Must-see moments from first full day of Spring Training games

The first full day of Spring Training games is in the books, and it was an eventful one across Arizona and Florida, where Cactus League and Grapefruit League action opened for many teams on Saturday.

As we celebrate the return of baseball, here's a recap of the top moments from Saturday's games, from monster homers by top prospects to one of the strangest double plays you'll ever see:

Orioles 4, Red Sox 3

Burnes lives up to the billing in O’s debut
Corbin Burnes, the owner of three consecutive 200-strikeout seasons, appropriately began his Orioles career with a pair of K's. He struck out Red Sox outfielders Ceddanne Rafaela and Wilyer Abreu looking to open his scoreless inning of work. With multiple starting pitchers on the mend, the O’s need Burnes to perform like the established ace he has been over the past few years. That’s what he looked like Saturday. More >

Adley does it all
Adley Rutschman reminded fans why he’s one of MLB’s best catchers, shining in the batter’s box and behind the plate against the Red Sox. The Orioles backstop, who homered against Boston in his first at-bat of the 2023 season, skied a solo homer to center field in the first inning. He then threw out Bobby Dalbec on a stolen-base attempt in the third inning. Heading into his third MLB season, Rutschman is primed for a big year for Baltimore. More >

Cowser walks it off
The Orioles have five players on MLB Pipeline's Top 100 Prospects list, and one of those young talents delivered a big moment in Baltimore’s spring opener. With the O’s trailing, 3-2, in the bottom of the ninth, Colton Cowser -- MLB Pipeline’s No. 19 overall prospect -- crushed a two-run, walk-off homer to the opposite field. Three of Baltimore’s other four top prospects also appeared in the game: Jackson Holliday (No. 1 overall), Coby Mayo (No. 30) and Heston Kjerstad (No. 32). More >

Braves 6, Rays 5

Harris wastes no time vs. Rays
Braves center fielder Michael Harris II couldn’t have asked for a better start to his Spring Training. On the very first pitch of Atlanta’s Grapefruit League opener against the Rays, Harris ambushed Tampa Bay starter Nathan Wiles for a no-doubt solo homer to right field to give Spencer Strider a quick lead. The 2022 National League Rookie of the Year added a fourth-inning double to his stat line in Atlanta’s victory. More >

Marlins 9, Cardinals 8

Marlins go 5-4-3 … for one out?
“Around the horn” took on a whole new meaning for the Marlins against the Cardinals. With two outs in the bottom of the fifth and St. Louis runners on second and third, Miami third baseman Jonah Bride scooped up a ground ball from the Cards’ José Fermín. Instead of throwing to first base to end the inning, Bride fired to second, where teammate Jacob Amaya was waiting at the bag … with no runner on the way. Luckily for the Marlins, Amaya rifled the ball over to first in time to record the third out and keep a run off the board. Still, the phantom double play was certainly a reminder that it’s Spring Training for everyone. More >

Yankees 22, Tigers 10

Jones impresses in spring debut
Spencer Jones sent a baseball on a long ride against the Tigers in a slugfest in Lakeland. Stepping to the plate for his first at-bat of Spring Training, Jones launched a solo shot to right-center field off Detroit’s Mason Englert in the fifth inning. The 6-foot-6 outfielder got all of it: Jones’ home run had an exit velocity of 109.2 mph and traveled 470 feet, according to Statcast tracking. It was an impressive debut for MLB Pipeline’s No. 84 prospect, who added a pair of run-scoring singles in the eighth and ninth in a 3-for-3, four-RBI showing. More >

Phillies 14, Blue Jays 13

Bat boy for a day?
Blue Jays reliever Tim Mayza found himself in an unusual position Saturday, and fantasy football was to blame. Due to his last-place finish in Toronto’s fantasy league in 2023, Mayza served his penance as the Blue Jays’ bat boy for the first three innings against the Phillies. “If there’s one guy that’s going to give it 110% getting these bats, it’s going to be Tim,” Blue Jays catcher Danny Jansen said. Mayza also sported a new jersey number: “4-10,” a reference to his fantasy squad’s dismal record. More >

Phils’ BIG fifth
The Phillies haven’t authored a 10-run inning during the regular season since 2019, but they reached double digits in the fifth against Toronto. Trailing, 7-4, the Phils’ first six batters all reached thanks to five hits and a walk. Outfielder Johan Rojas delivered a two-run triple, and the outburst was capped with a three-run dinger by DH Matt Kroon. Many of the Phils’ regulars didn’t make the trip to the Blue Jays’ Spring Training home in Dunedin, Fla., but that didn’t stop them from putting up 14 runs on 16 hits in a wild one-run win. More >

Reds 4, Guardians 0

Cookie makes his return
With the familiar strains of Bryan Adams’ song “Summer of ’69” filling the ballpark, Carlos Carrasco took the mound in a Cleveland uniform once again. The veteran right-hander signed a Minor League deal with his former club on Feb. 1 after spending the previous three seasons with the Mets, to whom he was dealt along with Francisco Lindor in a 2021 blockbuster. Carrasco started for Cleveland and pitched a scoreless first inning against the Reds, working around a hit and a walk on an emotional day. “As soon as I got to the mound, I had a lot of feelings,” Carrasco said. “I pitched here for 11 years. ... I was so nervous I couldn’t feel the ball. I’ve been playing baseball for a long time, but I was so, so, so nervous going out to the mound.” More >

White Sox 8, Mariners 7

The best catch of the day was turned in by … Mike Moustakas?

Wild ending
They say you can't predict baseball, and it certainly would have been hard to foresee an ending like the one fans at the Mariners-White Sox game got Saturday. The contest was scoreless until the bottom of the sixth inning -- and it ended with a wild 8-7 walk-off win for Chicago. A two-run single by Edgar Quero gave the White Sox the win after three straight walks to start the bottom of the ninth. Before that, the Mariners had been down to their final strike before rallying to take a 7-6 lead in the top of the ninth. And that came after a key error on White Sox shortstop Braden Shewmake plated two Seattle runs to tie things in the eighth. Suffice it to say, it was a wild game with a thrilling finish. More >

Angels 7, Dodgers 7

Glasnow's debut in Dodger blue
While the acquisitions of Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto garnered most of the headlines this offseason for the Dodgers, another significant move for Los Angeles was trading for Tyler Glasnow. The 30-year-old right-hander made his debut for his new club against the Angels on Saturday. He wasn't at his best, giving up a run on four hits over 1 2/3 innings. But, hey, it's Spring Training. “Not, I guess, the greatest in terms of execution,” Glasnow said. “But in terms of health and the way the stuff was coming out, it was good. Just worked on some stuff early and getting into the game, and it was not the best result, but I’m happy with it.” More >

Mookie completes unique DP
Any baserunner better keep their head on a swivel when Mookie Betts is lurking. The six-time Gold Glove outfielder has moved back to second base, the position he played often as a Red Sox prospect a decade ago. And although Betts has played only 100 MLB games at the keystone position -- most of which came last year -- he showed Saturday that he never lost his infielder instincts. Betts completed a rare 9-3-4 double play when he snuck in behind Angels rookie Nolan Schanuel, who had ventured too far off of first following a Mike Trout flyout to right. More >

Astros 7, Nationals 4

Wood wallops homer on first swing of spring
James Wood, the Nationals' No. 2 prospect (No. 14 overall) and part of the return package in the trade that sent Juan Soto to San Diego in 2022, wasted no time in making his large presence felt at CACTI Park of the Palm Beaches. After belting 26 homers with an .874 OPS between High-A Wilmington and Double-A Harrisburg in '23, the 6-foot-6, 234-pound slugger obliterated a ball in the fifth inning that went over the berm and onto a walkway well beyond the right-field wall. More >

Pawol makes history
Jen Pawol became the first female umpire to work a Spring Training game in 17 years when she took the field for the Astros-Nationals game. “I felt ready, felt prepared,” she said. “My crew chief, Lance [Barksdale], was just amazing to work with and helped me feel comfortable. … Really an amazing feeling. I prepare every day to keep climbing the ladder in this system.” Her next step will be behind the plate for Sunday's contest between the Nationals and Marlins in Jupiter, Fla. More >