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Box Score

The Milwaukee Brewers wrapped up their Cactus League slate in Mesa, Arizona on Sunday afternoon, as they took a rough 12-0 loss at the hands of the Chicago Cubs.

Is this a worrying loss? Perhaps even less than other spring training games, which are already of very little concern. In this one, the Brewers had just about none of their regulars, as the major league squad is traveling back to Milwaukee for a pair of exhibitions against the Reds on Monday and Tuesday.

In fact, outside of starting pitcher Chad Patrick (27 career appearances), the only other players on the travel roster for Sunday with MLB experience were reliever Peter Strzelecki (77 appearances) and outfielder Jacob Hurtubise (83 career plate appearances over 41 games). Oh, and most of Milwaukee’s star prospects are over at Hohokam Stadium playing in the Spring Breakout game against the A’s, so we’re really talking about digging deep in the minors for today’s roster.

On the other side, the Cubs rolled with most of their everyday players, including Michael Busch, Alex Bregman, Ian Happ, Pete Crow-Armstrong, Nico Hoerner, Carson Kelly, Moisés Ballestreros, Dansby Swanson, and Matt Shaw. Cade Horton also started on the mound.

So, rather than put you through the misery of going through a sad 12-0 loss to Milwaukee’s biggest rival, I’ll just give you a peek at a few key stat lines.

Patrick did not have a great game, as he went four innings, allowing seven runs on six hits and a pair of walks with four strikeouts to finish his spring with an 11.68 ERA. Concerned? Again, no. Strzelecki allowed two runs in 1 2/3 innings, and Garrett Hodges, Tanner Gillis, and Stiven Cruz also pitched in this one.

Offensively, six players finished with a hit today, including Dylan O’Rae, Jeferson Quero, David García, Mike Boeve, Eric Brown Jr., and Hurtubise. The only one of those of the extra-base variety was a double by Brown. Hurtubise and O’Rae both swiped a bag, while the offense as a whole went 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position.

Perhaps the coolest thing about this game was Prince Fielder’s son, Jadyn, entered the game late as a pinch-hitter for Marco Dinges. The 21-year-old second baseman struck out in his only at-bat.

The Brewers have the aforementioned exhibitions against the Reds on deck, as they’ll welcome them to American Family Field in Milwaukee for games on Monday and Tuesday. Then, it’s time for Opening Day, as the White Sox come to town beginning Thursday. Aaron Ashby will start in Monday’s game against Cincinnati, with Brady Singer starting for the Reds. First pitch in that one is at 6:40 p.m. CT and will be broadcast on 94.5 ESPN Radio and the Brewer Radio Network.

That was a fun way to wrap spring training. The Blue Jays smoked Tampa Bay, 14-1, with most of the regulars getting in on the action. The highlights:

• Dylan Cease went 5.0 innings, striking out six while allowing no runs on three hits and two walks. He had a little wobble in the fourth, accounting for both walks and a single, but he was still getting it up to 97 and looking easy in the fifth.
• Louis Varland gave up the lone Rays run, on a deep Carson Williams solo homer in the seventh. It’s been kind of a rough spring for Louis, they’ll need him to sharpen up for the regular season.
• The rest of the bullpen was good. Spencer Miles, Mason Fluharty and Braydon Fisher combined for three innings of perfect relief.
• The offence was rolling, dropping six in the first and then seven more in the fourth.
• George Springer was 2-3 with a homer and a walk
• Vladimir Guerrero jr. was 2-2 with a homer and a walk
• Addison Barger was 3-4
• Alejandro Kirk was 3-3 with a homer, a double, and a walk
• Jesus Sanchez was 2-4 with a homer and a double
• Andres Gimenez was 1-3 with a double and a walk.
• Eloy Jimenez had a pinch hit double

We also got some news. Angel Bastardo and Yariel Rodriguez have been told that they didn’t make the opening day roster. Rodriguez had a good World Baseball Classic, but he hasn’t looked great in MLB camp and was always facing an uphill battle after being waived back in December and so coming off the 40-man roster. For Bastardo, failing to make the team probably means the end of his time as a Blue Jay. As a Rule 5 draftee, he’ll have to be traded to a team that will roster him or offered back to the Red Sox. Selecting him in the 2024 draft, knowing he needed to rehab from Tommy John surgery through the whole 2025 season, was an interesting gamble. The Jays got to take a long look at him over the winter, and if he’d been ready he could have been a talented addition. He struggled a lot, though, walking seven and throwing four wild pitches in 7.2 spring innings, and he doesn’t look ready to step directly into an MLB bullpen. There will be one more pitching cut to come, as the Jays currently list 14 uninjured pitchers as active with 13 being the in-season limit. Most likely that will be optioning Chase Lee so that they can keep 2025 Rule 5 draftee Spencer Miles. Miles has looked effective this spring, striking out 11 of 46 batters faced and regularly running his fastball up to 98.

Now we enter the four day dead period before Sacramento comes to the Dome on Friday evening to open the season. I’m more than ready to watch some real baseball.

Observations from Mets spring training on Sunday:

Baty delivers

Brett Baty completed a strong Grapefruit League season by going 1-for-3 with an RBI in a 4-3 loss to the Marlins in Jupiter, Fla.

Baty posted a .920 OPS this spring as he prepares for duty at three infield positions and right field.

Weaver wild

Luke Weaver walked three batters and recorded only one out before he was removed from the game.

The right-hander allowed one earned run.

Caught my eye

The Mets played their possible Opening Day lineup, with the exception of catcher: Ben Rortvedt started and Francisco Alvarez had the day off.

Monday’s schedule

The Mets will hold an intrasquad scrimmage at Clover Park before departing for New York.

Phillies relief pitcher Daniel Robert is hospitalized and in stable condition after collapsing during his first bullpen session of spring training on Sunday.

Medical staff rushed to the aid of Robert, 31, who stumbled off the mound amid a cardiac incident at the club’s camp in Clearwater, Florida.

The training personnel used a defibrillator and transported him to the hospital, where he is “stable and alert,” the team said.

According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, Robert maintained consciousness throughout the event and managed to leave the field under his own power.

Robert suffered a similar cardiac incident in October, after which the Phillies medical team resuscitated him with CPR and an external defibrillator. 

He then received an implanted cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD), which was “triggered” during Sunday’s event.

The device data was reviewed at the hospital, according to MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki.

RHP Daniel Robert collapsed throwing a bullpen session this morning in Clearwater. He had an event last year.

Team said, “The ICD was triggered as he was coming off the mound but he is stable and alert. He was taken to the local hospital to have the device data reviewed.”

— Todd Zolecki (@ToddZolecki) March 22, 2026

Robert — who held a 4.15 ERA across 15 appearances with the Phillies in 2025 — returned to the franchise last month on a minor-league deal and joined the team as a non-roster invitee for training camp.

The right-hander told NBC’s Jim Salisbury that the driving factor in his return was the bond he’d forged with the organization and its medical staff, saying “I owe everything to them.”

“They stayed in touch all winter,” Robert added. “They were super accommodating. They knew exactly what was going on and had a plan for me. I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to play this season, but if I was able to, I wanted it to be here because of the way the Phillies supported me. All the tests show I’m healthy. The Phillies helped me get to see some of the best doctors in the country.”

Further medical tests delayed Robert’s first bullpen of the season until Sunday.

The Dodgers are back in Southern California on Sunday night to start the exhibition Freeway Series against the Angels at Angel Stadium in Anaheim. Much like Friday night against the Padres at Camelback Ranch, Sunday showcases another potential opening day lineup for the Dodgers, this time with Alex Freeland at second base after getting good news Sunday morning.

Lineup

Shohei Ohtani DH
Michael Tucker RF
Mookie Betts SS
Freddie Freeman 1B
Will Smith C
Max Muncy 3B
Teoscar Hernández LF
Andy Pages CF
Alex Freeland 2B

Tyler Glasnow starts on the mound.

Other pitchers

Non-roster pitchers Chris Campos and Antoine Kelly are active for the Freeway Series, as is the full major league bullpen. Tanner Scott, Alex Vesia, Blake Treinen, and Ben Casparius are expected to pitch Sunday night.

Up from the minors are Ronan Kopp (wearing number 83), Cam Day (89), Antonio Knowles (92), and Cody Morse (90).

Other position players

Miguel Rojas, Santiago Espinal, Alex Call, and Dalton Rushing are active, as is catcher Eliézer Alfonzo, the last remaining non-roster position player in camp.

Up from the minors are Zach Ehrhard (99), James Tibbs III (98), Eduardo Quintero (87), Emil Morales (93), Chase Harlan (94), and Joendry Vargas (88).

1904
Bob Elson, who would become the longest-tenured broadcaster in White Sox history, was born in Chicago.

Elson graduated from DePaul but became a WGN voice in 1929 almost completely by accident, being pulled into an audition while merely taking a tour of KWK in St. Louis and then WGN snatching him home. He would go on to cover more than 5,000 baseball games in his career.

Elson spent most of his career covering both White Sox and Cubs games, but from 1946-70 worked only on the White Sox. He had a smooth delivery that allowed him also to shift over to Blackhawks work (1934-55, interrupted only by service in World War II), and pro football (Bears and Cardinals) in the 1930s. He was also one of the first broadcasters to conduct on-field interviews.

While not exactly the most beloved or colorful voice in club history, there will never be another broadcaster who comes close to the service Bob Elson gave the White Sox.

1906
Moose Solters, who finished his career with the White Sox, was born, in Pittsburgh. The left fielder seemed on his way to superstardom, with brilliant early-career seasons for the Red Sox and Browns. But three of his four seasons from 1936-39 were poor, prompting the White Sox to buy low on Solters in a 1939 challenge trade with St. Louis, sending the Browns left fielder Rip Radcliff. Radcliff had a great 1940 season in St. Louis, leading the majors in hits. Solters also had a strong, bounce-back season.

Sadly, during the 1941 season Moose was struck by a loose baseball while walking onto the field at Griffith Stadium in Washington, sustaining a skull fracture. His comeback attempt failed, as his eyesight began to fail him as a result of the injury.

For you trivia buffs, both Solters and Marv Owen were born on exactly the same day, preceding the first White Sox championship season. Solters played three seasons with the White Sox and Owen two, and depending on the timing of transactions the birthday twins may have been briefly on the same White Sox roster: Owen was sold to the Red Sox on Dec. 8, 1939, the same day Solters came to the South Side in trade.

1985
Primary 1960s White Sox owner Art Allyn passed away at age 71, in Sarasota.

He came to the White Sox a lion and went out a lamb — or maybe it was the other way around. Allyn had the winning bid to secure the club from Bill Veeck and shrewdly rebuilt an aging team via GM Ed Short. In fact, for all of the storied White Sox seasons, the best three-year record for the franchise came under Allyn’s ownership, 1963-65.

Allyn had a heroic side off the field as well: Repulsed by the segregation Florida continued to practice into the 1960s, the owner bought a motel near the Sarasota training grounds to allow his Black White Sox players to sidestep the institutional racism still being practiced.

On the other hand, Allyn did leave the White Sox as a villain. Allyn was unwilling to hold Short’s feet to the fire after a series of sour moves in the second half of the 1960s, and the threadbare White Sox began to openly solicit Milwaukee as a relocation site after the Braves moved south to Atlanta. It was Allyn who steered the Sox up north to play a significant percentage of their home schedule at County Stadium, not Comiskey Park.

Finally, with Art on the verge of selling the White Sox to interests who would have vacated Comiskey Park permanently, Art’s brother John Allyn intervened and bought Art out in 1969, saving the White Sox for Chicago.

2026
The White Sox signed catcher Reese McGuire to a $1.2 million contract, beginning his second go-around with the team. McGuire originally played on the South Side in 2022, slashing .221/.261/.285 in 53 games before being dealt to Boston for Jake Diekman. That 0.0 WAR effort was enough to bring the 31-year-old back to town, likely costing the White Sox younger and cheaper catching prospect Korey Lee.

The Seattle Mariners for years have done a “Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Night” for years, and in 2026 they will expand that to include a BYU night.

On Saturday August, 22 against the Chicago Cubs the Mariners will host a BYU Night. If you purchase the ticket special you will receive a Mariners-themed BYU Jersey. Below is the description from the Mariners.

“Rally your crew for BYU Night at T-Mobile Park on Saturday, August 22! With this exclusive offer, you can score a Mariners-themed BYU Jersey and specially priced tickets to a marquee matchup against the Cubs. Plus, $5 of every ticket sold will benefit the BYU Scholarship Replenishment Fund.”

I live in the Seattle area and have been working with the Mariners and BYU on this promotion. The Mariners have done college themed nights for regional universities in Washington, Oregon, and Idaho, and this will be the furthest college themed night they have done. The Mariners have seen the success from LDS night and recognize all the BYU alumni and fans in the Pacific Northwest.

Tickets are available to purchase here.