There is a lot of baseball for fans to watch tonight, exactly one week ahead of Opening Day – which will inexplicably be exclusively carried by Netflix, UGH – as the World Baseball Classic comes to a thrilling conclusion when Bobby Witt Jr. and Team USA take on Maikel (Pronounced like Michael, not the way we’ve all been saying it for years) Garcia and Salvador Perez in the Championship Game. An hour after that game starts, the Royals will go live with what I believe is their final televised Cactus League game of the year.

Here are the WBC Lineups:

Team USA’s behavior will certainly make Bobby Witt Jr.‘s first plate appearance must-see TV with Salvador Perez behind the plate.

And here’s the Royals’ starting lineup for their Cactus League game:

I had thought that Bailey Falter was supposed to start tonight, but it looks like Aaron Sanchez will get the nod with Falter coming in as a reliever later in the match. At first I thought perhaps the Royals had finally traded the lefty, but no announcement has been forthcoming so I suppose only time will tell on that front. Here’s a list of every pitcher scheduled to throw tonight:

• Bailey Falter
• Lucas Erceg
• John Schreiber
• Aaron Sanchez
• Hector Neris 

You can tell we’re getting close to the regular season by how the scheduled pitcher list keeps shrinking. Almost there!

The Cleveland Cavaliers will try to get back on track as they take on the rudderless Milwaukee Bucks for the fourth and final time this season.

Share your thoughts as the game unfolds. If you aren’t a member of the community, sign up so you can talk to your fellow Cavalier fans and make your voice heard!

Go Cavs!

At long last, we’ve come to the end. The World Baseball Classic concludes tonight at loanDepot park in Miami, and two teams who have forded adversity in the tournament will compete for the coveted championship. Team USA, the 2017 champions and 2023 runners-up, will host Team Venezuela, who defeated Italy last night to reach their first ever Classic final.

Venezuela’s victory over the plucky Italian squad marked their second consecutive come-from-behind win in an elimination game against an undefeated opponent. They had previously clawed back from a 5-2 deficit against defending champion Japan to prevail 8-5, thanks to outstanding relief pitching and a three-run homer from Red Sox outfielder Wilyer Abreu.

Manager Omar López’s squad relied upon a similar formula against Italy. After starter Keider Montero lost control, López was able to count on clutch performances from relievers Ricardo Sánchez and Luinder Avila to keep Italy’s white-hot offense at bay. When a three-run, seventh-inning rally off Michael Lorenzen gave Venezuela their first lead, the back-end relievers erased all possibility of a counter-rally. Andrés Machado and Daniel Palencia collected a pair of strikeouts apiece in the final two innings to seal the deal.

Of course, Team USA has that defeated Italian team to thank for being in their current position. After shockingly losing 8-6 to Francisco Cervelli’s group in pool play, the Americans only advanced because Italy trounced Mexico the following day. Not content to waste that second opportunity, they beat first-time quarterfinalist Canada 5-3, then found a way to outlast the high-powered Dominican Republic in a 2-1 nailbiter. Now they’re in position to take home their second WBC crown.

Let’s meet the starting pitchers! USA manager Mark DeRosa will be sending Mets rookie Nolan McLean to the hill for this title game. McLean made his Classic debut in that loss to Italy, allowing three runs on a pair of homers while striking out four across three innings. Fans unfamiliar with McLean got to see both his wipeout stuff and his penchant for surrendering the long ball, an issue which has dogged him throughout his time as a professional. He’ll attempt to keep a potent and confident Venezuelan offense in the yard tonight.

On the other end is veteran lefty Eduardo Rodriguez. The 2018 World Series champion has plenty of big game experience, though the most enduring image of him on the big stage is spiking his glove after surrendering a homer to Yasiel Puig. Rodriguez has ridden the struggle bus the past few seasons in Arizona, and had trouble in his first Classic start against the DR—surrendering three runs on three hits despite picking up five strikeouts. He’ll get a chance for redemption against an American lineup that feels like it still hasn’t truly fired on all this cylinders this tournament.

Will the United States send bombs bursting in air? Or will Venezuela dance tambor all night long? Tune in and share your thoughts as the game progresses in this open thread!

How to watch

Location: loanDepot park — Miami, FL

First pitch: 8:00 pm ET

TV broadcast: Fox

Radio broadcast: MLB.com

Online stream: Fox Sports App

For updates, follow us on BlueSky, Twitter, and Instagram, and like us on Facebook.

Tonight we have the World Baseball Classic final, with the United States squaring off against Venezuela. One game, winner take all.

The lineups are as follows:

USA

Witt — SS

Harper — 1B

Judge — RF

Schwarber — DH

Bregman — 3B

Anthony — LF

Smith — C

Turang — 2B

Buxton — CF

Nolan McLean is the starting pitcher for the USA.

Venezuela

Acuna — RF

Garcia — 3B

Arraez — 1B

Suarez — DH

Torres — 2B

Tovar — SS

Abreu — LF

Perez — C

Chourio — CF

Eduardo Rodriguez starts on the mound for Venezuela.

7:00 p.m. Central start time.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Memphis Grizzlies guard Scotty Pippen Jr. and forward Santi Aldama will miss the rest of the season after each had surgery on Tuesday.

Pippen had an operation on his right big toe and Aldama had a procedure and injection to address discomfort in his right knee. The team said both procedures were successful and the players will be ready for next season.

The Grizzlies (23-44) have lost eight straight games and entered Tuesday night nine games back in the race for the final play-in berth in the Western Conference. Star Ja Morant has played in only 20 games this season, missing the last 25 with a left elbow injury.

Pippen had a similar procedure in October and didn’t make his season debut until last month. In 10 games, he averaged 11.4 points.

Aldama was averaging 14 points and 6.7 rebounds this season.

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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — NASCAR driver Daniel Dye was suspended Tuesday — the second known major penalty of his racing career — for mocking IndyCar driver David Malukas during a recent livestream.

In the video, which circulated Tuesday on social media, Dye used voices that made inferences about Malukas’ sexuality. He mimicked Malukas’ voice at one point.

Dye is a Truck Series for driver Kaulig Racing, which also suspended him. NASCAR ordered Dye to undergo sensitivity training.

Dye apologized to Malukas in a social media post, calling his comments “careless.”

“I chose my words poorly and I understand why it upset people,” he wrote. “I’m sorry to anyone who was offended. That’s now I want to represent myself.

“I have some close friends in the LBGT+ community who would never want to feel less of themselves because of what I said, and that’s exactly why I should hold myself to a higher standard.”

He said conversations with those friends made him recognize that “a true friend would know better than to act the way I did.”

Malukas, a 24-year-old driver for Team Penske, often posts pictures on social media with a girlfriend.

This is the second time Dye has been suspended.

He was 18 and racing in the ARCA series when he was arrested at a Dayona Beach, Florida, high school and charged with felony battery for approaching a classmate and punching the student in the groin area.

The victim was treated at a hospital for a potential ruptured testicle.

Dye said it was a game and he’d be exonerated.

He was instead indefinitely suspended by ARCA, which is owned by NASCAR. Dye was reinstated when the charge was reduced from a felony to a misdemeanor.

Dye in his third full season of racing in the Truck Series. He moved to Kaulig Racing this year to drive for Ram in the automaker’s return to NASCAR competition. Through three races, his best finish is 13th at Atlanta.

Dye raced at St. Petersburg, Florida, in the Truck Series when NASCAR partnered its third-tier series with IndyCar’s season opener. Malukas made his Team Penske debut that same weekend.

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AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing

GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Shohei Ohtani is scheduled to make his first pitching appearance in spring training on Wednesday for the Los Angeles Dodgers against the San Francisco Giants.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts also said Tuesday that Ohtani will be the designated hitter in Friday’s game against the San Diego Padres, as the two-way Japanese star works to get ready for opening day on March 26.

Ohtani recently returned to Dodgers camp at Camelback Ranch after Japan was eliminated in the quarterfinals of the World Baseball Classic. The four-time Most Valuable Player didn’t pitch for Japan at the WBC, but did throw off the mound in bullpen sessions.

“I think three to four (innings) is fair for tomorrow,” Roberts said. “It’s more of just doing what we can with what we have left to get him ready for the season. He did his part when he was with Team Japan and now you’re putting him in against real competition, build him up there, and try to get as much buildup before the season starts.”

Roberts said the plan is for Ohtani to pitch in one more preseason game against the Los Angeles Angels on either March 23 or 24.

That means the right-hander probably won’t make his first regular-season start until the team’s second series against the Cleveland Guardians.

Ohtani had a 2.87 ERA over 14 regular-season starts last season after returning to the mound from an elbow injury. He also went 2-1 with a 4.43 ERA in the postseason, helping the Dodgers win their second straight World Series title.

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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/mlb

An MRI revealed Chicago Cubs outfielder Seiya Suzuki has a strained PCL after injuring his right knee Saturday while trying to steal second base during Samurai Japan’s 8-5 loss to Venezuela in the World Baseball Classic quarterfinals.

Cubs manager Craig Counsell called the update “good news” and noted the injury was “minor in nature,” according to MLB.com.

The club has yet to decide if it will place Suzuki, 31, on the injured list ahead of Opening Day. That call will be made this weekend. Chicago begins the season, Suzuki’s fifth with the team, on March 26 against the Washington Nationals.

Coming off a 32-homer, 103-RBI 2025 campaign, in which the Cubs returned to the playoffs for the first time since 2020, Suzuki is entering the final season of his contract.

When counting the posting fee Chicago owed his former club in Nippon Professional Baseball, that five-year deal wound up costing approximately $100 million, per The Athletic.

Suzuki participated in this year’s WBC after being sidelined with an oblique injury when his Japanese teammates won the international tournament in 2023.

In four WBC games this year, he went 3 for 9 with 5 RBI and 6 walks. He smashed a pair of home runs against Korea in Pool C play.

Following his first-inning injury on Saturday, Suzuki eventually flew back to Arizona to rejoin the Cubs for the final portion of spring training.

Although Suzuki spent the majority of his time last season at designated hitter, he’s expected to serve as the Cubs’ primary right fielder in 2026.

If he’s to miss time at the beginning of the year, others can step up in his place and team up with left fielder Ian Happ and center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong.

Possible replacements include Matt Shaw and Michael Conforto.