-hander pitched three scoreless innings last Sunday against the A’s.

Right-hander Mike Vasil starts for Chicago.

Saturday game info

• Teams: Dodgers at White Sox
• Ballpark: Camelback Ranch
• Time: 1:05 p.m. PT
• TV: SportsNet LA
• Radio: AM 570

We have two quarter final WBC games today.

6:30 PM: Korea vs. Dominican Republic

Hyun Jim Ryu, who you might remember, starts for Korea. Cristopher Sánchez for DR. Vlad is in the cleanup spot.

8:00 PM: USA vs. Canada. Logan Webb starts for the US. Mike Soroka for Canada.

Korea at Dominican Republic, 6:30 PM EDT, FS2

Korea lineup

1. Do Yeong Kim – 3B
2. Jahmai Jones – LF
3. Jung Hoo Lee – CF
4. Hyun Min Ahn – RF
5. Bo Gyeong Moon – DH
6. Shay Whitcomb – 1B
7. Hyeseong Kim – 2B
8. Dong Won Park – C
9. Ju Won Kim – SS

SP: Hyun Jin Ryu (LHP)

Dominican Republic lineup

1. Fernando Tatis Jr. – RF
2. Ketel Marte – 2B
3. Juan Soto – LF
4. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. – 1B
5. Manny Machado – 3B
6. Junior Caminero – DH
7. Julio Rodríguez – CF
8. Agustín Ramírez – C
9. Geraldo Perdomo – SS

SP: Cristopher Sánchez (LHP)

USA at Canada, 8:00 PM EDT, FOX

Korea lineup

1. Bobby Witt Jr. – SS
2. Bryce Harper – 1B
3. Aaron Judge – RF
4. Kyle Schwarber – DH
5. Alex Bregman – 3B
6. Roman Anthony – LF
7. Cal Raleigh – C
8. Brice Turang – 2B
9. Pete Crow-Armstrong – CF

SP: Logan Webb

Canada lineup

lineup to follow

Happy Friday, all! The Yankees played earlier today in spring training against the Braves, but a few other Yankees are actually playing tonight. And since the World Baseball Classic is now in the knockout stage, how about we have a game thread for tonight’s two contests?

First up is the Dominican Republic, who looked an absolute powerhouse while steamrolling to a 4-0 record in Pool D. They obliterated Nicaragua, Israel, and the Netherlands by a combined score of 34-5 before beating rival Venezuela in the last game to earn the top spot in the pool. The 7-5 final score doesn’t reflect how in control the D.R. felt, as it was 7-3 for most of the game until Venezuela scratched off some runs in the ninth.

Fernando Tatis Jr., Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Junior Caminero, Ketel Marte, and that familiar Juan Soto fella all had OPS’s north of 1.000 during the four games, and Yankees catcher Austin Wells chipped in a homer, too. They are hungry to match the feats of the the undefeated, Robinson Canó-led 2013 Dominican Republic squad, their only champions in tournament history.

The D.R. is a force to be reckoned with, but it also doesn’t matter how overwhelming they were in pool play. If they slip just once and they lose, it’s over. And South Korea is no foe that should be easily dismissed. They finished second to Japan in Pool A play, but they put a scare into the defending champions during their head-to-head. A narrow extra-innings loss to Chinese Taipei meant that they had to both defeat Australia in their last game, and do so by a wide enough margin to overcome the tiebreakers.

Korea did the job, with a timely sacrifice fly in the ninth giving them that last run they needed to push by the Aussies in a 7-2 triumph. They have a few MLB players on their club in Jung Hoo Lee, Shay Whitcomb, and 2024 Yankees bench player Jahmai Jones, but the true star in pool play was 25-year-old masher Bo Gyeong Moon, who homered twice and posted a 1.779 OPS across the four games. Although Korea is respected as a baseball power and won an Olympic gold medal in 2008, this is actually their first appearance past the WBC’s first round since the tourney’s early days, when they were knocked out by Japan in both the 2006 semifinals and the 2009 championship game.

The starting pitching matchup for this is a fun one too, as 2025 NL Cy Young runner-up Cristopher Sánchez squares off with one of the few active players remaining from Korea’s Olympic heroes, former Dodgers/Blue Jays standout Hyun Jin Ryu.

How to watch

Dominican Republic vs. Korea
Pitching Matchup: LHP Cristopher Sánchez vs. LHP Hyun Jin Ryu
Time: 6:30 pm ET
TV: FS2
Location: loanDepot Park — Miami, FL

Oh, Team USA. They should be thanking their lucky stars (and stripes) that they’re still alive in this thing. Manager Mark DeRosa nearly screwed the pooch the other day when he signaled that he was punting the Pool B finale against Italy when the Americans were not, in fact, guaranteed of a quarterfinals spot just yet. Bryce Harper, Alex Bregman, and Cal Raleigh all sat, and for as much as I think he’s a decent pitcher, DeRosa stuck with Yankees swingman Ryan Yarbrough for too long in the middle innings despite better bullpen options as the Italians built just enough of a surprising lead that it was too much to overcome. If Mexico had beaten Italy the next day by the right score, then this dream team would’ve had its WBC end in a nightmare.

But hey! It’s all in the past now, and if they win three games, then Team USA will be WBC champions and that will all be a dumb footnote. We’ll see if baseball karma exists and gives underdog Canada a little extra pep in their step against the Aaron Judge and the Americans tonight. Judge had a rough final game of the pool and struck out to end it, but he was also essential to their win over Mexico and ended that first round with a 1.054 OPS. Cubs center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong homered twice against Italy, and the USA offense has also seen great work from Roman Anthony, Gunnar Henderson, and Kyle Schwarber.

To their credit, Canada outright won Pool A with W’s over Puerto Rico, Colombia, and Panama, advancing to the knockout stage for the first time since the WBC began in 2006. It was an overdue achievement for a country that has produced stars like Fergie Jenkins, Larry Walker, and Joey Votto. Josh Naylor and his brother, Bo, are among the more recognizable faces on this Canadian club, in addition to Tyler O’Neill and old friend Jameson Taillon. The retired James Paxton is also in their bullpen, amusingly. Pool A’s best hitters were the Royals’ Abraham Toro (late of the 2025 Red Sox) and Marlins prospect Owen Caissie (who led the Cubs’ package for Edward Cabrera), who both topped the 1.450 OPS mark.

The Giants’ Logan Webb will get the ball for this one after four innings of one-hit ball against Brazil in the WBC opener, the only blemish a leadoff solo shot by Manny Ramirez’s son, Lucas. (Yes, my back just suffered a twinge writing that. Don’t get me started on actual child Joseph Contreras.) Canada’s pitching is its weak point, as Arizona’s Michael Soroka doesn’t exactly measure up to Webb, who has earned Cy Young votes in four consecutive seasons. Maybe the 2019 Braves version of Soroka could measure up, but he’s had a rough go of it since brutal injuries ravaged his promising career. Then again, the Americans looked like crap again Michael Lorenzen, who had to settle for a contract with the Rockies. You never know with baseball, Suzyn.

How to watch

United States vs. Canada
Pitching Matchup: RHP Logan Webb vs. RHP Michael Soroka
Time: 8:00 pm ET
TV: Fox
Location: Daikin Park — Houston, TX