The first weekend of 2026 MLB Spring Training games wrapped up on February 22. Several high-scoring affairs took place on the day. But on top of that, a couple of former Cy Young winners took the mound for their spring debuts, as well.
Good start for Braves
The Braves lost 8-1 to the Twins on February 22, thanks in large part to home runs from Alan Roden and Emmanuel Rodriguez. However, it’s Spring Training. The good — and more important — news is that the regulars did just fine.
Ronald Acuna Jr. went 1-3 with two strikeouts, with his one hit being a single that he believed left. Jurickson Profar, Austin Riley, and Matt Olson all picked up a hit. Drake Baldwin, meanwhile, went 2-2 with his first home run of the spring.
As for the pitching, Chris Sale threw two scoreless innings. Sale, who was hitting 94-95 MPH, struck out three batters.
Tough go for Bello
Red Sox pitcher Brayan Bello made his first start of the spring. However, it did not go great.
Bello gave up four hits and one walk over 1.2 IP against the Blue Jays. Eloy Jimenez, Myles Straw, and Leo Jimenez got to him in the first, forcing him to come out of that inning before returning in the second. While he did concede a hit to Riley Tirotta, Bello got three straight outs afterwards.
Nationals beat up Alcantara
Like Bello, Sandy Alcantara didn’t have a great first start.
Alcantara gave up two hits and a walk, as well as three total earned runs, against the Nationals on February 22. Brady House did the damage, as he took Alcantara deep for a three-run home run, driving in Nasim Nunez and James Wood.
The good news for Alcantara was that the velocity was there; the right-hander was hitting 97 MPH in his first spring outing.
Circling back to the Nationals for a second, it was a very good day offensively for Washington. Prospects Caleb Lomavita and Seaver King picked up hits, while former Rockie Warming Bernabel had two. The Nats won 16-8.
Strong outing for Messick
The Guardians won 6-0, and left-hander Parker Messick had a fine outing. The rookie left-hander threw two scoreless innings, although it wasn’t a very clean outing.
Messick walked three over those two frames. However, he was hitting 93-94 MPH and getting swinging & called strikes.
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