MIAMI – For eight innings Saturday, Team Netherlands looked helpless at the plate, stranding 10 men on base while going hitless in six tries with runners in scoring position. One swing by Ozzie Albies erased all of that frustration, turning what would have been a crushing defeat into a Classic

HOUSTON -- It's time to see what Team USA's two-headed Cy Young monster can do on the World Baseball Classic stage. Up first: Tarik Skubal. The back-to-back reigning American League Cy Young Award winner will take the ball for Saturday night's showdown against Great Britain at Daikin Park, looking to

After losing a tight one, 3-1, in Game 1 against Cuba, the Panamanians are looking to bounce back. In these short, balanced group stages, they don’t have a ton of time to get those wins.

HOUSTON -- Entering the World Baseball Classic, Team Italy manager Francisco Cervelli said his goal was to "put Italy on the map" as a baseball country. So for his team's first game against Brazil on Saturday at Daikin Park, he handed the ball to Sam Aldegheri -- one of the

Everyone’s favorite dugout espresso machine is back in business. Italy created a stir at the 2023 World Baseball Classic when it housed a Nespresso machine in the dugout. With a little caffeine in their system, the Italians advanced out of group play for just the second time in team history.

MIAMI -- While the other four teams in Pool D took the field for their World Baseball Classic openers on Friday, Israel held an off-site workout in preparation for their opener Saturday night. Venezuela, on the other hand, played early Friday afternoon, using a four-run fifth inning to cruise to

MIAMI – It was the biggest moment of Jeter Downs’ career, yet when all was said and done, the 27-year-old struggled to put his day into words. Downs belted a go-ahead, two-run home run in the eighth inning against the Netherlands on Saturday, putting Nicaragua in position to pick up

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico -- According to MLB Pipeline, Owen Caissie is the No. 42 prospect in all of baseball. That means the red-headed Marlins outfielder is good. Really good.

CLEARWATER, Fla. -- Typically, Spring Training buzz is reserved for the top prospects, the new guys, the players half Max Scherzer’s age. There’s never been anything typical about Scherzer, though, and the Blue Jays don’t need typical. This team doesn’t need average innings in a rotation spilling over with big

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico -- Canada was an early pick to make it out of Pool A of the World Baseball Classic in Puerto Rico and, well, in their first game on Saturday, they proved why. Manager Ernie Whitt’s squad beat Colombia, 8-2, moving his country to 1-0 in the

TOKYO -- Chinese Taipei enters a game that is an absolute must-win if it wants any chance of advancing. After dropping its first two games against Australia and Japan, failing to push a run across the board, the offense teed off for 14 runs against Czechia. While the victory has

TOKYO -- There’s not many places for a pitcher to hide when facing Samurai Japan. The lineup features one Japanese slugger after another, each with the ability to put the ball over the fence. Facing its rival Korea on Saturday night, Japan showed off that power with three home runs

HOUSTON -- A quick glance at Team Brazil’s roster provides pretty standard information about the players -- bats/throws, height/weight, date of birth, hometown and school attended, where applicable. With no disrespect to Joseph Contreras, his line reads a little bit like … a misprint.

HOUSTON – An All-Star lineup of Major League sluggers and a deep, sturdy pitching rotation gave Team USA sky-high expectations entering the World Baseball Classic. They delivered in their first game, though the process wasn’t as easy as some might have expected. Team USA beat Team Brazil, 15-5, in a

Colombia righty Julio Teheran was scratched from his scheduled World Baseball Classic start against Canada on Saturday with a right shoulder impingement. According to Team Colombia, the issue flared up while Teheran was warming up. As a precautionary measure, Colombia pivoted to Austin Bergner. Teheran, a two-time NL All-Star with

SURPRISE, Ariz. -- On Friday, MLB.com Rangers beat reporter Kennedi Landry held an Ask Me Anything on Reddit with Rangers fans at r/TexasRangers. This mailbag features questions and answers from there. The full AMA can be read here.

JUPITER, Fla. -- Following two injury-filled seasons, Kodai Senga isn't trying to replicate the 2023 form that led to an All-Star selection. He's hoping mechanical changes to his delivery better suit the pitcher he is now. “My body is different from where it was three years ago now, so I'm

MESA, Ariz. -- Javier Assad’s performance for Mexico in the last World Baseball Classic three years ago helped the pitcher cement his case for inclusion on the Cubs’ Opening Day roster. The righty is once again on the international stage while also competing for a place in Chicago’s pitching staff.

Nicaragua's Emanuel Trujillo didn't have to wait long for his chance at redemption. After striking out with the bases loaded to end the top of the fifth inning of Nicaragua's 4-3 loss to the Netherlands on Saturday, the 24-year-old make a stupendous -- dare we say Jeter-esque -- catch to

NORTH PORT, Fla. -- Braves manager Walt Weiss will likely feel really good a few months from now if he’s still able to count both Grant Holmes and Reynaldo López as dependable and valuable members of his rotation. But for now, he’s just happy to say both pitchers have created

FORT MYERS, Fla. -- As Red Sox camp progresses, so does Johan Oviedo’s case for being the club’s fifth man in the rotation.

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- The Marlins reassigned a trio of Top 30 prospects to Minor League camp on Saturday morning. Right-hander Karson Milbrandt (Marlins No. 10 prospect) and outfielders Dillon Lewis (No. 11) and Fenwick Trimble (No. 20) as well as first baseman Nathan Martorella were part of the

GOODYEAR, Ariz. -- In an alternate universe, Cade Smith’s everyday uniform may have included a white lab coat. Before he established himself as a dominant reliever in the Guardians’ bullpen, the right-hander contemplated pursuing a career in medicine. Smith majored in biology at the University of Hawaii -- and even