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The Dodgers were a split squad Saturday, but many of their regulars played against the Cubs, among them Freddie Freeman, Will Smith, Max Muncy and Teoscar Hernández.

And three Cubs pitchers who are all in the mix for swingman/relief/starter roles threw very well and the Cubs shut out the Dodgers 6-2. And today, if you missed the game, we have video highlights!

Colin Rea threw the first three innings and allowed just one hit, a single, striking out two. He threw 51 pitches (29 strikes). Here’s a breakdown of Rea’s outing [VIDEO].

Here’s Rea’s strikeout of Miguel Rojas that ended the third [VIDEO].

Ben Brown threw the fourth and fifth and was very efficient, throwing just 27 pitches (18 strikes). He also allowed one hit, and struck out three. That’s really encouraging for the tall right-hander. It’s still unclear whether Brown will open 2026 in the Cubs bullpen, or head to Triple-A Iowa to start.

Javier Assad threw the sixth, seventh and eighth. He also allowed just one hit, a single, and struck out four, with another efficient pitch count (37, 24 of which were strikes). Assad will be heading out to pitch for Mexico in the World Baseball Classic soon, and he was very good in the last WBC in 2023. Assad might wind up starting the season at Iowa, stretching out to start.

That’s all really good! Overall those three threw eight innings with just 115 pitches (71 strikes).

The Cubs sent mostly a team of subs and non-roster guys. It was the first game action for Kevin Alcántara and Christian Bethancourt. Alcántara went 0-for-4 as the DH and Bethancourt 1-for-4. Perhaps we’ll see Moisés Ballesteros play tomorrow.

The Cubs broke the scoreless tie in the fifth. B.J. Murray led off with a double and Justin Dean was hit by a pitch. A single by Scott Kingery loaded the bases. Two outs later, Murray scored on a wild pitch [VIDEO].

Another Cubs run crossed the plate in the seventh. With one out, Brett Bateman walked and stole second. Bateman took third when Bethancourt hit a ground ball to short that was booted for an error. A high bouncer by Pedro Ramirez in front of the plate was fielded too late by Dodgers pitcher Ronan Kopp. Ramirez beat it out for a single and Bateman scored. Here’s the play, in the middle of an interview with Freeman [VIDEO].

Cubs minor leaguers put two more on the board in the eighth. Kane Kepley led off with a double and Owen Miller singled him to third. Miller stole second, and one out later Carter Trice walked. Bateman worked a nine-pitch at-bat before singling in two runs [VIDEO].

Bateman has talent and is worth watching going forward. He’ll be 24 in a couple of weeks and likely plays this year at Iowa. He profiles as a fourth outfielder, good defender with a good batting eye (.385 career minor-league OBP) and good baserunning skills (63 stolen bases in three minor-league seasons).

The Cubs added two in the ninth. The first one scored on a double by Drew Bowser and triple by Kepley [VIDEO].

Then Kepley scored on a sac fly by Owen Miller [VIDEO].

Then the ninth inning got messy. Jeff Brigham entered the game. He challenged a called ball and got it overturned, the first challenge of the game, but wound up walking Zyhir Hope anyway. Brigham wound up loading the bases on two walks and a single and walked in a run, ruining the shutout bid. After that Craig Counsell removed Brigham in favor of minor leaguer Dawson Netz. A passed ball scored a second Dodgers run, but Netz ended it with a ground out.

The Cubs had a lot of chances to score even more runs in this game, as they left 13 on base and went 5-for-17 with RISP. Nevertheless, the solid pitching was enough to win, and definitely the story of the game from a Cubs standpoint.

The Cubs return to Sloan Park Sunday to take on the White Sox for the second time this spring. Shōta Imanaga will make his second spring start and he’ll be opposed by a former Cub, Anthony Kay, who’s now with the Sox. Game time is 2:05 p.m. CT. The team returns to TV coverage on Marquee Sports Network for Sunday’s game. There will also be a radio broadcast on the White Sox flagship station, WMVP/ESPN 1000.

Spring training, left unchecked, can be a bit of a drag. After the excitement of the opening of camp and the first Grapefruit League action, what follows can be a six week slog of games that don’t count for anything. Veteran players often opine that spring camp goes on too long, and by the time the regular season arrives, guys are a little burned out by the amount of meaningless games they’ve played in March. Fortunately, the league continues to add special events to help break things up.

As this is a World Baseball Classic year, we’ve got that to focus some attention on soon. While major league teams hold their breath hoping no one gets injured in what tends to be pretty heated competition with national pride on the line, for fans it’s a pretty exciting high stakes tournament that has produced some amazingly good baseball moments. Shohei Ohtani striking out Mike Trout to lead Samurai Japan over Team USA in 2023 was an absolute classic moment, delivered in the midst of March when the baseball isn’t supposed to matter.

MLB has also instituted the Spring Breakout series over the past few seasons. Seeing franchises’ top prospects face off with each other is a really fun showcase for the next wave of talent. The Tigers prospects, featuring some, if not all of the top 100 prospects, Kevin McGonigle, Max Clark, Bryce Rainer, Josue Briceño, Thayron Liranzo, and more, will square off against the Pittsburgh Pirates’ system, led by Konnor Griffin, the nearly unanimous top prospect in baseball, on March 20.

But there’s another extra event on the calendar as the Tigers head to the Dominican Republic to play a two-game exhibition series on March 2-3. There, they’ll match up against Team Dominican Republic, in what should be a fun trip for the Tigers, and a decent warm-up for WBC action for Team DR. The two-game exhibition on Tuesday and Wednesday will be played in Estadio Quisqueya Juan Marichal, a ballpark and concert venue in Santo Domingo, the capitol of the Dominican Republic. The Tigers plan to bring 35 players along for the trip, more than half the players in major league camp at this point.

A.J. Hinch told reporters that getting the Tigers’ Dominican contingent, featuring catching prospect Thayron Liranzo and outfielder Wenceel Pérez, into those games will be a priority. It should be a nice opportunity for them to visit with and play in front of family and friends in their home country before the grind of the long season begins. The Tigers will take 35 players total on the excursion. Ty Madden is expected to start Tuesday’s game, but otherwise the Tigers will be deploying a full contingent of bullpen arms to handle those games.

Riley Greene, Javier Báez, Jake Rogers, Colt Keith, Spencer Torkelson, Kevin McGonigle, Josue Briceño, and Max Clark are all expected to play in the series, per Evan Petzold of the Free Press. Framber Valdez, a Dominican himself, will travel home but isn’t expected to pitch. The Tigers will also play a game against Team Panama in Lakeland on Wednesday, so that will be a split squad game using players who didn’t make the trip.

Team DR is managed by legendary slugger Albert Pujols, while noted Tiger killer Nelson Cruz serves as general manager. Obviously they have a pretty stacked roster, with Juan Soto, Manny Machado, Fernando Tatis Jr., Julio Rodriguez, and Vladimir Guerrero Jr., among many other MLB stars. The Tigers collection of minor league arms in the bullpen will be sorely pressed to keep them in check.

Jackson Merrill capped a five-run bottom of the second inning with a two-run home run to left-center field that put the San Diego Padres ahead of the Seattle Mariners, 5-1. It was the second hit of the day for Merrill, who also reached on an infield single in the bottom of the first inning.

Moonshot for Merrill 💥 pic.twitter.com/QVjrOY8j2e

— San Diego Padres (@Padres) February 28, 2026

The Padres added to their lead on a Nick Schnell two-run home run in the bottom of the seventh inning to give San Diego a six-run lead. Padres relievers controlled the Mariners hitters for the remainder of the game, and the Padres went on to win, 7-1.

Schnell gets it done 💪 pic.twitter.com/6bq4BndIh1

— San Diego Padres (@Padres) February 28, 2026

JP Sears got the start for San Diego and had a much better performance than his first time out. He completed three innings and allowed one run on three hits with a walk and a strikeout. San Diego relievers Jeremiah Estrada, Mason Miller, Alek Jacob, Bradgley Rodriguez, Ty Adcock and Kyle Hart combined to allow just one hit over the final six innings of the game. The group also combined for seven strikeouts and no walks allowed.

Merrill, who was batting second in the lineup, has appeared in five games during Spring Training and is 3-for-8 after his two-hit performance on Saturday. His other hit was a double. Merrill also has two walks and just three strikeouts and appears to be well past the injuries that hampered him throughout the 2025 season.

San Diego travels to Scottsdale, Ariz. to take on the San Francisco Giants on Sunday at 12:05 p.m.

Good afternoon everyone, it’s time to dive back into the mailbag and answer some of your questions. Remember to send in your questions for our weekly call by e-mail to pinstripealleyblog [at] gmail [dot] com.

Gary_Lambert asks:Is Jazz under or overrated?

Jazz Chisholm Jr. certainly made his mark last season, putting up a 30/30 campaign with a 126 wRC+ and 4.4 fWAR. That’s a very strong season, and it looks even better when you consider that he started out the year playing out of position at third base still while the Yankees tried to accommodate the last gasp of DJ LeMahieu’s tenure with the team. Once he made the shift back to second base, it was like flipping a switch on his defensive value: whether you’re looking at his OAA (-3 as a third baseman, 8 at second) or DRS (-4 at third, 2 at second) there was a major improvement.

Put all of that together, and the full package is a top five second baseman in the league, which is exactly where Chisholm ranked by fWAR. And just like Nico Hoerner and Ketel Marte, two of the few names that placed above him last year, he was subject to trade rumors for a portion of the offseason as the Yankees considered how to retool the offense. Those talks ultimately went nowhere, and we have no idea if the Yankees even seriously pursued any calls that came for their star infielder, but there were enough folks on the outside who seemed willing to hear out trading away Jazz ahead of his walk year.

I think a lot of Chisholm’s perception right now is tied to the additional discussion revolving around his future free agency. There’s a lot to speculate on with regards to how he’ll perform on a big-money deal and just how much he should get, whether teams will weigh his improvement in New York enough against his earlier days as a Marlin, and so on. But that’s all parts of a debate on how much to pay Chisholm into his 30s, not where he stands entering this season here and now. And with that in mind, I think Chisholm is a tad underrated compared to the skills he’s showcasing right now. It’s not a massive slight — I don’t think there’s anyone who would try and say Jazz isn’t in the top 10 or so — but there’s a real possibility that he ends up the best second baseman in baseball this year, and a strong one that he could finish in the top three. Only Hoerner showcased a balanced skillset like Chisholm did, flashing the glove as well as swinging an above-average bat, so if you had to bet on candidates to stick near the top those two stand out.

IndyAnaJones asks:What happened to the daily PSA thread ending with two questions for the fan base?

It’s not common that we get a question more directed at the site rather than about the team, but this one has an easy answer. We changed the format slightly, taking one question and giving a little bit of our own thoughts on it before posing the question towards you all — all while including the old gameday tune-in information and look ahead to what was on the site that day. You can find them at the start of the day just like the old Today on Pinstripe Alleys led off our daily coverage (here’s today’s edition for example). By all means, give us feedback on whether you like the adaptation!

Craig Kimbrel kicked off his bid for a Mets bullpen spot on Saturday, and he did so with a new weapon in his arsenal. 

Kimbrel had to battle, but worked his way through an inning in a loss to the Nationals. 

The veteran found himself in immediate trouble, as Bo Bichette was beat down the line for a double, then a groundout and sacrifice fly resulted in Washington’s second run of the game.

He lost his command a bit from there, issuing back-to-back two-out walks, but was able to settle down and generated another fly out to escape without further damage. 

Overall, Kimbrel liked how things went.

“It was good,” he said. “Frustrated by the two walks, but other than that I felt pretty good -- it was good to get back out there and compete and get back on the track to where I want to be.”

Though it’s still early, Carlos Mendoza felt there were some good signs from the 37-year-old. 

“Some 92-93, life on the fastball, shape on the breaking ball,” the skipper said. “On the backfields in live BP, the velo was sitting around 88-89, but today, facing the other team, we saw some 92-93 and the breaking ball was there.”

Kimbrel also broke out a cutter for the first time, a new weapon he’s been developing over the last few weeks.

“It’s a pitch I’m trying to mix in,” he said. “Just trying to get guys off my fastball and open up some off-speed opportunities. It’s coming along, how much I’m going to use it -- how well I can command and control it will have a lot to do with that.”

By Game 7 of last year's World Series, the Dodgers' faulty bullpen issues were apparent even in the midst of dramatic triumph.

Not only did the Dodgers use all four starters in their postseason rotation — Shohei Ohtani, Blake Snell, Tyler Glasnow and Yoshinobu Yamamoto — they also tapped Justin Wrobleski and Emmet Sheehan, who combined to start 14 games in the regular season, to navigate the 5-4, 11-inning win that secured the team's second consecutive championship.

The Dodgers shored up the bullpen over the winter, signing three-time all-star Edwin Díaz to a three-year, $69-million contract. With the closer role firmly defined for the first time since Kenley Jansen was on the team in 2021, how the rest of the bullpen falls into place remains a work in progress during spring training.

Read more:'Maybe you're in the wrong business.' Blake Treinen fires back at Dodgers' spending critics

“Obviously, adding Díaz to the back end is huge for us and getting Alex Vesia [back] is going to be good, and also Blake [Treinen]," Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. "Blake wasn’t right last year, clearly. He’s throwing the baseball really well. Having guys that you trust is everything for the pen. ... You’ve got to count on those veteran guys for sure.”

Now included in that veteran group is left-hander Tanner Scott, who joined the Dodgers before last season on a four-year, $72-million deal. Scott struggled to find his footing, primarily as a closer, before a left elbow injury placed him on injured list in mid-July, causing him to miss a month of action. He returned the final week of August, and never looked quite right. Scott posted a 4.74 ERA across 61 appearances and 57.0 IP in his first year with the Dodgers.

On Saturday against the Chicago Cubs in a split-squad game at Camelback Ranch, Scott made his Cactus League debut and pitched a scoreless inning, recording a strikeout and giving up one hit on 17 pitches. With the ninth inning spoken for, Roberts believes this will allow for Scott to bounce back this season.

“I think being able to use Tanner in any inning of leverage, is going to be good for him,” Roberts said. “And it’s going to be good for us.”

Díaz, for his part, has settled in, making his second and final appearance of the spring on Saturday before he joins Team Puerto Rico for the World Baseball Classic. He worked around two walks to pitch a scoreless inning, striking out one. Vesia, who missed the World Series due to the death of his newborn daughter, has pitched two scoreless innings while Treinen pitched a perfect inning on Thursday against the Chicago White Sox in his first Cactus League outing.

The 37-year-old Treinen, who's been on all three of the Dodgers' recent World Series teams and was a stalwart in the 2024 postseason, struggled last season, going 1-5 with a 9.64 ERA in September.

“You never know what the body throttles back,” Treinen said earlier in camp. “I had a UCL injury, so I don’t know if that’s part of the problem, but something was different. I mean, velocity was there, movements were there, execution wasn’t, and when pitches were in the zone, it was a harder-hit rate. So, that tells me something was different, how to handle hitters. So, just trying to go back and cleaning things up to where the ball does more of what it has done most of my career.”

Read more:Shaikin: Dodgers hype time: How many games will they win in 2026?

On the flip side, right-hander Brusdar Graterol — who has not pitched since the 2024 World Series — remains in a holding pattern during spring training as he works his way back from right labrum surgery. And right-hander Evan Phillips is not expected back for several months after Tommy John surgery ended his season last June. But for the most part, the relievers who are healthy have shown glimpses of what it could look like this season.

“I don’t think that there’s one way to manage a pen,” Roberts said. “But when you have a guy like Edwin Díaz as your closer, I do think it frees up other guys. ... I think that’s freeing for me and allows for getting the matchups we need in the prior innings.”

Blake Snell not expected to pitch in Cactus League

After Roberts ruled out Snell for opening day on Friday, the manager provided some more context on Saturday.

Roberts says he expects the 33-year-old left-hander to continue to progress, but he doesn’t expect Snell to pitch in the Cactus League. Roberts feels good about Snell’s headspace during his recovery.

“I think he’s working through it in the sense of, last year he was on a new team,” Roberts said of Snell, who was limited to 11 starts and 61.1 innings last season. “He pushed through things to start the season healthy, which is understandable. And you learn from it, he was never right all year. I think that this year, he’s going to make sure that he is ready to go. So, I do think that he feels comfort in knowing that we need him, we count on him, we believe in him and then there’s an individual part, where I do think that he wants to get another Cy Young.

"And what that means is, you’ve got to be healthy, you have to make starts, and so, that’s something that personally he’s striving for. But at the end of the day, he’s got to be healthy and we’re going to do whatever we can to make that happen.”

Sign up for more Dodgers news with Dodgers Dugout. Delivered at the start of each series.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

Following the Yankees' 5-1 win over the Blue Jays on Saturday in spring training action, manager Aaron Boone spoke on a number of topics...

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Giancarlo Stanton's spring debut set

Every spring, the status and health of Stanton are a question, and 2026's camp is no different. 

Last season, Stanton experienced tennis elbow in both arms and played through it. He's experiencing the same ailment this year, hence why the Yankees are slow-rolling his time in camp. However, Boone revealed after Saturday's game that the tentative plan is for the slugger to see his first spring training action on Tuesday against Team Panama.

Stanton told NJ.com on Wednesday that he has "good days and bad days" with his elbow pain and that he can't open a bottle or a bag of chips. Despite that, Stanton is determined to get through the season and this will be his first step.

Although Stanton missed the beginning of the 2025 season, he still hit 24 home runs and posted a .273/.350/.594 slash line once he made his debut on June 16. 

Cody Bellinger dealing with back discomfort

Missing from the Yankees lineup for the second consecutive game was Bellinger, and the reason is physical.

Boone told the media, including MLB.com's Bryan Hoch, after Saturday's game, that the former NL MVP is dealing with back discomfort. The Yankees skipper said Bellinger's back is a little "unaligned," but the team expects him to return for Tuesday's game.

“He’ll probably, I’m guessing, [miss] a couple of days,” Boone said. “He’s quite a bit better today. So we don’t think it’s anything. The trainers aren’t too concerned about it. This is something that crops up on him every now and then, usually sometime in the spring or earlier in the year. We dealt with it a little bit in-season early last year.”

So far this spring, Bellinger has played in three games, going 4-for-9 with an RBI.

Gerrit Cole update

Cole continues on the road to recovery after Tommy John surgery a year ago and the reports from Yankees camp is better than even the organization could have imagined.

The former AL Cy Young winner threw a 26-pitch live batting practice on Friday and came out of it good.

"He was live, threw all his pitches in this one," Boone said on the YES broadcast during Saturday's game. "He's been great. Stuff has been excellent, command has already been there and I feel like he's sharp already. I shouldn't be surprised because it's Gerrit, but he's in a really good spot here."

Yankees GM Brian Cashman was in Tampa before the game and spoke to the media and he was asked about Cole's progress. 

“Not surprisingly, he’s done everything he can in a very methodical way,” Cashman said. “It’s all playing out as you would hope. There’s twists and turns to rehab. You have good days, you have bad days. But it feels like he’s had nothing but good days, which is fantastic.”

The Yankees said early in camp that they hope to have Cole appear in Grapefruit League games this spring. The organization is targeting a late May or June return to the team for Cole, but so far so good for the ace of the rotation.

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

The Frair Faithful have spoken and are willing to let bygones be bygones.

The overwhelming majority of respondents to this week’s Padres Reacts Survey on Gaslamp Ball stated they are rooting for Walker Buehler, the former Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher, to make the roster and rotation in San Diego.

Manny Machado said recently when the Padres added Nick Castellanos to the roster that the team was getting a $20 million player for the league minimum. The same could be said for Buehler although he will make a bit more than the league minimum if he makes the San Diego roster.

Buehler signed a one-year free agent deal with the Boston Red Sox prior to the 2025 season that paid him $21.05 million for the season. He did not make it through 162 games with Boston and was released on Aug. 29. He was then signed for the league minimum by the Philadelphia Phillies on Aug. 31 and finished the season in Philly.

The right-hander agreed to a minor league deal with San Diego that did not guarantee him a roster spot. However, if Buehler can secure a rotation role and break camp with the Padres, he would make $1.5 million in 2026 and could receive $2.5 million in performance bonuses. Those contract numbers are not bad for a two-time World Series champion and a two-time All-Star.

If Buehler can return to that kind of pitcher, he should have no problem breaking into the San Diego rotation and quickly receiving adoration from the Friar Faithful.

Walker Buehler tossed three innings today in Peoria against the KBO’s NC Dinos.

After the outing, Buehler said it was “all in all, a good day” and that he thinks “the velocity was a little bit above kind of where we thought it would be.” pic.twitter.com/FORwCsZjLo

— 97.3 The Fan (@973TheFanSD) February 28, 2026