MLB

Baseball is back! Here is your one-stop shop to keep up with the action as your team takes the field.

Rodriguez is slated to start in center field and will make his debut on Friday against the Minnesota Twins. He was walked in his first at-bat in the majors. The Cubs' first game of the season is against the Milwaukee Brewers on Thursday. All of which is to say his pitching line will be 6 IP, 4 hits, 1 run, 1 earned run, 1 walk and 9 strikeouts -- and he'll be in Cy Young contention throughout the season. Shohei Ohtani will be on the mound and he will be in the lineup, beginning what promises to be another enthralling season as a two-way player. Brewers outfielder Lorenzo Cain hit a groundout to first, but Andrew McCutchen was able to make it home to give visiting Milwaukee a 1-0 lead over the Cubs in the top of the fourth. Olney: He's not pitching on Opening Day, but I'll call that this will be the last year that future Hall of Famer Jacob deGrom is with the Mets. Steve Cohen has demonstrated he's ready and willing to invest in any way he feels can help the Mets, but there are just too many variables involved for deGrom to return -- the questions about his health now, his health moving forward, and most importantly, what he wants. And as a bonus Opening Day treat, the Shohei Ohtani Rule -- which allows him to remain in the game as a hitter after he's yanked as a pitcher -- gets its first whirl. Rogers: Corbin Burnes will one-hit the Cubs -- and Suzuki will be the only hitter to get to him. Doolittle: Albert Pujols is going to homer in St. Louis. Even if it turns out to be the only homer he hits all season, there is no way this doesn't happen. To celebrate baseball's return, we've asked our experts to weigh in on what they are most excited to watch -- and make a fearless Opening Day prediction. Thursday is his first chance to show fans across the city of Chicago what they're getting.

In light of all the recent complex streaming sports licensing deals, it becomes more evident each day that streaming platforms are beginning to realize the ...

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The postseason field is expanding from 10 to 12 teams, meaning there will be an extra wild card in each league and no more one-game playoffs.

Aside from two-way star Shohei Ohtani, pitchers won’t be hitting anymore as the universal designated hitter has arrived. The No. 1 seed will then play the winner of the top two wild cards and the No. 2 seed will play the winner of the third division champ and third wild card, each in a best-of-five series, just as the division round has been in the past. The top two teams in each league — the division winners with the two best records — will receive first-round byes while the third division winner hosts the third wild card and the top two wild cards will square off, each in a three-game series.

Alex Bregman, Houston Astros; Jake Fraley, Cincinnati Reds; Kevin Gausman, Toronto Blue Jays; Will Harris, Washington Nationals; Alex Lange, Detroit Tigers; DJ ...

LeMahieu’s the most decorated former Tiger now in the bigs but he had a rough 2021 season. Bregman was limited to just 91 games last season which is the fewest games he’s played in a non-rookie or COVID-shortened season. Bregman and the defending AL Champion Astros. are trying to finish the job they started last season.

NBC's Peacock joins the ever-expanding roster of outlets featuring an MLB game broadcast, with the streaming service unveiling a new Sunday morning MLB ...

Still, by expanding the number of outlets offering game broadcasts, there is the danger of consumer fatigue: Is my game on Peacock or ESPN or MLB.TV or TBS or Apple TV+ or Amazon Prime Video or Bally? Is it blacked out? And, of course, games out of your local market will be offered on the MLB.TV subscription. Not a surprise: we’ve been reporting literally for years that the Yankees and Amazon were working on such a deal, which ended up being delayed by COVID. This will no doubt cause plenty of screaming among the Yankees faithful: traditionally Friday night games have been broadcast free of charge locally on WPIX. In a poll from Nielsen, about half of consumers polled say they were overwhelmed by the sheer number of offerings available on streaming services. Though it’s not been officially announced, it’s been reported the New York Yankees will offer 21 games available exclusively on Amazon Prime Video, mostly Friday night matches. In March MLB and Apple announced Friday Night Baseball doubleheaders will debut Apple TV+ this season along with live pre- and postgame shows.

Of the seven openers on Thursday, just two – Astros-Angels at Anaheim and Pirates-Cardinals at St. Louis – are sold out. The Atlanta Braves, the defending World ...

Despite it being a regularly scheduled home opener, the Diamondbacks had by far the softest ticket market for their opener. Nationals-Mets in Washington still offered thousands of available tickets in roughly 95 of 100 sections, and the upper sections of Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City featured thousands of available seats. The Atlanta Braves, the defending World Series champions, have standing room only tickets available for both Thursday’s opener and Friday and Saturday’s games against Cincinnati.

Eight former LSU players appear on Major League Baseball active rosters as the 2022 MLB season opens on Thursday.

Lange, a product of Lee’s Summit, Mo., made his MLB debut with Detroit in April 2021. Austin Nola, a native of Baton Rouge and Aaron’s older brother, made his MLB debut in 2019 with the Seattle Mariners, and he collected 10 home runs and 31 RBI in 79 games. Bregman, a product of Albuquerque, N.M., made his MLB debut with Houston in July 2016, and he helped lead the Astros to the 2017 World Series title as the club’s starting third baseman. Harris begins his third season with the Nationals after working for five years in the Houston Astros’ bullpen. Aaron Nola, a Baton Rouge native, enters his eighth season in the Philadelphia rotation. Bregman, who is entering his seventh season with the Astros, played at LSU from 2013 through 2015 and led the Tigers to two College World Series appearances.

MLB Opening Day is here and the latest BetMGM promo code, which is available for the first time at BetMGM NY, is celebrating the occasion with a massive ...

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Major League Baseball's 2022 season is here. It's Opening Day. The Athletic will bring you the latest news, analysis, updates and more throughout the day.

Ian Happ with a three-hit day, rips a double off the vines in right-center to drive in two. Further exams today showed Mickey Moniak had a hairline fracture in his right hand. Símon Muzziotti will join the Phillies roster on Opening Day, a club source said. "A lot of good memories here, and there always will be good memories here. If it's cleared up, he can start throwing at that point. The answers were weird and witty and wonderful. My model sees much larger edges in these markets, especially to make the playoffs, than the World Series and it’s because these markets tend to be correlated. Sahadev Sharma, Cubs writer: David Robertson allowed a single, but nothing else as he closes out the first victory of the season. The Brewers are 0-1. With the napkins flying, the wind swirling. You will take that every day of the week. Zack Greinke got huge ovation walking off the mound.

Injuries did to Trout what pitchers couldn't do for years: stop him cold. Now, he's ready to lead the the Angels to the playoffs—and show that he's still No ...

It’s getting that infield mindset and taking it to the outfield, then I’m going to be that much quicker because I have that much more time.” The idea was to save wear and tear on Trout based on his injuries and age. “Even if I’m lying in bed at midnight and it’s on my mind, I’ll shoot Jeremy or one of the hitting coaches a text and say, ‘Hey, I need that video,’ and he’ll send it to me right away, within a half hour. I look fastball and just react to the off-speed.” I try to visualize the pitch before the at bat.” “The way his approach was, early in my career that’s how I was,” Trout says. The swing Trout has today is the same one he had in 2012. “I didn’t realize it until probably the offseason,” he says. But to get the real answer of how Trout has changed since his Rookie of the Year season I knew where I had to go: Trout himself. I ask Trout whether he should still be considered the best player in baseball. To paraphrase Jim Croce, you don’t tug on Superman’s cape, you don’t spit into the wind and you don’t mess around with a breaking ball in the zone to Trout. Over the past four years, Trout has slugged an MLB-best .847 on breaking balls in the zone. As Trout rounded the bases, an Angels coach watching the Triple A game and alerted by the sound of such contact walked the 25 feet to the Double A diamond.

The business of Major League Baseball will increase in 2022 and reach pre-pandemic levels that should exceed the record revenues seen in 2019.

According to CNBC, total sponsorship revenue rose from $1 billion in 2020 to $1.7 billion in 2021. While the league did renew with ESPN, the terms of the renewal shifted as the Worldwide Leader dropped their mid-week regular-season games and focused on Sunday Night Baseball. That opened the door for two streaming deals that while not financially as large as what would have been garnered through a full ESPN renewal, it does provide additional revenue above the 17% for linear television. Throw in all that, plus the increase in media rights, plus deals for each of the 30 clubs, and all things point to Major League Baseball meeting or surpassing $11 billion in gross revenues for 2022. While Bank of America did not renew, a new partner came in to replace it. A host of new business has the capacity to push the league’s revenues back into record territory. If the nearly 100 days of the league-imposed lockout did any damage to the business of baseball, you’d be hard-pressed to find it.

NBC hasn't carried Major League Baseball games in decades — but that's changing this year.

Several outlets previously reported the deal as close to finalized. The last time NBC aired a MLB game was in 1989, according to the Wall Street Journal. MLB will rake in $30 million for the partnership, according to Forbes.

The Chicago Cubs host the Milwaukee Brewers at Wrigley Field in the first game of the day at 2:20 p.m. ET with the Houston Astros-Los Angeles Angels and San ...

“I think given the last two seasons, the idea of having normal, unrestricted fans in the ballpark is a really exciting thing for me. Their season-opener, with Manfred scheduled to be in attendance, was postponed until Friday at Yankee Stadium. The Atlanta Braves, the defending World Series champions, have standing room only tickets available for both Thursday’s opener and Friday and Saturday’s games against Cincinnati. If he opts out, the 29-year-old would be one of the top players available on the free agent market. Frustrated fans solely blamed him. Major League Baseball players openly chastised him. The Twins also will receive a player to be named later and the Padres will get $6.6 million in cash under terms of the deal announced Thursday. Cardinals left fielder Tyler O'Neill's first home run of the season was a three-run shot in the second inning of the opener against the Pittsburgh Pirates. The homer gave St. Louis a 4-0 lead an inning after O'Neill had opened the scoring with an RBI single The Cubs inked Japanese star Seiya Suzuki to a five-year, $85 million contract in March and the 27-year-old made his debut Thursday, starting in right field and batting sixth for Chicago. Suzuki drew a walk in his first big-league plate appearance (second inning) and then singled leading off the bottom of the fifth against Corbin Burnes. Witt, one of the top prospects in baseball, started at third base for the Royals and had gone hitless in his first three at-bats until his extra-base hit against Triston McKenzie. The Chicago Cubs host the Milwaukee Brewers at Wrigley Field in the first game of the day at 2:20 p.m. ET with the Houston Astros-Los Angeles Angels and San Diego Padres-Arizona Diamondbacks matchups the last to begin after 9:30 p.m. ET.

Andrew McCutchen got the first hit of the year, up against the still-dormant ivy at Wrigley Field. He delivered as a National League designated hitter.

He was an example to follow – how to be professional, on and off the field. A remarkable player and a remarkable human being who lost his life trying to help others.” Plenty of stars from other sports were at Kauffman Stadium to see top prospect Bobby Witt Jr. and the Royals beat the Guardians 3-1. The 2013 NL MVP, the 35-year-old McCutchen was Milwaukee’s designated hitter. It was a little bit different getting used to the change, but I’d say we’re all getting used to it day by day.” “Going out there with my teammates, doing it the right way is really all we can do. In Atlanta, the Braves celebrated their World Series championship with a pregame parade. Wearing an Ernie Banks jersey, 23-year-old Philip Lijewski from Guthrie, Oklahoma, enjoyed the view at Wrigley as the Chicago Cubs and Milwaukee Brewers loosened up. McCutchen sliced a double in the second inning for the season’s first hit, then singled and scored in the fourth for the first run. “Not really,” Lijewski said. But it’s April 7, so not too many days after.” Wearing a Roberto Clemente No. 21 patch, too.

The Los Angeles Dodgers, not the defending World Series champion Atlanta Braves, open the 2022 MLB season as the No. 1 team in USA TODAY Sports' MLB power ...

They open the season ranked 27th. ► This season figures to be another year with a lot of losses. ► Is this the season Mike Trout finally returns to the playoffs after a six-year hiatus? ► The rebuild appears to be complete with the additions of LHP Robbie Ray, OF Jesse Winker and 3B Eugenio Suárez. ► Juan Soto and Stephen Strasburg the most notable holdovers remaining from the 2019 World Series team. ► Marcus Stroman and Wade Miley should fortify the rotation. ► After five straight losing seasons, the Tigers look to be viable contenders. ► Padres begin season with SS Fernando Tatis Jr. on the IL with a broken wrist. ► It will be tough to match the 107-win season last year. ► Offense gets big boost with the addition of sluggers Nick Castellanos and Kyle Schwarber. ► The defending World Series champions replace Freeman with Matt Olson. ► Trevor Story, moving from short to second, gives the Red Sox a very potent offense.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Former Oregon State outfielder Steven Kwan made is Major League Baseball debut Thursday as the Cleveland Guardians opened their 2022 ...

He was drafted by the then-Cleveland Indians prior to the Beavers' 2018 visit, in the fifth round. The Los Gatos, Calif., native helped the Beavers to the College World Series in 2017 and 2018. He drew two walks and singled in the ninth in a 1-for-2 effort as Cleveland dropped a 3-1 decision to Kansas City.

Eight former LSU Tigers have made opening day MLB rosters for the 2022 season beginning on Thursday, April 7.

Gausman, enjoyed his best year in the MLB with the San Francisco Giants last season and posted a career-high 14 wins to go along with six losses. Harris begins his third season with the Nationals after working for five years in the Houston Astros’ bullpen. Lange, made his MLB debut with Detroit in April 2021. Aaron Nola, is entering his eighth season with the Philadelphia Phillies and has emerged as their ace pitcher for the staff. He was then traded to the Padres in August 2020 and helped them reach the playoffs that season. Bregman was a two-time first-team all-American at LSU, and was named the recipient of the 2013 Brooks Wallace Award as the nation’s best shortstop.

After a substantial delay due to a labor dispute, Major League Baseball is set to open its 146th season on Thursday. As the Atlanta Braves look to ...

He posted a 5-7 record with a 4.80 ERA with 95 strikeouts in 101 1/3 innings. Wacha enters his 10th MLB season and a new team for the third consecutive year. Stripling enters his third season with the Toronto Blue Jays after pitching in 24 games in 2021, including 19 starts. Raley joins the Tampa Bay Rays for 2022 after just missing out on a World Series championship with the Houston Astros last season. Naquin enters his second season with the Reds after an impressive 2021. Hendrix returns to the Cincinnati Reds after a strong rookie season in 2021.

Baseball is back! Here is your one-stop shop to keep up with the action as your team takes the field.

Shohei Ohtani will be on the mound and he will be in the lineup, beginning what promises to be another enthralling season as a two-way player. All of which is to say his pitching line will be 6 IP, 4 hits, 1 run, 1 earned run, 1 walk and 9 strikeouts -- and he'll be in Cy Young contention throughout the season. And as a bonus Opening Day treat, the Shohei Ohtani Rule -- which allows him to remain in the game as a hitter after he's yanked as a pitcher -- gets its first whirl. Olney: He's not pitching on Opening Day, but I'll call that this will be the last year that future Hall of Famer Jacob deGrom is with the Mets. Steve Cohen has demonstrated he's ready and willing to invest in any way he feels can help the Mets, but there are just too many variables involved for deGrom to return -- the questions about his health now, his health moving forward, and most importantly, what he wants. The Cubs' first game of the season is against the Milwaukee Brewers on Thursday. Rodriguez is slated to start in center field and will make his debut on Friday against the Minnesota Twins. Zack Greinke has been one of the best pitchers in the majors for almost two decades, and he cut his teeth as a young member of the Kansas City Royals from 2004 to 2010. Brewers outfielder Lorenzo Cain hit a groundout to first, but Andrew McCutchen was able to make it home to give visiting Milwaukee a 1-0 lead over the Cubs in the top of the fourth. He gave the Diamondbacks a victory in which Yu Darvish had pitched six no-hit innings for the Padres. And get this: He's the first rookie to hit a walk-off home run on Opening Day in a game his team was trailing. For the start of April, it was certainly a commendable performance -- and one the Reds hope he can build upon. The biggest pitch of his night came in the third inning when the score was still 0-0 and the Nationals had runners at the corners with one out and the dangerous Juan Soto at the plate. It turns out the 2022 season has begun similarly to the way the 2021 season unfolded for the Angels, who couldn't get anything going against Framber Valdez on Opening Day. But there's a clear bright side -- and that, of course, is Ohtani himself, who displayed impressive fastball command, threw a crisp slider and generally looked really good in his debut.

Baseball is back, as the 2022 season got going with a seven-game slate on Thursday.

Speaking of Hoerner, he swatted the first home run of the 2022 MLB season, a three-run blast against Burnes. Hoerner hit zero home runs in 324 plate appearances between the majors and minors from 2020-21. The Cubs have won their season opener for the fourth time in the past five years. He went 2 for 3 with a walk at the plate, including laying down a bunt to beat the shift, and he turned several nifty plays ranging to his right on defense. David Robertson closed out the win for the North Siders. The Royals are looking for their first winning season since their World Series win in 2015. It was his only full minor league season because of the pandemic. For his troubles, he finished seventh in the NL Cy Young balloting. In that final frame, Robert Suarez walked the first two batters, put the tying run in scoring position with a wild pitch, and then loaded the bases via hit batsman. Tim Hill opened the bottom of the seventh and allowed a leadoff hit to Pavin Smith that ended the no-hit bid. That said, it's encouraging to see the 35-year-old Darvish putting up zeroes after what was, by his standards, a disappointing 2021. After he was lifted as the starting pitcher, Ohtani was able to remain in the game at DH thanks to the freshly implemented " Ohtani rule." He was the Angels' starting pitcher in the team's opener, and he was the leadoff hitter in Joe Maddon's lineup.

MLB's only conspicuous devotion is to destroy The Game and sucker its remaining fans until the national pastime is R.I.P. — Rests In Pieces.

By now you’d think that someone at MLB knows CC Sabathia doesn’t possess the class or awareness not to spew sewer vulgarities most every time he speaks in public — from podcasts to “social” media and elsewhere. And/or he should, by now, be ESPN’s longtime “Monday Night Football” lead. But why can’t he be just a great golfer, perhaps the greatest, significant and nearly fatal and flaws included? As John Sterling said of Alex Rodriguez, another of Galea’s patients, “It’s not like he killed anyone.” Mets-Nationals then Astros-Angels will not appear on TV, as they were auctioned off by Rob Manfred and his merry band of infectious baseball devotees. They’re mostly Friday night deals, as if it were a slow night. It’s impossible to fathom such decisions. And it’s nauseating. The media won’t allow it. MLB Network sent a media release pitching the debut of a new show, “Off Base.” Quoting from the statement, it promises “a passion for baseball that will be infectious to the next generation of baseball fans.” I suspect that during the Masters, goofy TV golf parlance — mindless clichés — will be spoken to describe Tiger Woods’ serious, one-man “accident” as simply a case of his car “finding a roadside ditch” the way golf balls “find” green-side ponds. Understand that live sports streaming, at any price and explained by any bogus “can’t stand in the way of progress” rationalization, is not yet perfected or reliable enough to ensure fans don’t have to navigate the maze of streaming apps to land on the right plan.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The national champion Kansas basketball team, the mayor of Kansas City and the greatest player in Royals history crammed into a suite ...

"It was a dream come true, truly," Witt said. The son of a longtime major league pitcher, Witt was chosen by the Royals with the second overall pick in the 2019 draft. Witt worked his way around the diamond to get his first hit. With Adalberto Mondesi penciled in at shortstop, Witt pivoted to third base this spring with eyes on winning a big league job. With two outs and Michael A. Taylor on second base, Witt yanked a second-pitch Triston McKenzie slider into the left-field corner for his first RBI and Kansas City's first lead. "But beforehand, the introductions, nothing.

KANSAS CITY -- Bobby Witt Jr. seems to be made for the moment, and on Thursday afternoon, the moment found him. With two outs in the bottom of the eighth ...

With the infield shifted, Andrés Giménez hit a changeup on the ground to Witt Jr., who ranged to his right, backhanded the ball and made a clean throw to first that registered at 88.6 mph. “I think I got more excited,” Witt Jr. said. Witt Jr. then made two standout plays at third base, including one to end the top of the third inning. With the score tied 1-1, Taylor led off the inning with a walk and Nicky Lopez bunted him over to second base. Nothing. When he stepped into the box for his first at-bat in the bottom of the first inning, with the crowd already giving him a standing ovation? ,"type":"markdown","__typename":"Markdown"},"$ROOT_QUERY.getForgeContentBySlug({\"locale\":\"en-us\",\"slug\":\"bobby-witt-jr-records-first-hit-in-mlb-debut\",\"type\":\"story\"}).parts.4":{"contentDate":"2022-04-07T21:57:35.958Z","description":"Statcast measures the arm strength and exchange of Bobby Witt Jr.'s 88.6 mph throw to nab Andrés Giménez, whose sprint speed was 29.2 ft/sec","duration":"00:00:25","slug":"bobby-witt-jr-s-88-6-mph-throw","source":null,"tags":[{"type":"id","generated":true,"id":"$ROOT_QUERY.getForgeContentBySlug({\"locale\":\"en-us\",\"slug\":\"bobby-witt-jr-records-first-hit-in-mlb-debut\",\"type\":\"story\"}).parts.4.tags.0","typename":"Tag"},{"type":"id","generated":true,"id":"$ROOT_QUERY.getForgeContentBySlug({\"locale\":\"en-us\",\"slug\":\"bobby-witt-jr-records-first-hit-in-mlb-debut\",\"type\":\"story\"}).parts.4.tags.1","typename":"Tag"},{"type":"id","generated":true,"id":"$ROOT_QUERY.getForgeContentBySlug({\"locale\":\"en-us\",\"slug\":\"bobby-witt-jr-records-first-hit-in-mlb-debut\",\"type\":\"story\"}).parts.4.tags.2","typename":"Tag"},{"type":"id","generated":true,"id":"$ROOT_QUERY.getForgeContentBySlug({\"locale\":\"en-us\",\"slug\":\"bobby-witt-jr-records-first-hit-in-mlb-debut\",\"type\":\"story\"}).parts.4.tags.3","typename":"Tag"},{"type":"id","generated":true,"id":"$ROOT_QUERY.getForgeContentBySlug({\"locale\":\"en-us\",\"slug\":\"bobby-witt-jr-records-first-hit-in-mlb-debut\",\"type\":\"story\"}).parts.4.tags.4","typename":"Tag"}],"templateUrl":"https://img.mlbstatic.com/mlb-images/image/private/{formatInstructions}/mlb/ftohpbj4qhfznm3xuw5i","title":"Bobby Witt Jr.'s 88.6 mph throw","type":"video","url":"/video/bobby-witt-jr-s-88-6-mph-throw","__typename":"Video"},"$ROOT_QUERY.getForgeContentBySlug({\"locale\":\"en-us\",\"slug\":\"bobby-witt-jr-records-first-hit-in-mlb-debut\",\"type\":\"story\"}).parts.4.tags.0":{"slug":"gamepk-662766","title":"2022/04/07 cle@kc","__typename":"Tag"},"$ROOT_QUERY.getForgeContentBySlug({\"locale\":\"en-us\",\"slug\":\"bobby-witt-jr-records-first-hit-in-mlb-debut\",\"type\":\"story\"}).parts.4.tags.1":{"slug":"teamid-118","title":"Kansas City Royals","__typename":"Tag"},"$ROOT_QUERY.getForgeContentBySlug({\"locale\":\"en-us\",\"slug\":\"bobby-witt-jr-records-first-hit-in-mlb-debut\",\"type\":\"story\"}).parts.4.tags.2":{"slug":"playerid-677951","title":"Bobby Witt Jr.","__typename":"Tag"},"$ROOT_QUERY.getForgeContentBySlug({\"locale\":\"en-us\",\"slug\":\"bobby-witt-jr-records-first-hit-in-mlb-debut\",\"type\":\"story\"}).parts.4.tags.3":{"slug":"player-tracking","title":"Statcast","__typename":"Tag"},"$ROOT_QUERY.getForgeContentBySlug({\"locale\":\"en-us\",\"slug\":\"bobby-witt-jr-records-first-hit-in-mlb-debut\",\"type\":\"story\"}).parts.4.tags.4":{"slug":"opening-day","title":"Opening Day","__typename":"Tag"},"$ROOT_QUERY.getForgeContentBySlug({\"locale\":\"en-us\",\"slug\":\"bobby-witt-jr-records-first-hit-in-mlb-debut\",\"type\":\"story\"}).parts.5":{"content":"That defense helped starter Zack Greinke in his return to the Royals, 12 years after he last pitched for Kansas City. Greinke, who threw 5 2/3 innings of one-run ball, knew the moment was all about Witt Jr. once the eighth inning rolled around.\n\n“I could see it coming a little bit with the way the game was going,” Greinke said. But when he was introduced to the crowd during the pregame ceremonies? Witt Jr. said he thought he would be more nervous for the day he’s dreamed about his whole life. With two outs in the bottom of the eighth inning of Witt Jr.’s Major League debut, the No. 1 prospect in baseball stepped up to the plate. \n","providerName":"Twitter","providerUrl":"https://twitter.com","type":"rich","width":550,"__typename":"ExternalEmbedContent"},"$ROOT_QUERY.getForgeContentBySlug({\"locale\":\"en-us\",\"slug\":\"bobby-witt-jr-records-first-hit-in-mlb-debut\",\"type\":\"story\"}).parts.2":{"data":{"type":"id","generated":true,"id":"$ROOT_QUERY.getForgeContentBySlug({\"locale\":\"en-us\",\"slug\":\"bobby-witt-jr-records-first-hit-in-mlb-debut\",\"type\":\"story\"}).parts.2.data","typename":"ExternalEmbedContent"},"type":"oembed","__typename":"ExternalEmbed"},"$ROOT_QUERY.getForgeContentBySlug({\"locale\":\"en-us\",\"slug\":\"bobby-witt-jr-records-first-hit-in-mlb-debut\",\"type\":\"story\"}).parts.3":{"content":"Witt Jr. is the only player in the modern era to have his first career hit be a go-ahead extra-base hit in the eighth inning or later on Opening Day. That kind of impact, though, is what the Royals expected when they promoted Witt Jr. to the big leagues.\n\nThe 21-year-old infielder is the rare five-tool player, viewed as a generational talent both at the plate and in the field. We know he’s ready for this moment.”\n\nThe Royals know Witt Jr. belongs here, and he knows it, too.\n\nOn Thursday, he arrived." The Royals know he’s ready for this moment.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Former Oregon State outfielder Steven Kwan made is Major League Baseball debut Thursday as the Cleveland Guardians opened their 2022 ...

He was drafted by the then-Cleveland Indians prior to the Beavers' 2018 visit, in the fifth round. The Los Gatos, Calif., native helped the Beavers to the College World Series in 2017 and 2018. He drew two walks and singled in the ninth in a 1-for-2 effort as Cleveland dropped a 3-1 decision to Kansas City.

The 2022 Major League Baseball season has arrived, and there was drama right from the first day. The Chicago Cubs got the first win of the season with an ...

- Oakland Athletics (0-0) at Philadelphia Phillies (0-0), 3:05 p.m. ET - Los Angeles Dodgers (0-0) at Colorado Rockies (0-0), 4:10 p.m. ET - Seattle Mariners (0-0) at Minnesota Twins (0-0), 4:10 p.m. ET - ASTROS 3, ANGELS 1: Framber Valdez outdueld Shohei Ohtani in Houston's 3-1 over Los Angeles, the Astros' 10th straight win on Opening Day, tying a major-league record. - Chicago White Sox (0-0) at Detroit Tigers (0-0), 1:10 p.m. ET Valdez was fabulous, allowing just two hits in 6 2/3 innings. - REDS 6, BRAVES 3: The Atlanta Braves hoisted their 2021 World Series banner on Thursday night, but Cincinnati stole its thunder in a 6-3 win. Reds third baseman Brandon Drury, hitting out of the nine hole, hit a three-run homer in the sixth inning to blow the game open. Pittsburgh had just six hits in the shutout. Willie Adames, Andrew McCutcheon and Rowdy Tellez all had two hits for Milwaukee. “My changeup played off of a lot of good curveballs at the right times, so overall, I was pretty good at being aggressive and setting the tone,” Hendricks said. Check it out every day and bookmark our site.

Baseball is back, as the 2022 season got going with a seven-game slate on Thursday.

Speaking of Hoerner, he swatted the first home run of the 2022 MLB season, a three-run blast against Burnes. Hoerner hit zero home runs in 324 plate appearances between the majors and minors from 2020-21. The Cubs have won their season opener for the fourth time in the past five years. He went 2 for 3 with a walk at the plate, including laying down a bunt to beat the shift, and he turned several nifty plays ranging to his right on defense. David Robertson closed out the win for the North Siders. The Royals are looking for their first winning season since their World Series win in 2015. It was his only full minor league season because of the pandemic. For his troubles, he finished seventh in the NL Cy Young balloting. In that final frame, Robert Suarez walked the first two batters, put the tying run in scoring position with a wild pitch, and then loaded the bases via hit batsman. Tim Hill opened the bottom of the seventh and allowed a leadoff hit to Pavin Smith that ended the no-hit bid. That said, it's encouraging to see the 35-year-old Darvish putting up zeroes after what was, by his standards, a disappointing 2021. After he was lifted as the starting pitcher, Ohtani was able to remain in the game at DH thanks to the freshly implemented " Ohtani rule." He was the Angels' starting pitcher in the team's opener, and he was the leadoff hitter in Joe Maddon's lineup.

Apple will offer free broadcasts of two exclusive MLB games per week on Apple TV+ starting Friday.

Apple doesn't need to make a huge profit from streaming TV. It just needs it as another weapon in its arsenal to keep you buying iPhones and other Apple gadgets. All that comes back to the same story we've seen play out at Apple since it started its push into online services several years ago. The new addition of live baseball games is a good experiment for Apple to see if it can garner enough interest to expand its sports offerings on Apple TV+ down the line, as others like Netflix keep avoiding live sports programming. Meanwhile, the dystopian workplace drama "Severance" turned into a sleeper hit this year, with critics raving and Apple ordering a second season. Apple picked up the best picture Oscar last month for "CODA" and several Emmys for "Ted Lasso," including outstanding comedy series. And while no one at Apple would complain if TV+ racked up Netflix-level subscribers, that's not the ultimate goal.

Opening Day is always a joyous occasion, and this year's start to the season was special on many fronts. From the seven games played to inaugurate the 2022 ...

Pavin Smith broke up the no-no by singling to open the bottom of the seventh against Padres reliever Tim Hill, and in the bottom of the ninth, Seth Beer smashed a walk-off three-run homer off Craig Stammen to lift the D-backs to victory on what was undoubtedly Beer’s day. Beer also became the first rookie in MLB history to hit a walk-off homer with his team trailing on Opening Day. After being no-hit by Yu Darvish for the first six innings of the season opener at Chase Field, the D-backs’ prospects for an Opening Day win appeared dim. Brandon Drury delivered a three-run homer to break the game open in the sixth inning, extending Cincinnati’s lead to 6-1 over the defending World Series champs. Houston’s 10 consecutive Opening Day victories are tied with the Boston Beaneaters’ run from 1887-96. That made him the fourth-oldest AL/NL pitcher to post a scoreless outing of at least that length on Opening Day, going back to 1901. Opening Day is always a joyous occasion, and this year’s start to the season was special on many fronts. He trails only Rip Sewell of the 1949 Pirates (41 years, 343 days), Charlie Hough of the 1989 Rangers (41 years, 89 days) and Roger Clemens of the 2003 Yankees (40 years, 239 days). From the seven games played to inaugurate the 2022 campaign Thursday, we were treated to heroics from baseball’s No. 1 prospect making his MLB debut, a vintage performance from a pitcher who made his big league debut 17 years ago, a record-tying run of Opening Day success, and much more. In 2021, Brewers ace Corbin Burnes ignited a run to NL Cy Young Award honors by racking up 49 strikeouts and zero walks over his first five starts. While Mets fans were surely disappointed they didn’t get to see Jacob deGrom or Max Scherzer make the Opening Day start, they’d take Megill’s performance any day. And the 2022 season didn’t even get through its first inning before we got a stark reminder of that fact.

Major League Baseball's Opening Day continues Friday. The Athletic will bring you the latest news, analysis, updates and more throughout the day.

Santiago Espinal drives in the go-ahead run with a double to centre field. But it stood to reason that Servais was going to need more time to get a full understanding of Ray, the person. The weather is better later in the season, too, so any exchange of April games for August or September games is a plus. That was evident to anyone. He recorded 88 pitches (66 for strikes), one walk and seven strikeouts in his Padres debut. He had nine near-perfect innings with 10 strikeouts in a 3-0 win over the Rangers. “At the same time, rooting just as hard for their teammates and they’re watching their at-bats, they’re paying attention, they’re excited for their teammates. From the West Coast, Yusei Kikuchi, while suiting up for the Seattle Mariners, noticed the Blue Jays’ unique celebrations. But Judge wanted an average annual value in the range of the $36 million Mike Trout received in his extension with the Los Angeles Angels, and the Yankees offered an AAV of $30.5 million. "By coming in towards the melee, basically. It’s time to play, and time to try to win a World Series.” Trea Turner said the Dodgers' brass approached him in recent days to tell him no extension offer was coming before the season, all but securing he will hit free agency this winter — potentially as the top available shortstop.

The 2022 Major League Baseball officially kicked off Thursday at 2:20 p.m. ET when Kyle Hendricks of the Cubs threw out the first pitch against the Brewers.

After his exit, the White Sox announced that Giolito left the game with abdominal tightness on his left side. Giolito threw the ball really well, giving up just one hit in four scoreless innings while striking out six. White Sox starter Lucas Giolito left Friday's game after just 61 pitches through four innings.

A total 275 international players from a record-tying 21 countries and territories appeared on Opening Day rosters, Major League Baseball (MLB) said on ...

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