MLB

1:30 PM ET ESPN News Services TOKYO — Shohei Ohtani hit a 448-foot, three-run home run in the first inning that landed just below his image on a video advertising board and had four RBIs to lead Japan over Australia 7-1 Sunday night at the World Baseball Classic. Japan, already assured of advancement, won its

1:53 AM ET PHOENIX — Playing for Team USA again in the World Baseball Classic was never a question for third baseman Nolan Arenado. After helping the U.S. win the tournament in 2017, he desperately wanted a chance to defend that title. He’s off to a good start. Arenado, 31, had three hits and several

6:59 PM ET Associated Press A hit is a hit, even if it’s only spring training. For San Diego Padres star Fernando Tatis Jr., it has been a long time coming. Tatis had been 0-for-16 this spring before hitting a smash shot off the glove of Chicago White Sox shortstop Erik Gonzalez for a single

9:55 AM ET Associated Press TOKYO — Shohei Ohtani had another RBI double, 21-year-old right-hander Roki Sasaki reached 100 mph 21 times in 66 pitches and Japan beat the Czech Republic 10-2 on Saturday night to clinch a quarterfinal berth in the World Baseball Classic. Shugo Maki hit his second home run of the tournament

8:54 PM ET ESPN News Services Former major league outfielder and two-time World Series champion Jesus Alou died Friday at the age of 80, the Boston Red Sox announced. Alou recently suffered two cardiovascular accidents, but he hadn’t been diagnosed with a serious illness, a family source told ESPN’s Enrique Rojas. Alou spent 15 seasons

6:09 PM ET PHOENIX — While Team USA is one of the favorites to win the World Baseball Classic, its pitching staff lacks some of the best available players. Manager Mark DeRosa said Friday that getting elite position players to participate wasn’t a problem but it was a different story when it came to the

7:00 AM ET Jeff PassanESPN Close ESPN MLB insiderAuthor of “The Arm: Inside the Billion-Dollar Mystery of the Most Valuable Commodity in Sports” IT’S EASY TO FORGET, just one year later, how narrowly Major League Baseball avoided catastrophe. The league’s lockout of the players was approaching its 100th day. The doomsday clock for missing regular-season

10:15 PM ET Associated Press Hunter Greene will be the Opening Day starter for the Cincinnati Reds. The 23-year-old is getting the nod as he begins his second season in the majors. Editor’s Picks “It means the world. It’s a huge honor considering the history in Cincinnati,” said Greene who went 5-13 in 24 starts

7:00 AM ET It’s that time of year: The projection systems for the 2023 MLB season have been released and baseball analysts are divulging their secret-sauce prophecies, so let’s dig into the five teams that are most likely to take a step forward and possibly emerge as playoff surprises in 2023. And, yes, no matter

10:37 AM ET ESPN staff The World Baseball Classic will feature some of the greatest players MLB has seen in quite some time. Mike Trout, Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and more will face off as the global tournament returns for the first time since the pandemic. Then there are the teams where

10:20 PM ET Associated Press WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — This was a different kind of pitch for All-Star pitcher Martín Perez, who will be playing for his native Venezuela in the World Baseball Classic. Perez sang the Venezuelan national anthem before the team played an exhibition game Wednesday night against the Houston Astros. Editor’s

8:55 PM ET Associated Press Juan Soto ran sprints in the outfield, took some big swings in batting practice and signed a few autographs at the San Diego Padres spring training complex Wednesday after the early workout to test a left calf that kept him in Arizona. Soto, who has been dealing with calf tightness,

7:00 AM ET AS TEAM USA raised the World Baseball Classic trophy in 2017, Los Angeles Angels superstar Mike Trout felt the FOMO wash over him. “It looked like they were having so much fun, making the plays and winning,” said Trout, who was watching on TV from spring training camp in Tempe, Arizona. “That’s

5:37 PM ET ESPN News Services The Cincinnati Reds have reassigned veteran right-hander Chase Anderson to major league camp. It is an indication that Anderson, 35, has a chance to earn an Opening Day roster spot for his 10th big league season. The Reds need to fill two starting rotation slots behind their young trio

5:20 PM ET Associated Press The Atlanta Braves have reason to hope right-hander Kyle Wright, the majors’ only 20-game winner last season, still has time to be ready for Opening Day. If Wright requires more time to prepare for the season, the Braves appear to be developing sufficient depth to fill their rotation. Wright, 27,

7:00 AM ET The World Baseball Classic is back after a six-year absence — it was originally scheduled for 2021 but postponed because of COVID-19 — and the 2023 version will be bigger and better than ever, featuring more teams and star-studded rosters. The field expands from 16 to 20 teams, including first-time participants Great

8:21 PM ET Associated Press Shohei Ohtani hit a pair of three-run homers in a prep game for the World Baseball Classic, helping Japan win 8-1 at the Central League’s Hanshin Tigers in an exhibition on Monday night. The Los Angeles Angels two-way star went down to his left knee in the third inning when

7:00 AM ET On the first day of live batting practice at Chicago Cubs camp, right-hander Adrian Sampson stood on the mound ready to face his teammates — just as he had done to start preparation for the season in his 11 previous years of professional baseball. But this time, there was a clock hanging