Harper looking good as Phillies' 1B
Bryce Harper is getting settled in as full-time first baseman for the Philadelphia Phillies.
Harper hit a hard single in his first spring training at-bat Wednesday, but the two-time NL MVP also flashed some leather at first base in a 7-7 tie against Atlanta. Harper made a diving catch on Jarred Kelenic's grounder in the first inning, and started nifty 3-6-3 on a 105-mph grounder by Kelenic in the third.
“Both of them were real good,” Phillies manager Rob Thomson said. “He looks very comfortable and he's improving every day.”
Harper had Tommy John surgery in November 2022 and made his season debut last May 2 as a designated hitter. An outfielder the previous 11 seasons, his return to the field July 21 was at first base, where he started 36 times in the regular season and 13 in the playoffs.
“The sky's the limit for me because he's athletic,” Thomson said. “He's calm, poised. A lot of a lot of good things can happen.”
Former Phillies first baseman Rhys Hoskins tore his left ACL in a spring training game last March, and left in free agency after the season.
GRAY WILL PITCH OPENER FOR CARDINALS >>
Sonny Gray will be the first Cardinals pitcher since Kyle Lohse in 2008 to make his debut for the Cardinals with a start on Opening Day.
“I don't take that lightly at all,” said Gray, the veteran right-hander who signed a $75 million, three-year deal in November. “I appreciate the opportunity and what that shows.”
Gray finished second in the AL Cy Young Award voting last season, when he was 8-8 with a 2.79 ERA in 32 starts for Minnesota. The Cardinals also added former All-Stars Kyle Gibson and Lance Lynn to their rotation in free agency.
St. Louis, coming off its first losing season since 2007, opens March 28 at the Dodgers.
ORIOLES GIVE MINOR-LEAGUE DEALS TO TEHERAN, WONG >>
The Orioles have agreed to minor-league contracts with right-hander Julio Teheran and infielder Kolten Wong, with invites to major league spring training.
Both are veterans with more than a decade of big-league experience.
The 33-year-old Teheran is a twotime All-Star. He spent last season with Milwaukee and went 3-5 with a 4.40 ERA, making 11 starts.
Wong is also 33. He played for Seattle and the Dodgers last year, hitting .183 in 87 games.
The Yankees claimed infielder Jahmai Jones off waivers from the Brewers . ... Sam Hilliard is back with Colorado after being claimed off waivers from Baltimore . ... San Diego agreed to a minor-league contract with 31-year-old outfielder Tim Locastro.
ALSO >>
FANDUEL SPORTSBOOK
NBA
Favorite
at Lakers Milwaukee at Orlando Golden State at Brooklyn Oklahoma City at Phoenix at Denver
Favorite
NHL
Favorite
Line (O/U)
College basketball
Line
Line
Underdog
101/2 (2411/2) Washington 12 (2171/2) at Charlotte 51/2 (221) Utah 4 (223) at New York 11/2 (2271/2) Atlanta 11 (2371/2) at San Antonio 81/2 (2321/2) Houston 41/2 (2151/2) Miami at Washington at Washington St. UC Irvine at Long Beach St. at Loyola Mary. Stephen F. Austin at Binghamton at UMass-Lowell at Ohio St. at Gardner-Webb Monmouth at Jacksonville New Hampshire at Cent. Conn. St. Sacred Heart Merrimack at Le Moyne at Elon at Charleston at Delaware at Drexel Memphis at UNC Wilmington Towson
UMBC at Morehead St. S. Dakota St. at St. Thomas N. Dakota St. at S. Indiana at Rutgers at UT Martin at Utah at W. Illinois at S. Utah Tarleton St. at Little Rock at Liberty at Idaho St. at Weber St. at Idaho at UC Davis at Grand Canyon at Denver
Santa Clara at Seattle
UCSD at UCSB
Saint Mary's Gonzaga
Underdog
41/2 UCLA 71/2 USC 71/2 at CS Northridge 71/2 CS Fullerton 61/2 San Diego 11/2 at Cal Baptist 21/2 Maine 41/2 Bryant 21/2 Nebraska 31/2 Longwood 51/2 at Hampton 31/2 UTEP 11/2 at Albany (N.Y.) 121/2 LIU 41/2 at Stonehill 31/2 at Fair. Dickinson PK Wagner 31/2 William & Mary 161/2 Campbell 51/2 Northeastern 91/2 Stony Brook 31/2 at East Carolina 41/2 Hofstra 111/2 at N.C. A&T 21/2 at NJIT 191/2 SE Missouri St. 11/2 at North Dakota 71/2 Omaha 11/2 at South Dakota 91/2 Lindenwood 61/2 Michigan 101/2 Tennessee Tech 71/2 Stanford 61/2 E Illinois 31/2 Abilene Christian 41/2 at Utah Tech 71/2 Tennessee St. 131/2 New Mexico St. 81/2 N. Arizona 51/2 N. Colorado 11/2 Montana St. 11/2 Hawaii 221/2 UT Rio Gr. Val. 21/2 UMKC 101/2 at Portland 51/2 UT Arlington 51/2 at CS Bakersfield 131/2 Cal Poly 151/2 at Pepperdine 41/2 at San Fran.
Underdog
SPRING TRAINING
Wednesday's results
Texas 6, Dodgers 4
Colorado 3, Angels 1
Detroit 5, Pittsburgh 3 Washington 4, Boston 3 Baltimore 12, Minnesota 3 Atlanta 7, Philadelphia 7
Toronto 3, Tampa Bay 2
Houston 6, Miami 1
N.Y. Mets 3, St. Louis 0
San Diego 3, Chicago White Sox 1 Oakland 7, San Francisco 4 Arizona 8, Cleveland 6
Kansas City 9, Seattle 7
Chicago Cubs 6, Milwaukee 1
Today's games
Atlanta (ss) vs. Minnesota at North Port, Fla., 10:05 a.m.
Baltimore vs. Pittsburgh at Sarasota, Fla., 10:05 a.m.
Boston vs. Detroit at Fort Myers, Fla., 10:05 a.m.
Tampa Bay vs. Atlanta (ss) at Port Charlotte, Fla., 10:05 a.m.
St. Louis vs. Washington at Jupiter, Fla., 10:05 a.m.
Toronto vs. Philadelphia at Dunedin, Fla., 10:07 a.m.
Chicago White Sox (ss) vs. Kansas City at Phoenix, 12:05 p.m.
Oakland vs. San Diego at Mesa, Ariz., 12:05 p.m.
Texas vs. Milwaukee at Surprise, Ariz., 12:05 p.m.
Chicago Cubs vs. Colorado at Mesa, Ariz., 12:05 p.m.
Angels vs. Cleveland at Tempe, Ariz., 12:10 p.m.
Seattle vs. Chicago White Sox (ss) at Peoria, Ariz., 12:10 p.m.
Arizona vs. San Francisco at Scottsdale, Ariz., 12:10 p.m.
Houston vs. N.Y. Mets at West Palm Beach, Fla., 3:05 p.m.
N.Y. Yankees vs. Miami at Tampa, Fla., 3:35 p.m.
Cincinnati vs. Dodgers at Goodyear, Ariz., 5:05 p.m.
At Club Deportivo Universidad Catolica Santiago, Chile
Purse:
Surface:
$642,735
Red clay
MEN'S SINGLES
Round of 16
Pedro Martinez, Spain, def. Facundo Diaz Acosta (6), Argentina, 7-6 (4), 6-7 (5), 6-1.
Corentin Moutet, France, def. Thiago Agustin Tirante, Argentina, 6-3, 6-7 (5), 6-2.
Arthur Fils (3), France, def. Thiago Seyboth Wild, Brazil, 6-3, 6-3.
Nicolas Jarry (1), Chile, def. Federico Coria, Argentina, 7-6 (4), 6-2.