The Baseball Buffet for 3/8/2026

Korea 6, Japan 8 - LAA Yusei Kikuchi had 4 K in 3 IP, but also allowed 6 H and 3 ER. Korea outhit Japan 9-7, but Japan’s lineup brought the power with LAD DH Shohei Ohtani going 2-2 with 2 BB, a HR, and 3 runs, CHC CF Seiya Suzuki going 2-3 with 2 HR and 4 RBI, and BOS LF Masataka Yoshida 2-4 with a HR and 3 RBI.

Colombia 2, Canada 8 - Canada was led by AR SP Michael Soroka who did well with 3 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 2 K, MIA LF prospect Owen Caissie who went 2-4 with a 2-run HR, and KCR 3B Abraham Toro was 2-3 with a walk, a triple, a double, 2 runs, and 2 RBI.

Nicaragua 3, Netherlands 4 - Nicaragua’s 2B Jeter Downs went 2-4 with a HR and a double, and MIN SP Erasmo Ramírez went 5 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 2 K. But BOS CF Ceddanne Rafaela, SDP SS Xander Bogaerts, AZ RF Druw Jones, and ATL 2B Ozzie Albies each had two hits—with one of Albies’ being a 3-run HR in the bottom of the ninth… the first walk-off HR in WBC history.

Brazil 0, Italy 8 - LAA pitcher Sam Aldegheri did great with 4.2 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, and 8 K, while Italy’s number nine hitter, PHI LF Dante Nori, went 3-3 with a walk, a double, and 2 HR. MLB veteran 2B Jon Berti was 3-4 with a walk, 2 doubles and 2 runs, and SEA DH Dominic Canzone went 2-4 with a walk and a 3-run HR.

Panama 3, Puerto Rico 4 - Game was tied 2-2 through nine, then Panama scored one in the top of the tenth. But Puerto Rico came back with two in the bottom of the tenth, including ATH infielder Darell Hernaiz hitting a walk-off HR, the second of the day (Albies above) and the second in WBC history!

Israel 3, Venezuela 11 - Venezuela had 14 hits including SFG 1B Luis Arraez having a big game by going 4-5 with 2 HR, 2 doubles, 4 runs, and 5 RBI. CIN 3B Eugenio Suárez went 2-4 with a walk and a 2-run HR, and COL SS Ezequiel Tovar was 3-3 with a walk and a run.

Great Britain 1, United States 9 - BOS CF Nate Eaton, playing for Great Britain, hit a leadoff HR off the first pitch thrown by DET SP Tarik Skubal. The two-time Cy Young Award winner then settled in and did well with 3 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 5 K, followed by NYM pitcher Clay Holmes pitching a solid three innings (3 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 6 K). USA relievers NYY David Bednar, TBR Griffin Jax, and PHI Brad Keller then each pitched a scoreless inning with 2 K apiece, adding up to 17 total strikeouts for the USA staff. After not scoring for four innings, the USA’s lineup got going with 5 runs in the fifth and three more in the sixth, with PHI DH Kyle Schwarber going 2-4 with a walk and a HR, and Gunnar Henderson going 4-5 with a double and 2 RBI.

Chinese Taipei 5, Korea 4 - Korea’s SP Hyun Jin Ryu, who last pitched in the majors in 2023 but has continued to pitch the last two years in Korea, did well with 3 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 3 K. The game was tied 4-4 through nine innings. Chinese Taipei used small ball with a couple of sacrifice bunts in the top of the tenth to go ahead 5-4, and then kept Korea from scoring in the bottom of the frame.

MIN SP Mick Abel had another good outing with 4 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K. In three spring starts he now has a 0.00 ERA with 13 K in 10 IP.

BAL SP Cade Povich did well with 3.2 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 1 K, while BAL LF Heston Kjerstad went 1-3 with a 2-run HR

MIA SP Chris Paddack did well with 3 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K

PIT SP prospect Hunter Barco had 3 K in 3 IP, but also allowed 3 H, 1 BB, and 3 ER

ATL 3B Austin Riley was 1-3 with his third HR of the spring, while ATL LF Mike Yastrzemski was 1-3 with his fourth HR of the spring

STL SP Kyle Leahy, who is competing for a rotation spot, was excellent with 4 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 5 K

NYM SP Kodai Senga struggled with 2.2 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 2 K, with solo homers allowed to STL LF Miguel Ugueto and STL RF Joshua Baez

BOS SP Johan Oviedo did well with 3.1 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 4 K

PHI SP prospect Andrew Painter did well with 3 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 0 K

TOR SP Max Scherzer made his spring debut and had 4 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 K

CIN SP Nick Lodolo had 4 K in 3 IP, but also allowed 6 H, 2 BB, and 1 ER, from a HR by KCR 2B Jonathan India

KCR SP Kris Bubic did well with 3 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 3 K

CHC LF Ian Happ went 2-3 with his first HR of the spring, while CHS SP Shota Imanaga had 3 K in 3.2 IP, but also allowed 5 H and 3 ER

CLE 1B Rhys Hoskins went 2-3 with his first HR of the spring, while CLE SP Slade Cecconi did well with 4 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 3 K

TEX 1B Jake Burger went 1-2 with a walk and his third HR of the spring, and TEX LF Mark Canha went 1-3 with a 3-run HR

SFG SP Carson Whisenhunt, who is competing for a depth rotation or bullpen role, pitched well with 3 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 5 K

SEA SP Logan Gilbert did well with 4 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 2 K

CHW SP Davis Martin entered in relief and did well with 3 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 4 K

MIL SP Brandon Woodruff made his spring debut and did well with 2 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 3 K, and MIL 1B Andrew Vaughn was 1-3 with his second HR of the spring

ATH SP prospect Gage Jump did well with 3.2 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 1 K, while LAA SP prospect Ryan Johnson did well also with 4 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 4 K

NYY SP Will Warren did well with 4 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 3 K

WSN SP Josiah Gray did well with 3 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 K

1900: The National League shrinks to eight teams. “In New York, the National League meets, voting to shrink to eight teams. They pay the Baltimore owners $30,000 for their franchise, with Charles Ebbets and Ned Hanlon reserving the right to sell the players. Cleveland, Louisville, and Washington receive $10,000 each, with Louisville owner Barney Dreyfuss sending most of his players to his Pittsburgh Pirates team. The circuit will remain the same until the Boston Braves move to Milwaukee, WI in 1953.”

1930: Babe Ruth signs a big 2-year deal. “Babe Ruth signs a two-year contract with the New York Yankees for $160,000. At $80,000 per year, he becomes the highest-paid player of all time.”

1966: Casey Stengel is elected to the Hall of Fame. “The Hall of Fame Special Veterans Committee waives one of its election rules and selects manager Casey Stengel as the newest member of the Hall. Stengel managed the New York Mets for much of the 1965 season before falling and breaking his hip. The injury ended the elderly Stengel's career. Given his age, the Veterans Committee decides to make him immediately eligible for Cooperstown.”

1999: Joe DiMaggio dies at age 84. “Hall of Fame centerfielder Joe DiMaggio dies of a lung cancer at age 84. Born in Martinez, California, DiMaggio arrived in the major leagues at the age of 21. He batted .323 in his first season and helped the New York Yankees to the 1936 World Championship. His rookie performance served as an indicator of future success, both for him and the Yankees. During his 13-year career, DiMaggio participated in ten World Series, with his team winning the Championship nine times. In 1941, DiMaggio achieved his most famous milestone when he compiled a major league record 56-game hitting streak.”

Hall of Famer

15-year major league career, spanning from 1963-1977, as a 3B and 1B mostly for the Phillies and White Sox, with three single seasons for the Cardinals, Dodgers, and Athletics

Won the NL Rookie of the Year Award with the Phillies in 1964 after batting .318 with 29 HR, 91 RBI, 201 hits, and leading the league with 125 runs and 13 triples

Seven-time All-Star, including in 1972 with the White Sox when he won the AL MVP Award after batting .308, and leading the league with 37 HR, 113 RBI, and 99 walks

Had 20+ HR ten times, and 30+ HR six times

Overall had 351 HR, 1,119 RBI, 133 SB, a .292/.378/.534 slash line, and a 156 OPS+

Hall of Famer

First-round draft pick (15th overall) in 1971 by the Red Sox

16-year major league career, spanning from 1974-1989, all as a LF with the Red Sox

Eight-time All-Star, including in 1978 when he won the AL MVP Award after batting .315 with 121 runs, and leading the AL with 46 HR, 139 RBI, 15 triples, and 213 hits

Had 20+ HR 11 times, leading the AL in 1978 as noted, but also leading the AL with 39 HR in 1977 and with 39 HR in 1983

Overall had 382 HR, 1,451 RBI, 1,249 runs, a .298/.352/.502 slash line, and a 128 OPS+

See also the 2025 article "10 moments that defined Jim Rice's career" by Ian Browne at MLB

15-year major league career, spanning from 1946-1960, all with the Dodgers

Had done well in the minors in his age 18-20 seasons, but then was in military service from 1943-45, so had a delayed start to his major league career

Two-time All-Star, including in 1953 when he won the NL Batting Title with a .344 average

Received down-ballot MVP votes in eight seasons, and had between 16-26 HR eight times, with 100+ RBI twice

He had a strong arm in RF, and was frequently among the league leaders in several RF fielding statistics

Overall he had 192 HR, a .299/.355/.458 slash line, and a 112 OPS+

Of note, his 1,910 hits in 6,378 career at-bats work out to a .29947 batting average. If he had just one more hit—either by one of his outs having been a hit, or by having one more at-bat that was a hit—then his career mark would have rounded up to .300.

10-year major league pitching career, spanning from 1962-1978, mostly with the Yankees

Was an All-Star in 1963 and finished the year with a 21-7 record and 2.53 ERA

Followed that up with a 18-13 record and 3.02 ERA in 1964, but then slipped to 4-15 with a 4.82 ERA in 1965

He did well in three World Series starts in 1963/64, with a 1.48 ERA over 24.1 IP

He retired midway through the 1970 season at the age of 31, but then later attempted a comeback, pitching in the minors in 1975, 1977, and 1978, and then also pitching in five games for the Braves in 1978 as well.

Overall he had a 62-63 record, a 3.57 ERA, and a 99 ERA+

As noted at Wikipedia, "He was also a best-selling author, actor, activist, sportscaster and one of the creators of Big League Chew. ... Bouton authored the 1970 baseball book Ball Four, which was a combination diary of his 1969 season and memoir of his years with the Yankees, Pilots, and Astros."

425 - Sammy Sosa (2001)

419 - Luis Gonzalez (2001)

416 - Sammy Sosa (1998)

411 - Barry Bonds (2001)

411 - Shohei Ohtani (2024)

409 - Larry Walker (1997)

406 - Jim Rice (1978)

405 - Todd Helton (2000)

402 - Todd Helton (2001)

Projected Opening Day lineups and rotations for every team, regularly updated by MLB writers, 3/6/2026