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Marcus Semien drives in three, Mark Vientos homers as Mets drop both Saturday games

The Mets, playing a lineup of mostly regulars Saturday in a home Grapefruit League game, fell to the Astros, 7-5, at Clover Park. 

The Mets also played a split-squad game in West Palm Beach, which they lost, 3-1, to the Nationals. But there was good news there – Mark Vientos hit his first home run of the spring in the eighth inning, perhaps a sign he’s moving past what’s been a horrid camp. Vientos entered Saturday 1-for-31 in Grapefruit League action. 

Here are the takeaways...

-Marcus Semien gave fans a dash of offense, cranking a three-run double in the bottom of the sixth inning that temporarily gave the Mets the lead. Semien also darted into short right field to snare a flare by Cam Smith, taking away a hit.

-In the eighth inning, Mets reliever Ryan Lambert hit the first batter he faced, walked the next one, and then gave up a three-run homer to Christian Walker that gave Houston a 6-5 lead. Walker’s blast traveled 406 feet. Overall, Lambert retired only one batter and allowed four runs. 

-With several players in new spots in the field and run prevention a Met buzz-phrase this spring, it’s worth noting that first baseman Jorge Polanco made a throwing error in the eighth inning. He ranged far to his right to snare the ball, but then made an ill-advised underhand throw to the bag, which had no chance. Might be a sign of his inexperience at the position. 

-The competition for the right-field job might have tilted when Mike Tauchman appeared to hurt his left leg during the game.Carlos Mendoza later confirmed on the SNY broadcast that Tauchman’s left knee was sore. In the fourth inning, Tauchman chased a ball back to the warning track and it seemed to sail on him. He reached back and could not catch it and was seen by SNY cameras flexing his left leg during the inning, and also limping on the way in after the frame was over. Another replay on the broadcast showed Tauchman in some discomfort in his first at-bat earlier, too. He tried to go out for the fifth inning, but was still hurting. He was replaced by AJ Salgado. Tauchman is the main competition for the right-field gig along with uber-prospect Carson Benge, who is batting .368 after going 0-for-4 in West Palm Beach. 

-Salgado took advantage of his chance. He later tripled and scored, hit an RBI single in the sixth and another single in the ninth. He also made a nice catch to take a hit away from Walker.

-Francisco Lindor, trying to get ready for Opening Day following his hamate surgery, was 0-for-4, but played eight innings. He made a nifty backhand pickup in the first inning. 

-Jonah Tong, the stud pitching prospect who is slated to begin the season in Triple-A, made the start and was charged with three runs and six hits in 4.1 innings. But he was victimized by some seeing-eye bloops with a predilection for dropping into no-man’s land. The Astros scored three times against him in the second inning and three of the four hits he yielded had the following exit velocities: 75 miles per hour, 60 mph, and 64 mph, according to MLB.com. Tong also allowed a rocket into the right-field corner by Zach Cole that went for a leadoff triple in the inning. Tong was charged with a balk that allowed Cole to score and later made a throwing error on an errant pickoff attempt. There was plenty of good, too. 

He used his curveball to good effect several times, including for strikes against Isaac Paredes in a bounce-back third inning. He ended that frame by striking out Cole on a nice changeup and then also used the pitch in the fourth to finish off strikeouts of Cavan Biggio (called) and Riley Unroe (swinging). 

In all, Tong fanned five and walked none, throwing 79 pitches, including 53 strikes. His spring ERA over two starts is 7.71, which, coincidentally, was his ERA in five starts for the Mets in 2025.

-With ball and strike calls eligible to be challenged during the regular season for the first time, it’s perhaps significant that Francisco Alvarez, who returned to the lineup after leaving Thursday’s game with back tightness, nailed two challenges in the first two innings. Truth be told, though, he also missed one in the eighth inning. Alvarez challenged a ball call in the first inning with Cam Smith at the plate and got it overturned, meaning Tong was working with a 2-2 count instead of the hitter’s paradise of 3-1. In the second, Alvarez challenged again, this time on a 3-2 pitch, so the Mets got a strikeout of Walker. Entering Saturday, the Mets had the fewest ABS challenges won in all of spring training, according to Codify Baseball’s X social media account.

-Alvarez also hit an RBI single in the fifth inning, reaching for a slider away and knocking it into right field. Stop us if you’ve heard this before, but there are times in his career where Alvarez would have taken a big swing at such a pitch, only to hit a harmless grounder. Alvarez is having a good spring – 9-for-25 (.360) with five RBI. 

-In the away split-squad game, Joey Wiemer of the Nationals sank the Mets with a walk-off, two-run homer in the ninth inning off lefty Matt Turner. Joander Suarez started for New York and allowed one hit over four scoreless innings. Will Watson added 3.1 shutout innings, allowing two hits. 

Highlights

 

 

 

What's next

The Mets travel to face the Marlins in their final spring game on Sunday.

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NBA fines Magic guard Jalen Suggs $25,000 for throwing mouthpiece

NEW YORK (AP) — Orlando Magic guard Jalen Suggs has been fined $25,000 for throwing his mouthpiece in the direction of the stands, the NBA announced Saturday.

The incident occurred with 5:35 remaining in the first quarter of the Magic’s 130-111 loss to the Hornets on Thursday in Charlotte.

Suggs tossed his mouthpiece off the court after he was bumped by LaMelo Ball and received a technical foul.

He finished the game with ‌nine ⁠points on 4-of-12 shooting in 22 minutes.

___

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba

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SB Nation Reacts results: Pirates fans expect a lot of wins in 2026

Mar 1, 2026; Jupiter, Florida, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates shortstop Konnor Griffin (75) celebrates after hitting a two-run home run against the St. Louis Cardinals during the first inning at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images | Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

The most recent poll conducted at Bucs Dugout was to gauge how fans of the Pittsburgh Pirates think the team is going to perform this season, and how many wins they believe the Buccos will have. It was a close margin, but 38% of the fans that voted believe their Pirates will have between 85-89 wins this upcoming season, just narrowly beating out the 36% of fans that believed Pittsburgh will be around 80-84 wins.

These are overwhelmingly positive results on the outlook for Pittsburgh’s season, but for once this belief in the team is by no means delusional. The Pirates’ organization went out and did the right things this winter and had a very atypical offseason. For those outside of the Pirates fanbase, this means General Manager Ben Cherington and company actually went out and tried to make this ball club better.

Signing Ryan O’hearn was a big splash move in free-agency to bring in a former All-Star slugger who was the first free-agent to receive a multi-year contract from the Pirates since 2016 when starting pitcher Iván Nova was signed to a three-year deal worth $26 million. The Bucs didn’t stop there as they made a massive move in the trade market to acquire second baseman, Brandon Lowe, from Tampa. Not only did they add another power threat to their lineup but they finally filled the long standing vacancy at second base. With Lowe came prospects Jake Mangum and Mason Montgomery who also are in line to make an impact in 2026.

The Pirates lineup is completely transformed from 2025, as the team is looking to put to rest the horrible offense that they trotted out to earn last place honors in the NL Central. Pittsburgh would finish with a 71-91 record in 2025, and were 26 games back from the division winning Milwaukee Brewers. The Pirates in 2025 scored the fewest amount of runs in Major League Baseball while also finishing with the fewest home runs and the lowest slugging percentage.

All things considered the Pirates made many improvements to the roster for this year and sticking with first time manager Don Kelly to lead the way feels like the culture is shifting in Pittsburgh. This will be a big prove it year for Kelly and company. FanDuel Sports Network has the Pirates at -550 odds to win 70 or more games this season, with +100 odds to meet the expected 80+ wins as voted on by fans at Bucs Dugout.

The Pittsburgh Pirates will open their regular season against the New York Mets with ace Paul Skenes getting the Opening Day start on Thursday, March 26, at 1:15 p.m. ET.

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Penguins/Jets Recap: It’s a…shootout win? Pens scrape to victory

PITTSBURGH, PA - MARCH 21: Samuel Girard #49 of the Pittsburgh Penguins carries the puck against the Winnipeg Jets at PPG PAINTS Arena on March 21, 2026 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Joe Sargent/NHLI via Getty Images) | NHLI via Getty Images

Pregame

The Penguins get Sam Girard from injury and are about as healthy as they’re going to get this season with the only unavailable player of note being Blake Lizotte.

First period

The Penguins score on the second shift of the game on a sensational effort by Egor Chinakhov. Chinakhov takes a pass that Evgeni Malkin chips ahead for him, then cut into the middle of the ice through Dylan DeMelo. The lateral moves catches Connor Hellebuyck falling as he attempts to push back to his right. Chinakhov smokes a shot through the hole created. 1-0.

DeMelo’s nightmare start continues, he bobbles a puck that Bryan Rust quickly jumps on. Rust skates in low and feathers a little pass over Josh Morrisey’s stick. Rickard Rakell is driving to the front and able to lift it in. 2-0 just 2:02 into the game.

The frantic start continues, Chinakhov nearly scores again with a backhand shot but Hellebuyck gets a glove on it. Mark Schiefele hits the post. A bit later Parker Wotherspoon gets his shot blocked and the Jets are going the other way on an odd man rush. Arturs Silovs makes the first save but the rebound sits there. Morgan Barron comes barreling in, colliding with Erik Karlsson who slams into Silovs and the puck floats into the net.

The Penguins challenge for goalie interference. After review, the officials don’t agree. Goal stands, 2-1 game with 16:10 to go and Winnipeg goes to a power play. Pittsburgh kills off the penalty and then the game settles down.

Hellebuyck makes another nice save on Chinakhov and then keeps the puck out with Ben Kindel and the third line bearing down on him. Rakell gets to the net and another late chance that doesn’t go.

Wild and entertaining first period, shots are 13-8 Pittsburgh. The Jets are pretty fortunate the score is 2-1, it could easily be about a 3-0 or 4-0 score if the review went against them and Hellebuyck didn’t bail them out a few times.

Second period

The Penguins get a power play, which sounds good on the surface. Turned out to not be, the puck goes very high in the air and takes a weird bounce that gives Winnipeg a 2-on-1. Adam Lowry makes a great pass right through the skates of Erik Karlsson and Cole Koepke cuts against the grain to give Silovs no chance on that. 2-2 tie game.

Winnipeg starts to tip the ice and extending shifts, often against the Letang and Clifton pairs getting trapped on the ice. Just when it looks like the Jets are hogging all the pressure, the Penguins make a series of beautiful passes across the ice. A Jet defender ends up bumping into Hellebuyck, which takes his squareness to the shot away that Erik Karlsson sends into the net from all the way along the right wall. 3-2 Pens back in front.

Shots on goal are eight a piece in the second period. Both teams score once so the Pens cling to a one-goal lead after 40 minutes.

Third period

Winnipeg ties the game up, a long shot by Neal Pionk makes it through traffic and goes off the post and in. 3-3 game.

34 seconds later, the Jets appear to take their first lead of the game. Tommy Novak loses a puck behind his net, Silovs leaves a rebound that pops out for Scheifele. He’s got plenty of time and space to pick the top corner.

The Pens take a timeout to look the play over, Alex Iafallo raised his stick and touched the puck for what should have been a stoppage. Muse challenges a second time for the game and wins this one. Score stays at 3-3.

There’s no changing the next Winnipeg goal, Brad Lambert shoots from distance, it glances off Girard and changes direction enough to fool Silovs. 4-3 WIN after all.

Pittsburgh needs something good to happen and some of their best make it happen. Sidney Crosby makes a nice pass out for Bryan Rust. Rust drops it for Karlsson who glides in, picks a corner and fires in his 11th goal of the season. 4-4.

There’s no more scoring in regulation.

Overtime

Malkin and Kindel start the 3v3 and nearly score going forward on the faceoff. Kyle Conner gets a chance that Silovs stops then it’s all Pens going the other way. Kindel and Malkin have a 2-on-0 that Kindel again can’t finish. Later Crosby is behind the defense and gets slashed, generating a 4v3 power play with 3:20 to play.

The Pens work their power play, Dylan Samberg gets hit in the face and play stops with 43 seconds left in the power play. Crosby gets a redirect of a Karlsson shot/pass but that’s as close as they get.

Shootout

Chinakhov is the first shooter, he tries to shoot from long-range to the five-hole, Hellebuyck denies it.

Jonathan Toews goes first for Winnipeg. Silovs gets a little piece and the puck goes off the cross-bar and out.

—

Crosby takes the puck, he wires a puck to the glove side to score.

Gustav Nyquist tests Silovs’ five-hole, stopped.

—

Rakell gets a chance to win it — and he does! Snaps a low shot by Hellebuyck.

Some thoughts

  • Hellebuyck gave up two goals on the first three shots, then made a beautiful save on Chinakhov to keep the game at 2-0. Huge moment there, big swing. It wasn’t a great beginning for Hellebuyck but he came up huge to prevent it from spiraling out of control.
  • On the other side, tough game for Silovs. His rebound control wasn’t good and even sometimes he struggles to freeze pucks and get a stoppage to help the defense. The third period goals included some bad luck; traffic in front and a shot off the inside of the post then a defender changing the trajectory of the shot but overall it wasn’t a clean or good game for the Pens’ goalie.
  • Dan Muse falls to 0-8 on goalie interference challenges this season, some of them in these recaps we have scorched him for as being low percentage ideas. This one was worth it, since the contact with the goalie seemed to be caused by the opposing player. Didn’t go the Pens way but in the subjective world of goal reviews that could have been one seen differently on a different day.
  • On second thought, that probably deserves more of a reaction than ‘oh tough break to not get the call’, when the whole contact was initiated by the attacking player. The league has set a high bar to reverse calls (most of the time) but this one will be right up there with the handful of examples where what you see wasn’t reflected in the final decision, which is truly maddening.
  • Ryan Shea left the game in the second period after absorbing a big hit from the 6’5” Lowry that ended up appearing to smack Shea up high. He’d miss the final 8+ minutes of the second and did return to the bench for the start of the third period with a full face shield but then went back down to the room and didn’t play again.
  • The first 6:51 of this game featured three total goals, a post being struck, a great save and a questionable goal review. Felt like a whole game went down in just a few minutes.
  • DeMelo played two shifts and had a big hand in how the Penguins scored two goals and then didn’t take another shift the rest of the period. Tough stuff there, the Jets went to a five defenseman rotation out of necessity due to his shoddy level of play before working him back in.
  • Letang struggles continue, one indicator is an average shift time in the first two periods of 1:04. This is not by design and his icetime isn’t a result of coaching choices but rather getting caught on the ice too often for too long. Karlsson’s average shift times in the first two: 51 and 52 seconds. Almost every time the Pens get trapped in their own end for a prolonged time or have multiple failures to clear the zone, Letang has a hand in it more often than not. Letang’s 5v5 xGF% of 27% was sadly up from the effort in the teens the last game against Carolina, even putting a better puck mover in Girard hasn’t stablized No. 58’s play yet.
  • Malkin did well on the first assist, and even liked his puck touches in OT but my word he also had a frustrating game with his decision making and plays coming off his stick today. Was nice to see him engaged and backchecking hard was not as fun watching
  • Squandering the overtime power play only to see the game go to a shootout has been a story that’s unfolded in the past, and not in a good way. Luckily the Pens got some stops and scored some goals in the shootout. Amazing.

Playing the 12th place team in the West, at home, this one had to be a win for Pittsburgh with a tough matchup against Carolina tomorrow. The start was good but a lot of the last part of the game wasn’t. This Pens team always finds a way to hang around and keep fighting, with Karlsson still doing a lot of the heavy lifting. One more down.

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Flyers roll through California, improve to 9-2-1 over last 12 games

Flyers roll through California, improve to 9-2-1 over last 12 games originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

The Flyers sure enjoyed their time in California.

They capped off a perfect road trip with a 4-1 win Saturday over the Sharks at SAP Center.

Owen Tippett, Christian Dvorak, Travis Sanheim and Noah Cates found the back of the net for the Flyers.

Dvorak’s marker was the game-winner in the third period and it stemmed the tide for the team’s beleaguered power play. Sanheim and Cates iced things with empty-netters.

The Flyers (34-23-12) swept their California trip with three wins in four days. They took the first two games after regulation — a 3-2 decision over the Ducks in overtime and a 4-3 shootout finish over the Kings.

Rick Tocchet’s club is on a six-game point streak (5-0-1) and has gone 9-2-1 over its last 12 games. The Flyers have 80 points with 13 games to go after finishing with 76 last season (33-39-10).

The Flyers won both meetings with the Sharks (32-30-6) this season. They beat San Jose in December, 4-1, at Xfinity Mobile Arena.

• With 24 saves on 25 shots, Dan Vladar gave up two or fewer goals for the 28th time in 42 starts this season.

The 28-year-old converted 12 of his stops in the third period. In the second period, he made a sharp pad save on young star Macklin Celebrini to maintain the Flyers’ 1-0 lead.

But a little over three minutes later, the Sharks struck on the power play after Emil Andrae hit the puck over the glass. Dmitry Orlov’s goal, though, was Vladar’s only blemish.

San Jose netminder Alex Nedeljkovic stopped 24 of 26 shots.

Tippett gave the Flyers a 1-0 lead early in the second period with his 24th of the season. He has looked awfully dynamic of late and is pushing for his first 30-goal season.

• The Flyers have not gone away in a deep Eastern Conference playoff race.

They’re four points back of the Red Wings, who are in the second wild-card position. The Flyers still have three head-to-head matchups with Detroit.

When it comes to the Metropolitan Division, the Flyers are five points back of the third-place Blue Jackets.

• Garnet Hathaway delivered a clean, difference-making check on Celebrini in the third period, a big hit that ended up putting the Flyers on the power play for Dvorak’s goal.

Hathaway drew the penalty because Mario Ferraro was whistled for roughing as he jumped on the Flyers’ winger in defense of Celebrini.

The Flyers’ league-worst power play hadn’t produced a goal in the last five games, so this was a timely breakthrough. Matvei Michkov extended his point streak to three games with an assist on the goal.

For Dvorak, every point now is adding to a new career high. He has 41 points on 14 goals and 27 assists.

• With Sean Couturier (upper body), Denver Barkey (upper body) and Luke Glendening (lower body) all missing a second straight game, the Flyers deployed 11 forwards and seven defensemen again.

Andrae was utilized mostly as a forward. Garrett Wilson, playing just his second NHL game in almost seven years, dropped the gloves with longtime heavyweight Ryan Reaves during the first period.

In the second period, Cates added to the bout total. He fought Barclay Goodrow, who put a good hit on Trevor Zegras.

• The Flyers return home for a matchup Tuesday with the Blue Jackets (7 p.m. ET/ESPN+, Hulu).

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Arizona Diamondbacks Spring Training Gameday Thread, #29 vs. Rangers

Spring season sunset time in the Netherlands. The Sun, the star of our Solar System as seen as a perfect sphere behind the silhouette of the trees from a woodland forest near the airport. The golden hour dusk sky with the warm orange colors with some shapes of the clouds. Eindhoven, the Netherlands on April 4, 2021 (Photo by Nicolas Economou/NurPhoto via Getty Images) | NurPhoto via Getty Images

Interesting that, after I went to press yesterday, the start time for tomorrow’s game was changed to be an evening affair. Today, however? Suck it up, baby. Accuweather currently projects a temperature of 107 F at 4 pm, around the time this one ends. Remember to hydrate, folks. Or, better yet, don’t bother crossing the doorstep. For you can listen on the radio, though Arizona Sports 98.7 FM or online equivalents. Anyway, here’s today’s line-up, marking the final tune-up for Ryne Nelson before we hit the regular season schedule next week

After Ryne, it’ll be RHP Taylor Clarke, LHP Brandyn Garcia, RHP Paul Sewald and LHP Philip Abner. Yesterday, we saw Kade Stroud optioned out to Reno, thinning the herd of potential relievers. Here’s the list of who I see still not yet disposed of:

  • Philip Abner
  • Taylor Clarke
  • Brandyn Garcia
  • Kevin Ginkel
  • Andrew Hoffmann
  • Jonathan Loaisiga
  • Cristian Mena
  • Juan Morillo
  • Joe Ross
  • Paul Sewald
  • Ryan Thompson
  • Blake Walston

Walston and Mena are crossed out, because they are probably off the board for health reasons. The former had TJ about a year ago, so doesn’t seem ready, and Mena was shut down at the end of February, after re-aggravating the strained shoulder which has kept him out since last June. They may end up becoming 60-day IL fodder to open up spots on the 40-man roster for non-roster invitees. There are two still present: Loaisiga and Ross, though the latter hasn’t impressed with a 7.71 spring ERA and almost as many walks as K’s. Presuming eight bullpen spots, I’m crossing Ross and Garcia off, and the rest will be your Opening Day bullpen.

After today’s Cactus League game, there will be another contest, with a roster of D-backs prospects taking on the Rockies’ equivalent, in a Spring Breakout contest. The Arizona roster includes a slew of their top names: Ryan Waldschmidt (No. 1 prospect, MLB No. 59), Kayson Cunningham (No. 2), Demetrio Crisantes (No. 5), JD Dix (No. 6), Patrick Forbes (No. 9), LuJames Groover (No. 10), Jansel Luis (No. 13), Druw Jones (No. 16), Carlos Virahonda (No. 17), Brian Curley (No. 22), Wellington Aracena (No. 24), Ivan Luciano (No. 26), Jose Fernandez (No. 27), Avery Owusu-Asiedu (No. 29) and Gavin Conticello (No. 30). Let’s hope none of them melt.

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Spring Training Game Thread: Texas Rangers at Arizona Diamondbacks

SURPRISE, AZ - MARCH 20: A detail shot of an autographed baseball after the game between the Kansas City Royals and the Texas Rangers at Surprise Stadium on Friday, March 20, 2026 in Surprise, Arizona. (Photo by Rob Leiter/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images

Today the Cactus League slate comes to a close for the Texas Rangers as they end things in Arizona — fittingly — against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

LHP Austin Gomber gets the nod for Texas in the spring last hurrah opposite RHP Ryne Nelson for Arizona.

Today’s Lineups

RANGERSDIAMONDBACKS
Sam Haggerty – 2BKetel Marte – 2B
Kyle Higashioka – CAlek Thomas – LF
Andrew McCutchen – DHGeraldo Perdomo – SS
Ezequiel Duran – SSNolan Arenado – DH
Mark Canha – RFCarlos Santana – 1B
Tyler Wade – 3BJames McCann – C
Alejandro Osuna – CFTim Tawa – 3B
Michael Helman – LFJordan Lawlar – CF
Justin Foscue – 1BJorge Barrosa – RF
Austin Gomber – LHPRyne Nelson – RHP

You can listen to the game via 105.3 The Fan or follow along on Gameday. First pitch from Salt River Fields at Talking Stick is scheduled for 3:10 pm CT.

Go Rangers!

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Cam Schlittler controls contact in Yankees’ spring loss to Tigers

Aug 30, 2025; Chicago, Illinois, USA; New York Yankees starting pitcher Cam Schlittler (31) delivers a pitch against the Chicago White Sox during the first inning at Rate Field. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images | Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images

I do grow weary of spring training games. My standing rule of baseball is that if you’re going to be a boring game, you better be short, and today’s contest against the Tigers was boring but about as long as a real matchup. The Yankees pushed across just a single run in the Saturday matinee, going down 3-1 against Detroit.

I think Cam Schlittler is ready for the games to count:

As we’ve come to expect from Cam, he threw his four-seam, sinker, and cutter 78 percent of the time today, but wasn’t able to avoid much contact, striking out just a single batter in 3.2 innings. This is one of the fun parts of spring training — the Tigers had a lot of their Opening Day starters in the lineup, so were they able to time up Schlittler’s pitches, or was he specifically trying to control quality of contact against him?

I tend to think it was more the latter, as 8 of Cam’s 11 outs came on the ground. That’s not really his style, running a 36.4-percent groundball rate last year, five points lower than league average. I wonder if that increased use of his sinker—the second-most-common offering today—was an attempt to almost pre-adjust to MLB-caliber hitting. In short, there are going to be occasions in the regular season where you don’t have your strikeout stuff, so on those days, are you able to change things up midgame to continue getting outs?

Dominican National Team catcher Austin Wells used the big fundamentals to push across the Yankees’ only run, after back-to-back singles from fellow Dominicans Amed Rosario and Jasson Domínguez:

View Link

Domínguez would continue to be the main character of the day, with a truly terrible approach to Dillon Dingler’s sac fly in the sixth:

View Link

Then again in the seventh, Jasson kept being the star with a triple, albeit one the hitters behind him couldn’t take advantage of. I’m starting to wonder if the Martian is the new version of Gleyber Torres, where he can actually be a quality part of an MLB roster, while still doing something every other game or so that makes you grind your teeth.

Kenedy Corona had himself a tough day. The farmhand was fighting the bright Florida sun all day, and the sun won on a critical fly ball to centerfield:

View Link

At least Angel Chivilli, brought in to replace Ryan Yarbrough in the seventh with two on and two out, was able to strike out old friend Jahmai Jones to end the threat. It hasn’t been an easy spring for the former Rockie, and while he’ll start the season with Triple-A, the approach to Jones — especially a devastating slider whiffed on for strike two — is illustrative to why the Yankees wanted him anyway.

Excluding tonight’s prospect-themed Spring Breakout, there are only three more of these left! Each start made from Thursday on was that pitcher’s final piece of work before the games start to count, and while the Yankees haven’t tapped a starter for tomorrow’s outing just yet, we know they’ll be back at home in Tampa to welcome the Phillies. It’s the last weekend without real baseball for a long time, and that Sunday affair will come at 1:05pm Eastern. As for the Spring Breakout, that will begin tonight against Atlanta’s prospects at 6:35pm ET on YES.

Box Score

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Duke vs TCU live updates: March Madness Round 2 game score, highlights

Follow all of Saturday's NCAA Tournament second round games with USA TODAY Sports' live updates.

The NCAA Tournament's overall top seed Duke was in a first-round dogfight against No. 16 seed Siena on Thursday.

Afterward, Blue Devils coach Jon Scheyer called it his toughest March Madness moment.

"Toughest one," he told reporters after the 71-65 win. "Not close. Toughest moment, toughest game, toughest position I've ever been in in the tournament, no question about it."

Upset alert! Ranking 5 most likely March Madness upsets in second round

March Madness games today: Ranking all 8 men's NCAA Tournament games Saturday

You'd imagine things will only get tougher as the tournament goes on.

Up next for Duke is No. 9 seed TCU. The Horned Frogs beat No. 8 seed Ohio State, 66-64, on a late Xavier Edmonds bucket in Thursday's first round opener.

TCU has never won a Round of 32 game in March Madness. Is today the day?

Toppmeyer: If Jon Scheyer feels any Duke pressure, Coach K can relate

HIT REFRESH FOR UPDATES.

Duke vs TCU live score

TEAMS1H2HF
TCU———
Duke ———

What time is TCU vs Duke ?

  • Time: 5:15 p.m. ET, Saturday.

What channel is Duke vs TCU? Streaming, how to watch

  • The game is airing on CBS and streaming on Paramount+.

Duke vs TCU prediction, odds

Odds provided by BetMGM as of 1:15 p.m., Saturday.

  • Ehsan Kassim: Duke
  • Jordan Mendoza: Duke
  • John Leuzzi: Duke
  • Blake Schuster: Duke
  • Moneyline: Duke (-800); TCU (+550)
  • Spread: Duke (-12.5)
  • Over/under total: 139.5

Cameron Boozer NBA draft stock, mock draft predictions

Boozer is widely projected as a top-3 pick in the 2026 NBA Draft. Here’s a look at where various mock drafts from major outlets have the Duke freshman going:

Is Cameron Boozer related to Carlos Boozer?

Cameron Boozer and his twin brother, Cayden (also a freshman for Duke) are the sons of former NBA All-Star Carlos Boozer.

Before his 13-year career in the NBA, Carlos Boozer was a standout forward for the Blue Devils under Mike Krzyzewski from 1999-2002. A member of Duke's 2001 national championship team, Carlos Boozer finished his three-year career with the Blue Devils with more than 1,500 points scored and started 93 of the 101 games in which he appeared.

Jamie Dixon coaching record: How long has Jamie Dixon coached TCU?

This is Dixon's 10th season as TCU's head coach. Dixon returned to his alma mater after after a 13-year run as head coach at Pitt.

Dixon is 199-137 with the Horned Frogs and has led TCU to five NCAA Tournament appearances.

Has TCU ever reached Sweet 16?

TCU reached the Regional Final in 1968 but only 23 teams were in the NCAA Tournament that year. So the Horned Frogs have never won a Round of 32 game.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Duke vs TCU score live update: March Madness highlights in NCAA Round 2

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Robbie Avila reflects on career after Saint Louis March Madness loss: 'I'm just blessed'

Follow all of Saturday's NCAA Tournament second round games with USA TODAY Sports' live updates.

Just like that, the career of one of the most interesting figures in recent college basketball history has come to an end.

Robbie Avila saw the door shut on his collegiate career with No. 9 Saint Louis losing 95-72 to No. 1 seed Michigan in the second round of the 2026 Men's NCAA Tournament on Saturday, March 21, at the KeyBank Center in Buffalo, New York.

REQUIRED READING: They're married and both coaching in March Madness: 'Living the best life right now'

Avila started his career in 2022-23 at Indiana State, gaining acclaim for his style of play and goggles during Indiana State's NIT run two years ago. The player who earned many nicknames over the years, including "Cream Abdul-Jabbar," "The College Jokic" and "Larry Blurred" was a favorite of many college basketball fans.

He reflected on his fame and how it impacted his career following the loss.

"I take it with a grain of salt. Some days it's good, some days it's not good," Avila said of the attention he received. "When you're really, really good, the attention is awesome. When you're not, it's negative. So I kind of try not to let it play too big in my head.

"I'm just blessed to be able to play the sport I love at a high level. Hopefully I'll be able to play basketball for a long time."

After the run with the Sycamores, Avila was one of the top players in the transfer portal due to his 6-foot-10 frame, ability to shoot and as a playmaker at his size. Instead of opting for bigger programs, however, he chose to follow his coach, Josh Schertz, to Saint Louis.

Avila entered the second-round game needing 19 points to reach 2,000 for his career. However, he was limited to nine points on 3-of-13 shooting with the Wolverines very keyed in on taking him out of the equation.

Still, Avila finished his career with 1,990 points, 750 rebounds and 473 assists while shooting 51.9% from the field and 38.1% from 3-point range for his career.

Schertz reflected on Avila's career following the Billiken' loss on Saturday.

“Robbie's, he's somebody that I've said, when he came with us from Indiana State, I think he legitimized our program immediately," Schertz said. "He's, obviously, was one of the top recruits in the country, and to choose Saint Louis, and that was, was an incredible coup for us. He has, like I said, no coincidence that winning has followed him everywhere he's ever gone. He won in high school at a place that hadn't won. He went to Indiana State, a place that hadn't won. He came to St Louis, at a place that hadn't been winning, and won.

"We're only 23 months from being 14th in the A-10 to being one of the last 32 teams standing. If you look at it, it's been a quick, a quick trajectory, and he's had the most to do with that of anybody. I'm incredibly proud of him and his growth over the four years. I think he won 100 and some games, a little over 100 games in four years. He's been incredible, a great teammate, a great competitor, a great human being."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Saint Louis coach Josh Schertz on Robbie Avila: 'He legitimized our program'

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Boston Celtics Daily Links 3/21/26

BOSTON, MA - MARCH 18: The sneakers worn by Kristaps Porziis #7 of the Golden State Warriors during the game against the Boston Celtics on March 18, 2026 at TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2026 NBAE (Photo by Brian Babineau/NBAE via Getty Images) | NBAE via Getty Images

HeraldKey reserve helps Celtics rally past zombie Grizzlies, avoid upset

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Robert Parish’s take on this Celtics group centers on teamwork and the return of a strong defensive identity

Celtics survive surprising battle from banged-up Grizzlies, need fourth-quarter rally for victory

Nikola Vucevic (broken finger) eager to again lend a hand to Celtics’ playoff run

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Chris Sale cruises, Austin Riley crushes in 6-1 spring win

We had a great matchup of two dominant lefties in Spring Training on Saturday, with Chris Sale facing Garrett Crochet and Sale’s former team, the Red Sox.

Sale gave up two very hard-hit balls in the first at over 104 MPH each, but only allowed a walk for a single baserunner. Sale was able to reign in the hard contact after the first and generally looked like himself, touching 97 on the radar gun and generating plenty of whiffs, despite relatively low strikeout totals. Michael Harris gave Chris an assist with a great jumping catch in the third. Sale continued to cruise his way through the game efficiently, completing 6.0 innings on 86 pitches wit 4 strikeouts, 1 walk, and 1 run allowed. That’s a solid outing for Sale, even with the relatively tame strikeout total by his standards in his final spring tune-up. Tyler Kinley took over in the seventh and allowed a single in a scoreless frame with one strikeout. Dylan Lee was the last major league pitcher to get some work on Saturday, as he worked a clean 8th inning with one strikeout.

On offense, Austin Riley continued his strong spring, blasting a 110 MPH home run off of Crochet in the second and a hard-hit double in the third.

Elsewhere on offense, Ozzie also hit a double, Olson hit a 101 MPH single in the third and a 107 MPH single in the seventh, and Eli White drew a walk. There were some additional Looney Tunes moments that resulted in a box score single for Olson and double for Riley in the fifth that were not batted balls deserving of those box score classifications. Those were the most notable performances at the plate by players expected to be on the Opening Day roster.

Join us again tomorrow at 1:05 PM ET, as Reynaldo Lopez gets his last bit of work in this spring.

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Cam Schlittler, Jasson Dominguez continue their strong springs in Yankees' loss to Tigers

Cam Schlittler pitched into the fourth inning without allowing a run, but the Yankees bats went cold in their 3-1 loss to the Tigers on Saturday afternoon.

With the loss, the Yankees are 17-11 in Grapefruit League play.

Here are the takeaways...

-In his final spring start before the regular season, Schlittler continued his dominant March. He didn't allow a runner into scoring position until the third, after Javier Baez led off with a single and made it to third base on a sac bunt and sac fly. However, Schlittler stranded Baez at third to keep the scoreless tie. 

To the Tigers' credit, they made Schlittler work the second time through the order. They were patient and forced the young right-hander to throw 5-6 pitches per at-bat. With two outs and a runner on first, manager Aaron Boone pulled Schlittler after 3.2 scoreless innings (62 pitches/40 strikes). He allowed just two hits and one walk, while striking out one. 

Over his three spring starts, Schlittler has allowed just one run on six hits and two walks across 9.2 IP while striking out 11 batters. 

-On the offensive side, the Yankees had opportunities against Framber Valdez but could not break through until the third. Amed Rosario, starting at third base, led off with a double and Jasson Dominguez hit a one-out bloop single to put runners on the corners for Austin Wells. The Yankees backstop, who had a double earlier in the game, hit a sac bunt to first base to drive in Rosario.

-Jasson Dominguez continued his very strong spring on Saturday. He went 2-for-3 with a standup triple, hitting right-handed against Valdez. The talented outfielder was optioned to Triple-A on Friday as the Yankees outfield is cluttered to start the season, but the 23-year-old is showing the organization why he was highly touted over the years.

Dominguez is now hitting .349 with three home runs, two doubles, one triple, 10 RBI and three stolen bases across 15 spring games. 

Randal Grichuk, who will make the Opening Day roster as the Yankees' fourth outfielder over Dominguez, started as the DH in this one. He went hitless and is now batting .111 in seven games after signing late this spring.

-Brent Headrick, looking for a spot in the bullpen, got the final out for Schlittler in the fourth. He's allowed two runs in seven appearances (7.0 IP) this spring. 

-Ryan Yarbrough took over after Headrick and was not his sharpest. The southpaw allowed a two-out single to Kerry Carpenter in the fifth to score Baez from second. He then followed up with a leadoff walk to Jahmai Jones in the sixth and Colt Keith's single put Jones on third with one out -- Keith was thrown out at second trying to stretch it into a double. Dillon Dingler flew out to left field to push across the Tigers' second run. 

In the seventh, Yarbrough allowed back-to-back, one-out doubles in the seventh to give the Tigers a 3-1 lead. However, that second double was lost in the sun by center fielder Kenedy Corona and dumped in for a ground-rule double when it should have been the second out. Yarbrough got one more out before he was pulled with a runner on, but he was stranded by Angel Chivilli as the book closed on Yarbrough's day.

Yarbrough threw 54 pitches (30 strikes), allowing three runs on five hits and two walks in 2.2 innings pitched. He's allowed four runs in three spring appearances (7.2 IP). It was just his second spring appearance since returning from the WBC. 

-Although the Yankees picked up seven hits, they could only get one run across the plate. Not too surprising considering most of their starters did not play in this one. But here's how the notable names, who will likely be on the Opening Day roster, did in Saturday's game:

  • Paul Goldschmidt: 0-4, 2 K
  • Jose Caballero: 1-3, BB
  • Rosario: 1-4, R, K
  • Grichuk: 0-3, BB
  • Wells: 1-2, RBI, K

What's next

The Yankees' spring training slate continues Sunday afternoon against the Phillies. First pitch is set for 1:05 p.m.

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Zimmerman, Abou Ali score goals as Toronto beats Crew 2-1

TORONTO (AP) — Walker Zimmerman scored a goal in the 83rd minute, José Cifuentes added a goal, and Toronto FC beat the Columbus Crew 2-1 on Saturday.

Luka Gavran stopped two shots for Toronto (2-2-1).

Djordje Mihailovic played a corner kick into the center of the area where Zimmerman went up high and slammed a header inside the back post to give Toronto the lead for good.

The Crew’s Wessam Abou Ali opened the scoring in the fourth minute. Dylan Chambost played a long ball down the left side to Max Arfsten, who played an arcing cross to Abou Ali for a header from the top of the 6-yard box that slipped under the crossbar and into the side-net. Abou Ali has six goals and two assists in 10 career MLS appearances, nine starts.

Cifuentes scored his first goal for Toronto in the 56th minute to make it 1-1. The 27-year-old midfielder scored for the first time in MLS since July 12, 2023, when he had his only goal of the season in a 3-0 win over St. Louis.

Patrick Schulte had four saves for the Crew (0-3-2). Columbus had 54% possession but was outshot by Toronto 13-9, 7-3 on target.

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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer