Ross Stripling will get the Dodgers' No. 5 spot in the rotation after all, not Carlos Frias, who was optioned Friday. Manager Dave Roberts announced the move before Friday's Freeway Series game. The right-hander, who has never pitched above Double-A, will make his major league debut April 8 at San Francisco.
A huge rainstorm caused flooding underneath Citizens Bank Park during tonight's Orioles-Phillies exhibition game.
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Terry Collins explains the Mets' Opening Day roster decisions. He said the Mets decided to carry Jim Henderson over an extra bench player in part because Matt Harvey is taking medication and the team is not fully sure what they will get out of him on Opening Day. Collins also noted that Kevin Plawecki will get enough at-bats to justify being at the major league level and Sean Gilmartin will work in Las Vegas' rotation.
Nathan Eovaldi's spring is a finished product. He went 5-1/3 innings tonight against the Marlins, allowed 11 base runners -- 7 hits and four walks -- but somehow held them to just one run as Miami stranded 8. Overall, Eovaldi had a good spring: 1-1, 3.07 ERA. But tonight, he showed again why he is not yet a top-shelf starter- -- too many hits and too many pitches in too few innings. He needed 88 to get 16 outs tonight.
The Yankees Lane Adams, an OF who will start out in AAA, belted a two-run HR in the top of the 9th to give the Yankees a 3-2 lead over the Miami Marlins.
All-Star OF A.J. Pollock will need surgery after fracturing his right elbow on a head-first slide into home plate in Friday's exhibition game against the Royals. He had been dealing with elbow soreness for most of spring training. Pollock was an All-Star last year, hitting .315 with 20 HRs.
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Losing A.J. Pollock for a lengthy period could be a crushing blow to the Diamondbacks. This was a guy who ranked sixth among all position players in 2015 with 7.4 WAR and the lineup now thins out rapidly after Paul Goldschmidt and David Peralta. I had the D-backs in the playoffs before the injury but that's now a much tougher proposition.
Washington will have Max Scherzer for Opening Day against the Braves and Stephen Strasburg will start the second game of the season.
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The Mets' talented starters are locked in for estimated $356M less than equivalent players would cost in free agency.
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Not surprisingly, Joe Girardi does not have a lineup yet for the Yankees Opening Day rematch with the Houston Astros and defending Cy Young winner Dallas Keuchel. But expect to see righty-hitting Aaron Hicks in the lineup replacing either Jacoby Ellsbury or Brett Gardner. Girardi benched Ellsbury vs Keuchel in last October's one-game playoff loss. Will the 2016 season begin the way 2015 ended?
Christina Kahrl says Arizona needs their $68.5 million investment in Cuban import Yasmany Tomas to start to pay off.
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Did anyone other than Cubs fans notice the team won 97 games last year then added Jason Heyward, lackey and Zobrist. Less flaws than others
After 31 ESPN experts offered their season predictions, the team on Chicago's North Side was the most popular World Series pick -- but there are two who think the Giants' even-year title trend will continue.
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Yankees name former Cy Young Award winner CC Sabathia as 5th starter in pitching rotation.
St. Louis Cardinals catcher Brayan Pena got emotional discussing the knee injury that will force him into surgery and cause him to miss the first 2-4 weeks of the season. He got hurt slipping on a dugout step while carrying his gear bag. The Cardinals will open the season with Eric Fryer as Yadier Molina's backup.
Luis Severino's spring is done after a tidy five-inning stint against the Marlins in which he allowed three hits and two runs, only one of which was earned due to a Didi Gregorius throwing error in the third that put a runner on second. Severino also struck out six. His final spring stats: 2-0, 3.38 ERA, 25 Ks and just 4 BBs in 21-1/3 innings
Unwritten Rule # 3: don't steal up 10. Steal up 7 in 9th, Adam Dunn: "You get one in the neck. Stupid. Selfish.
