The Atlanta Braves have trimmed their camp roster down to 36 players today after optioning left-handed reliever Dylan Dodd to Triple-A Gwinnett and reassigning top pitching prospect JR Ritchie, catcher Sandy León, utilityman Luke Williams, and outfielders José Azócar and Ben Gamel to their minor league camp.

Dodd, who pitched well out of Atlanta’s bullpen last season, had an option remaining making his chances to stick on the Opening Day roster as the third left-hander in the bullpen an uphill battle due to the organization prioritizing roster flexibility.

The four position players who were reassigned are all big league veterans who have been part of the Braves organization in past seasons, with the exceptions of Gamel. They all inked minor league deals with Atlanta this off-season and could see time with the big league club at some point in 2026 if they stay with the organization.

Gamel has a strong enough Spring Training that Jurickson Profar’s 162-game suspension opened the door slightly for him to open the season with Atlanta.

Ritchie appears to not be part of the Opening Day roster – something that seemed more and more plausible after an impressive showing in Florida. There is still a chance he could open the year in Atlanta, but it seems the Braves will start him in Gwinnett, barring an injury in the final week before the Braves open against the Kansas City Royals on March 27.

Atlanta will have to make 10 more transactions to get the big league roster down to 26 players.

The Colorado Rockies dropped a high-scoring affair yesterday, falling 14–11 to the San Francisco Giants. Willi Castro and Kyle Karros each had two hits to lead the offense, but bullpen struggles proved costly—most notably Seth Halverson, who continued to have a tough spring. 

Tonight in Peoria, the 12–13 Rockies take on the 14–11 Padres, where temps could still be triple digits at first pitch. The roster is now trimmed to 40, and with Opening Day just one week away, the lineup is largely made up of regulars. 

Juan Mejia opens on the mound for Colorado and enters with a 3.38 ERA and four strikeouts across 2.2 innings this spring. He also threw three clean innings for the Dominican Republic in this year’s World Baseball Classic. 

In 2025, Mejia posted a 3.96 ERA across 61.1 innings with 68 strikeouts, showing the ability to miss bats and handle consistent bullpen work. The Rockies view him as a key bullpen piece this year, relying primarily on a fastball/slider combination. 

Nick Pivetta gets the start for San Diego. The 33-year-old right-hander is being counted on to anchor the Padres’ rotation after a standout 2025 season (2.87 ERA, 190 strikeouts over 181 innings).  Pivetta has dealt with minor arm fatigue that pushed back his schedule, and San Diego has been cautious with his workload so far this spring. 

On the field, the results haven’t been sharp — he’s allowed multiple runs in every outing and carries a 7.88 ERA this spring. He works primarily off a four-seam fastball, mixing in a curveball and sweeper as his primary secondaries. 

Sound off in the comments — what are you watching for tonight?  

First Pitch: 7:05 PM MDT  

TV: Rockies.tv, Padres.tv 

Radio: Padres – KWFN 97.3 

Lineups: 

Colorado Rockies at San Diego Padres, March 20, 2026, 6:10 p.m. PST

Watch: Padres.TV

Location: Peoria Sports Complex – Peoria, AZ

Listen: 97.3 The Fan

Please remember our Game Day thread guidelines.

• Don’t troll in your comments; create conversation rather than destroying it
• Remember Gaslamp Ball is basically a non-profanity site
• Out of respect to broadcast partners who have paid to carry the game, no mentions of “alternative” (read: illegal) viewing methods are allowed in our threads

GB community, this is your thread for today’s game. Enjoy!

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Purdue guard Braden Smith broke former Duke star Bobby Hurley’s Division I assist record, picking up his second of the game and the 1,077th of his career with a feed to Trey Kaufman-Renn with 12:11 to go in the first half of the Boilermakers’ NCAA Tournament game against Queens on Friday night.

The All-American already was the only player in NCAA history with at least 1,500 points, 1,000 assists and 500 career rebounds, and he is one of two players along with Southern’s Avery Johnson to have had at least 300 assists in two different seasons.

“It is surreal,” Purdue coach Matt Painter said during a break in the action. “Happy for him. Really happy for him. He has worked really hard. He’s an unbelievable passer, man. He makes the game look easy at times.”

Last weekend, Smith set the Big Ten Tournament assists record while helping Purdue beat Michigan for the championship.

Smith picked up his first assist for the second-seeded Boilermakers on Friday night on a feed to Oscar Cluff a couple of minutes into their game against the No. 15 seed. But it seemed as if the second might never come when Fletcher Loyer missed a wide-open 3-pointer that would have done it, and Kaufman-Renn missed an even more wide-open jumper from the foul line.

Kaufman-Renn finally converted off Smith’s feed a few minutes later — and all the senior guard did was ever-so-briefly stick a finger in the air as the crowd tilted heavily toward Purdue fans gave him a standing ovation.

Smith was good enough coming out of Westfield High School, located about an hour southeast of West Lafayette and on the northern outskirts of Indianapolis — the site of this year’s Final Four — that he was voted Indiana Mr. Basketball as a senior.

Yet most of his scholarship offers came from the likes of Appalachian State, Belmont and Montana. Purdue was his only high-major at the time of his commitment, though schools such as Indiana, Villanova and Gonzaga had started to pay attention.

Did they ever miss out on a gem.

Smith and fellow Indiana native Loyer arrived on campus in 2022 and joined Painter’s starting lineup from Day 1, which put them at 146 starts and counting by the time they tipped off against Queens on Friday night. Along the way, Smith and Loyer were part of a couple of Big Ten regular-season title teams, a couple Big Ten tourney titles, and reached the 2024 national title game.

They wound up losing to UConn in Glendale, Arizona, to finish as the runner-up for the second time in school history.

Purdue still has never won a title. But that would certainly be quite the capstone to Smith’s career.

He earned 12 first-team votes for AP All-America this week, landing him on the second team. Smith was a first-team pick last year and honorable mention for the 2023-24 season, making him a rare player to receive recognition in three consecutive seasons.

___

AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-mens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness

San Diego Padres at Los Angeles Dodgers, March 20, 2026, 6:05 p.m. PST

Watch: None

Location: Camelback Ranch – Glendale, AZ

Listen: None

Please remember our Game Day thread guidelines.

• Don’t troll in your comments; create conversation rather than destroying it
• Remember Gaslamp Ball is basically a non-profanity site
• Out of respect to broadcast partners who have paid to carry the game, no mentions of “alternative” (read: illegal) viewing methods are allowed in our threads

GB community, this is your thread for today’s game. Enjoy!

March Madness has just about everything, from future NBA stars to unlikely heroes. But sometimes, it can also uncover heartfelt moments, even in the midst of a blowout.

That’s what happened during No. 16 seed LIU’s 92-58 loss to No. 1 Arizona in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday, March 20. The game was virtually over by halftime, but it still provided the Sharks with lifelong memories – especially one player in particular.

REQUIRED READING: March Madness scores: See the big shots, moments, highlights in today’s first round

Sophomore guard Eddie Munyak, a 6-foot-1 walk-on guard, entered for LIU in the final moments of its loss to one of the national championship favorites and had his one shining moment. He waved for the ball multiple times while the Sharks were down 80-53, and when he finally received the pass, he fired from 3-point range and banked the shot off the backboard through the net for his first career points.

It was only Munyak’s second appearance in a game this season, last seeing the floor for two minutes against Le Moyne on Jan. 29. He was expectedly hype after sinking the shot, putting his arms out as he ran back on defense in jubilation.

“HE’LL REMEMBER THAT FOR A LIFETIME.”

LIU Sophomore Eddie Munyak is playing in his 2nd game this season for the Sharks.

He just scored in a NCAA Tournament game. pic.twitter.com/HSuIiNCXhb

— CBS Sports College Basketball 🏀 (@CBSSportsCBB) March 20, 2026

“He’ll remember that for a lifetime,” play-by-play commentator Kevin Harlan said on the broadcast. “This is the beauty of this tournament.”

Despite Munyak’s 3-pointer having no impact on the game’s conclusion, his LIU teammates erupted on the bench after he hit his first-career shot. Sometimes it means more than just wins and losses, especially as the Sharks have never won an NCAA Tournament game.

The teams that make deep NCAA Tournament runs in 2026 will be riddled with future professional players. Munyak won’t be one of them, but he certainly made a memory that’ll last a lifetime against Arizona.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: LIU walk-on scores first career points vs Arizona, erupts in celebration

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) — Nyla Harris scored 17 points, Lanie Grant had 15 and North Carolina rolled past cold-shooting Western Illinois 82-51 on Friday night in the first round of the women’s NCAA Tournament.

Nyla Brooks added 14 points and Indya Nivar had 11 as the Tar Heels, hosting games on the opening weekend for the second year in a row, won a first-round game for the fifth straight season.

Fourth-seeded North Carolina (27-7) will meet fifth-seeded Maryland, a 99-67 winner over Murray State in the site’s first game, on Sunday in the second round.

Mia Nicastro scored 21 points for No. 13 seed Western Illinois (26-6), which shot 30.4% from the field. The Leathernecks were 2 for 15 on 3-pointers. Nicastro shot 6 for 15 from the floor and 9 for 10 on free throws, coming up just short of her 24.2 points per game scoring average.

Grant made four of North Carolina’s 10 3-point baskets. Harris had 12 rebounds as part of the Tar Heels’ 47-32 edge on the boards.

North Carolina built a 23-11 lead while the Leathernecks made only three of their first 17 shots. The Tar Heels had a 38-24 halftime lead, holding Western Illinois to 25% shooting without a 3-point basket.

Western Illinois concluded its second winning season in the last eight years with its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2017.

Up next

In a matchup of former Atlantic Coast Conference rivals, North Carolina will play Maryland with the right to advance to the Sweet 16.

___

AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-womens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness

Friday nights between Michigan and Nebraska always seem to turn into pitchers duels. It started off very precariously for both teams on the mound for different reasons, but after they settled down, the offenses went dormant.

Nebraska started the scoring in the first. Mac Moyer led off the game with a hit as he seemingly does every game. This one however was pulled into right field, which is very unlike Moyer. He cruised into second with a double. Catcher Jeter Worthley followed up with a sharp single. Case Sanderson then lifted a ball to left. The Michigan left fielder seemed to fight the sun and dropped the ball, allowing Moyer to score. The Huskers couldn’t do any more damage, ending the half inning up 1-0. Usually a bad omen if you can’t get a big inning on a starter despite being gifted an out.

Husker hurler Ty Horn really had a hard time in the bottom of the inning. He had issues controlling his off speed pitches. Combine that with the size of the zone shrinking to about a 6 inch square and it was a huge relief to get out of there with no runs allowed.

Michigan wouldn’t be denied in the next inning. Senior outfielder Greg Pace Jr hit s hard grounder right back up the middle. He stole second base, and then came home as a ball just barely sneaked between short stop Dylan Carey and second baseman Jett Buck, tying the game at 1-1.

Horn continued to struggle in the 3rd, not locating his breaking pitches and his fastball having a seemingly different zone for the umpire. Three Michigan singles scored second baseman Carson Luna to go up 2-1.

Michigan’s starting pitcher Kurt Barr had his slider working to perfection from the start. Other than the error in the first inning, Nebraska rarely even threatened through 6 innings. Multiple times with a runner on base, he would come back and strike out the final batter to end the inning.

In the 4th Ty Horn found his off speed pitches and went on a run. He struck out the side, part of six straight strikeouts before walking Michigan’s best hitter, Colby Turner with 2 outs in the 5th. He would have to retire at 102 pitches at that point, having thrown way too many pitches in the first couple innings. His line on the day was 4.2 innings, 2 runs on 6 hits with 8 strikeouts and 2 walks. A good battle despite not having anything but a fastball early and an adventurous zone.

Barr made it through 7, getting just an absolute gift of a strikeout call on Rhett Stokes to lead off the inning. The ball ended up about 6 inches off the ground on the chalk line making up the left handed batters box. Moyer then singled to right. He appeared to swipe second baseman despite being beaten to the base by the ball. He was called out on the field and the umpires seemingly couldn’t see an angle where the glove touched his shin after he slid into the back of the base. Barr struck out Worthley for his 10th and final strikeout, to go with no walks.

Caleb Clark threw 2 innings of no hit ball in relief of Horn. He struck out 1 and walked 1. Tucker Timmerman came in to take his spot with 2 outs in the bottom of the 7th. He pitched perfect against 3 batters, striking out 2. Grant Clevenger came in and struck out the last batter in the 8th.

The Huskers threatened in the 9th, Miken Miller led off, his first at bat since Florida State due to injury. He hit a chopper to 2nd that was too tough to get him out at first. Preston Freeman came in to pinch run for the catcher, representing the tying run. He didn’t last long, as Drew Grego hit a ball sharply right at the short stop for an easy double play. Devin Nunez gave the Huskers another chance as he took a ball to the hand on a checked swing. Rhett Stokes poked a ball through the right side, bringing up the top of the lineup. Moyer worked a full count, but rolled over a ground ball to the first baseman to end the game. 2-1 Wolverines.

The Husker offense had come in red hot, excelling at getting lead-off runners on. Today that only happened in the 1st and 9th innings. It’s no surprise those are the innings that included their single run and next biggest threat of the game.

Nebraska’s 4-6 hitters of Buck/Carey/Overbeek were a combined 0 for 9 with 4 strikeouts (3 by Carey) and a ground into double play. A Buck walk and Overbeek hit by pitch were the only ways they reached base. Those guys have to be big time contributors for this team to reach their goals.

The two teams are right back at it tomorrow, with first pitch in Ann Arbor at 1pm CDT.