The Baseball Buffet for 3/18/2026

Venezuela 3, USA 2 - AZ SP Eduardo Rodriguez was outstanding for Venezuela, with 4.1 IP, 1 H, 1 BB, 0 ER, and 4 K. 24-year-old NYM SP Nolan McLean did fairly well, with 4.2 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, and 4 K, but allowed a run to a sacrifice fly in the third, and then allowed a solo HR to BOS LF Wilyer Abreu in the fifth. Several relievers for Venezuela kept the potent United States lineup quiet, until Bryce Harper finally hit a 2-run HR in the top of the eighth to tie the game. BOS RP Garrett Whitlock entered to pitch the ninth and he walked SFG 1B Luis Arraez. MIA Javier Sanoja pinch-ran for Arraez, and managed to steal second base. CIN DH Eugenio Suárez then hit a double that drove in Sanoja for a 3-2 lead. CHC RP Daniel Palencia struck out two in a scoreless bottom of the ninth to record the save and give Venezuela the championship!

LAD SP Roki Sasaki had 5 K in 3.1 IP, but also allowed 4 H, 4 BB, and 3 ER. Meanwhile, the Dodgers got homers from C Dalton Rushing, LF Jack Suwinski, and C Seby Zavala, who hit a grand slam.

CIN SP Nick Lodolo had 7 K in 4.2 IP, but also allowed 3 H, 1 BB, and 2 ER, including a HR to CLE DH Rhys Hoskins, his third of the spring

CIN CF Noelvi Marte was 1-2 with a 2-run HR, his third of the spring

CLE SP Kolby Allard did well with 3 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, and 5 K

CHC SP Shota Imanaga had 8 K in 4.2 IP, and only allowed 1 H, 1 BB, and 1 ER

LAA SP Alek Manoah struggled with 4 IP, 8 H, 7 ER, 4 BB, and 5 K

LAA 3B Jeimer Candelario hit his third HR of the spring, while LAA LF Jo Adell hit his fourth HR

CHC C Carson Kelly went 3-4 with a HR, 2 runs, and 3 RBI, while CHC DH Moisés Ballesteros went 2-3 with a walk and 2 solo HR

DET SP Justin Verlander had a strong outing with 4.2 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, and 6 K

BAL SP Chris Bassitt did well with 5.1 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 4 K, and BAL RF Bryan Ramos went 3-4 with a HR and a double

PIT SP Mitch Keller had 6 K in 4 IP, but also allowed 4 H, 4 BB, and 6 ER, including homers to HOU 2B Brice Matthews and HOU CF Zach Cole

HOU SP Lance McCullers allowed some baserunners but otherwise did well with 4 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, and 1 K

STL SP Dustin May did well with 5 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, and 3 K

WSH SP Justin Irvin pitched well with 5 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, and 5 K

PHI RF Adolis García had a big game, going 4-4 with a HR and 2 RBI

MIN SP Bailey Ober did fairly well with 4 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 0 K

PHI SP Jesús Luzardo pitched well with 5 IP, 5 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, and 5 K

BOS SP Sonny Gray allowed a lot of baserunners with 3.1 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 4 BB, and 3 K, then BOS pitcher Payton Tolle had 5 K in 4 relief innings, allowing 3 H and 0 ER

ATL SP Reynoldo López had 6 K in 3.2 IP, but also allowed 5 H, 2 BB, and 3 ER

TBR SP Ryan Pepiot did well with 5 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, and 2 K, and then TBR pitcher Joe Boyle had 6 K in 3 IP, but also allowed 2 H, 4 BB, and 2 ER

NYY SP Will Warren continued his strong spring with 4 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, and 4 K, and NYY J.C. Escarra went 3-4 with his third HR of the spring

MIA SP Sandy Alcantara had 5 K in 4 IP, but also allowed 2 H, 1 BB, and 2 ER

NYM SP Sean Manaea did well with 4 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, and 4 K, while NYM 3B Bo Bichette went 2-3 with a walk, a double, a HR, and 5 RBI

ATH SP Luis Morales had 5 K in 4.1 IP, but also allowed 4 H, 3 BB, and 5 ER

CHW SP Anthony Kay did well with 4.2 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, and 5 K, while three White Sox hitters had their first HR of the spring: 2B Chase Meidroth, 1B Munetaka Murakami, and LF Andrew Benintendi

COL SP Ryan Feltner struggled with 3.1 IP, 3 H, 3 ER, 4 BB, and 2 K, and then Chase Dollander, who is also expected to be in the Rockies’ rotation, also struggled with 3.2 IP, 5 H, 4 ER, 3 BB, and 4 K

SEA SP Cooper Criswell had 5 K in 3 IP, but also allowed 5 H and 2 ER, while SEA RF Connor Joe went 3-4 with his sixth double of the spring

In the other Mariners’ split squad game, SEA RF Luke Raley went 3-4 with a HR and 2 runs, and SEA SS Colt Emerson went 2-3 with a walk, a HR, a double, and 3 runs

1938: The Senators and White Sox exchange 1B. “In a trade of first basemen, the Washington Senators send slick-fielding Joe Kuhel to the Chicago White Sox in exchange for easy-going hitter Zeke Bonura.”

1953: The Braves move from Boston to Milwaukee. “The Milwaukee Braves become the first major league franchise to move since 1903, when the Baltimore Orioles were replaced by the New York Highlanders. The Braves have been in Boston, MA for 77 years. In a related move, the minor league Milwaukee Brewers move to Toledo, Ohio, where they become the latest incarnation of the Toledo Mud Hens.”

1957: Cleveland decides to hold on to pitcher Herb Score. “In what is believed to be the largest offer for a player to date, Cleveland Indians general manager Hank Greenberg rejects a million-dollar offer for left-handed pitcher Herb Score from Boston Red Sox GM Joe Cronin. Greenberg refuses, saying that Cleveland is interested in building for the future, not in selling its premier ballplayers. Score won 20 games in 1956 and led the American League with 263 strikeouts. Unfortunately, six weeks from now, Score will be struck in the eye by a batted ball by Gil McDougald and will win only 19 more games over the rest of his career.”

1984: Famed batting coach Charlie Lau passes away at age 50. “Charlie Lau, renowned batting instructor, dies in Key Colony Beach, FL, at age 50 after a long bout with cancer. Lau, whose major league career batting average was .255, earned his fame as the Kansas City Royals batting coach from 1971 to 1978, where his star pupil was George Brett. Lau also served as a batting coach for the Baltimore Orioles, Oakland Athletics, New York Yankees and Chicago White Sox and wrote a book called The Art of Hitting .300.”

So far has had a 12-year major league career, with the Marlins and Phillies

Three-time All-Star, and took home Gold Glove Awards as a catcher in 2019 and 2022

Has had 20+ HR four times, and had a career-high 21 SB in 2022, with 10+ SB three other times

Overall so far has 180 HR, 104 SB, a .270/.328/.447 slash line, and a 110 OPS+

17-year major league pitching career, spanning from 2002-2019, starting with seven seasons for the Tigers and the rest spread out between 10 other clubs

Three-time All-Star as a reliever, including in 2012 for the Rays when he finished the season with an impressive 0.60 ERA and 48 saves

In 2014 with the Mariners he posted a 2.85 ERA and an AL-leading 48 saves

Had 25+ saves seven times

Overall had 327 saves, a 3.80 ERA, and a 110 ERA+

12-year major league career, spanning from 1978-1989, mostly with the Oakland Athletics

Was a good defender in CF, taking home six consecutive Gold Glove Awards

Had some pop with 20+ HR three times, including a career-high 33 HR in 1984

Had some speed on the bases early in his career, with 26 SB in both 1980 and 1982

Overall had 166 HR, 100 SB, a .246/.356/.402 slash line, and a 115 OPS+

12-year major league career, spanning from 1934-1949, with the Pirates and Braves

Led the NL with 119 walks in 1940 and 118 walks in 1941, and led the league in OBP three years in row from 1940-42

Had modest power with 10+ HR three times, with career highs of 16 HR and 104 RBI in 1940

Was a good defensive 1B, frequently amongst the leaders in various fielding statistics

Overall had a .271/.384/.390 slash line and 117 OPS+

11-year major league career, spanning from 2001-2012, playing the OF for the White Sox, Brewers, and five other clubs

Was second in the NL Rookie of the Year voting in 2003 after hitting .314 with 43 SB and 100 runs

Led the NL with 70 SB in 2004, then was an All-Star in 2005 and finished the year with a .290 average and 59 SB

Had 30+ SB six times

Overall had 309 SB, a .281 average, and a .339 OBP

13-year major league career, spanning from 1894-1913, mostly with the Cubs and White Sox

Began primarily as a pitcher and had 20+ wins twice, with a 20-10 record in 1898 and a 21-12 record in 1899

As noted at Wikipedia, "On September 20, 1902, Callahan pitched the first no-hitter in American League history. Remarkably, only two years earlier, in the other extreme of his career, he had given up 48 hits in two consecutive starts in 1900, yielding 23 on September 11 and 25 in the game before."

Was also a capable batsman, and so sometimes played the field when not pitching. Starting in 1903 he stopped pitching but continued to play mostly 3B and the OF. He had 20+ SB four times, including a career-high 45 SB in 1911

Again as described at Wikipedia, "Callahan took a five-year break from playing in the American League to run his own semi-pro team, 'Callahan's Logan Squares'. He said that he did this for financial reasons, but he returned when his team's attendances fell.”

Overall he had a 99-73 record (.576), a 3.39 ERA, and a 109 ERA+, and as a hitter had 186 SB and a .273 average

He was also a major league manager, including serving as a player-manager for the White Sox from 1903-1904 and 1912-1913, then continuing as their manager for 1914, and then finally managing the Pirates from 1916-17

3 - Joe Rudi (1974, 1975, 1976)

1 - Rickey Henderson (1981)

1 - Josh Reddick (2012)

En la Posición de Privilegio for Venezuela, by Jeff Kallman at Here's the Pitch: the IBWAA Newsletter, 3/18/2026

The prospects with the most interesting Statcast data this spring, by David Adler at MLB, 3/17/2026

Here are the new rules coming to the Minors this season, by Jared Greenspan at MLB, 3/17/2026

Here's who won each World Baseball Classic MVP, by Max Ralph at MLB, 3/17/2026

What are the biggest AL West takeaways from Spring Training?, by MLB writers, 3/18/2026

Ace relievers that were whiffed by the Baseball Hall of Fame voters, by Mark Kolier at Almost Cooperstown, 3/18/2026

The 400 Club, by Mark Kolier at Here's the Pitch: the IBWAA Newsletter, 3/18/2026