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Dirk Shadd/Tampa Bay Times/TNS

John Romano: Care to guess which of these Rays prospects will hit the majors first?

Sports / Baseball /

PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. — They’re gone now, their lockers empty and their promise still untapped.

With opening day barely a week away, most of the phenoms and prospects have seen their big-league uniforms shoved in the back of the closet. Tomorrow may belong to them in Tampa Bay, but today they’re toiling for the Durham Bulls or Montgomery ...Read more

Jose F. Moreno/The Philadelphia Inquirer/TNS

Ranger Suárez has stiff back, next spring start moved back; Taijuan Walker hit hard by Yankees

Sports / Baseball /

CLEARWATER, Fla. — Boos rained down from the BayCare Ballpark stands in the fourth inning of the Phillies’ 9-7 loss to the Yankees on Wednesday.

They may have been directed at Ben Rice, who had just hit the Yankees’ third home run of the day, or at Taijuan Walker, the Phillies’ starting pitcher who had allowed all three. Either way, the...Read more

AFP/Getty Images North America/TNS

Jackie Robinson's Army story restored to Defense Department site after removal in DEI purge

Sports / Baseball /

LOS ANGELES — An article highlighting the U.S. Army career of baseball legend Jackie Robinson has been restored to the Department of Defense website. Its removal had appeared to be related to the Trump administration's stance against diversity, equity and inclusion.

Robinson, the Hall of Famer who broke baseball's color barrier when he ...Read more

Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times/TNS

Dylan Hernández: Shohei Ohtani's Tokyo Series home run is the culmination of the 'Week of Ohtani'

Sports / Baseball /

TOKYO — The entire week was a buildup to this.

Whether the ball struck by Shohei Ohtani would have cleared the right-field wall at the Tokyo Dome if some fans hadn't reached over the railing is immaterial. In baseball, results are marked in absolute terms, and the official record will forever show that Ohtani homered in the fifth inning of ...Read more

John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune/TNS

Cubs swept in Tokyo Series in playoff-like atmosphere: 'That's a great experience for our young players'

Sports / Baseball /

TOKYO — Murmurs rippled through the packed Tokyo Dome when the velocity flashed onto the scoreboard.

Los Angeles Dodgers phenom Roki Sasaki hit 101 mph on his first pitch in the first inning Wednesday to Chicago Cubs designated hitter Seiya Suzuki in a matchup between the Japanese stars. Every time Sasaki hit triple digits in his major-league...Read more

Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times/TNS

Shohei Ohtani is a $100 million man this year. Salary not included.

Sports / Baseball /

In Tokyo, you can't miss Shohei Ohtani. His picture is everywhere, in advertisements above street crossings and at the airport, on television and in magazines. He endorses shoes and skin care products, airlines and watches and so much more.

Those marketing deals have become so lucrative that Ohtani will make an estimated $100 million in ...Read more

Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times/TNS

Roki Sasaki's MLB debut is tantalizing, and shaky, as Dodgers complete Tokyo Series sweep

Sports / Baseball /

TOKYO — It lasted just three innings. It included a grand total of 56 pitches. And it was nowhere near a flawless introduction to Major League Baseball.

But did Shotgun Roki ever put on one heck of a show.

Making his MLB debut Wednesday night, in front of his home nation at a sold-out Tokyo Dome and under immense pressure that had been ...Read more

Cubs in Tokyo: High prices -- and firm resale laws -- don't stop fans' once-in-a-lifetime experience

Sports / Baseball /

TOKYO — Tickets to the Tokyo Series were a hot commodity with baseball fans in both Japan and the United States attempting to score seats for the opening games of the 2025 big-league season.

The scarcity of inventory — and firm resale laws in Japan — caused any secondary tickets to skyrocket in the lead-up to Tuesday’s opening-day ...Read more

K.C. Alfred/The San Diego Union-Tribune/TNS

Yu Darvish has elbow inflammation, might not be part of Padres' rotation to start season

Sports / Baseball /

PEORIA, Ariz. — The start of Yu Darvish’s season is in doubt, as it was revealed Tuesday he was shut down due to elbow inflammation.

At best, it seems Darvish’s first start would come at the back end of the rotation. The calendar and the Padres’ stated desire to preserve the 38-year-old right-hander so he can help them later in the ...Read more

Elsa/Getty Images North America/TNS

Max Fried's decision to join Yankees over Red Sox, others came down to 'gut feeling'

Sports / Baseball /

TAMPA, Fla. — Fresh off his first start against the Red Sox since joining the Yankees, Max Fried didn’t make much of his introduction to a storied rivalry.

After all, the lefty’s initial taste came in an exhibition game, as Fried twirled 4 1/3 scoreless innings against Boston at George M. Steinbrenner Field on Tuesday.

“It’s early,�...Read more

John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune/TNS

Opening day for Cubs: Shota Imanaga tosses 4 shutout innings and works around walks in 4-1 loss at Tokyo Dome

Sports / Baseball /

TOKYO — Shota Imanaga shook his head in frustration.

The Chicago Cubs left-hander, known for his elite command, watched the Los Angeles Dodgers’ Max Muncy head to first base after two consecutive walks to open the second inning. Free passes were a rarity for Imanaga in his rookie season, as he owned the National League’s best strikeout-to...Read more

Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times/TNS

Dodgers open season with Tokyo Series win as 'nervous' Shohei Ohtani is front and center

Sports / Baseball /

TOKYO — For all the memorable cultural experiences they'd enjoyed off the field, and all the eye-opening revelations they'd made about the club's growing popularity here in Japan, the baseball side of the Dodgers' season-opening trip to Tokyo hadn't gotten off to the most seamless of starts.

Mookie Betts was ruled out of action after arriving...Read more

Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times/TNS

Dylan Hernández: If Yoshinobu Yamamoto keeps this up, he absolutely can be 'in the Cy Young conversation'

Sports / Baseball /

TOKYO — When Roki Sasaki signed with the Dodgers, president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman revealed that one of Sasaki's goals was to become the first Japanese pitcher to win a Cy Young Award.

Another pitcher on the Dodgers could steal that distinction from Sasaki, and the most likely candidate might not even be Shohei Ohtani.

...Read more

Jefferee Woo/Tampa Bay Times/TNS

John Romano: Finally, Rays outfielders give you a reason to believe in this offense

Sports / Baseball /

PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. — Avert your eyes. Ignore the stats.

If you were worried about Tampa Bay’s offense coming into the spring, this is probably not the story you want to read. While the news was positive Sunday, the bigger picture is still more bleak than you would prefer.

To set the stage:

The Rays began Sunday morning with at least ...Read more

Justin K. Aller/Getty Images North America/TNS

Jason Mackey: Already with a sterling Pirates legacy, Andrew McCutchen deserves a career coda

Sports / Baseball /

BRADENTON, Fla. — Andrew McCutchen has thought about it.

Maybe you have, too.

Despite constructing an incredible legacy during his first run with the Pirates — helping them end 20 years of losing and reach the postseason for the first time since 1992, four times finishing in the top five for National League MVP voting — I can't help but ...Read more

Jack Harris/Los Angeles Times/TNS

Spectrum is finally offering a streaming-only subscription for Dodgers

Sports / Baseball /

LOS ANGELES — For the first time this season, Dodgers fans can stream SportsNet LA without needing to buy something else they might not want.

Spectrum is offering a streaming-only subscription to the Dodgers' television channel for $29.99 per month or $199.99 per year, the company announced Monday. The service will be in place when the ...Read more

Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times/TNS

Team gatherings and cultural immersion: Dodgers hope Tokyo trip 'galvanizes' chemistry

Sports / Baseball /

TOKYO — It was the overriding theme of last October, an intangible factor that yielded triumphant results.

During their run to last year's World Series, the Los Angeles Dodgers repeatedly cited their clubhouse culture and roster-wide camaraderie as a key behind their postseason success. They knew it sounded cliche. But they felt it was ...Read more

John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune/TNS

Opening day on an international stage awaits Cubs' Shota Imanaga: 'Really want to think about this moment'

Sports / Baseball /

TOKYO — In the largely empty Tokyo Dome, Shota Imanaga stood on the mound during the Chicago Cubs’ workout Monday afternoon to get a sense of what he would feel in a much livelier atmosphere roughly 24 hours later.

During his rookie season last year, Imanaga sometimes would get on the mound of a new ballpark the day before a start to ...Read more

Ed Zurga/Getty Images North America/TNS

Vahe Gregorian: Before Alex Gordon became 'the perfect player,' he worried 'this wasn't the path for me'

Sports / Baseball /

KANSAS CITY, Mo. —When the news broke Friday that Alex Gordon will be inducted in the Royals Hall of Fame in June, it instantly conjured up a mental montage of snapshots that defined one of the ultimate Royals.

Like the ol’ hat-glove look and blowing bubbles in the middle of a play. Or the enduring image of the left fielder swooping two ...Read more

K.C. Alfred/The San Diego Union-Tribune/TNS

Manny Machado healthy, happy to be chasing history with Padres

Sports / Baseball /

PEORIA, Ariz. — Manny Machado is happy to say he is healthy for the first time in a while, which the San Diego Padres believe will mean the same good things it has in the past.

And Machado is not shying away from the reality of the path he has ahead of him, one that might lead to immortality.

“We all play for that,” he said recently. “...Read more