Monday, March 23

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Welcome to The Pregame Lineup, a weekday newsletter that gets you up to speed on everything you need to know for today’s games, while catching you up on fun and interesting stories you might have missed. Today’s edition was written by David Adler and Brian Murphy.

Here’s something important to watch when the Yankees and Giants take the field for Opening Night (Wednesday, 8 p.m. ET, Netflix) — and you might not have realized just howimportant it is: 

The outfield in San Francisco is the toughest place to play in the entire Major Leagues. 

As we head into the 2026 season, MLB.com’s Mike Petriello ranked all 30 MLB ballparks by how difficult it is to play the outfield there. And this isn’t some subjective list, either — this is based on the numbers.  

Yes, park factors aren’t just for hitters and pitchers anymore. We can do the same thing for outfielders. Just think about all the variables they have to deal with from series to series or game to game: field dimensions, wall heights, backdrops, weather patterns and so on.

No two MLB outfields are created equal. That’s part of baseball’s charm. But while some outfields can be a relative breeze to play, others can be downright treacherous.

So we set out to answer these questions: How hard is it to catch the ball in each park? And why?

Looking at the past five seasons, Petriello used Statcast’s Outs Above Average to gauge how each stadium affects the performance of outfielders. (You can see the methodology here.) 

The end result? Five groups of ballparks, ranging from the most favorable to the most difficult to catch a fly ball. You can probably guess some of the stadiums on either side of the spectrum. 

Ballparks with roofs — less affected by the elements — and those in sunny Southern California are generally more friendly to outfielders. Meanwhile, the most unusual stadium environments, especially those with quirky dimensions and unpredictable weather, can be more hostile.

And the most difficult outfield of them all? That would be Oracle Park, where the Yankees and Giants will kick off the 2026 season on Wednesday night — and where San Francisco’s marine layer, swirling winds and the sun all wreak havoc.  

So when you see Aaron Judge or Jung Hoo Lee tracking a fly ball on Opening Night, just know they’re battling the ballpark. 

Check out the full ranking of MLB outfields here. 

 

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

A lot happened over the last weekend of Spring Training. Let’s catch you up on the big stories. 

Strider to the IL 

This was just announced today. Braves starter Spencer Strider has a left oblique strain and will start the year on the injured list. That’s tough news for Strider — whose last fully healthy season was 2023, when he led MLB with 281 strikeouts — and the Braves, who have lost a bunch of starters to injury this spring. 

The Padres’ Opening Day starter is … 

Nick Pivetta! Pivetta will start for San Diegoon Thursday against the Tigers. He was the last 2026 Opening Day starter to be officially named. It’ll be the first Opening Day start of his career. 

Sánchez’s big extension 

The Phillies announced a big contract extension with Cristopher Sánchez yesterday that will guarantee the ace lefty $107 million through the 2032 season. Sánchez was the NL Cy Young runner-up last season, and he dominated Shohei Ohtani and the Dodgers in two postseason starts. He’s now the Phillies’ 2026 Opening Day starter. 

“It’s truly fantastic,” Sánchez said. “I couldn’t imagine this. All the discipline and the talent that I have, they have come out.” 

Blue Jays extend brain trust 

Sánchez isn’t the only one getting an extension. The Blue Jays announced extensions for both manager John Schneiderand general manager Ross Atkins this morning, coming off Toronto’s run to the World Series last year. 

Dodgers’ big day 

Sure, Spring Training games don’t matter in the standings, but keep an eye on the performances the Dodgers got in their 13-5 Freeway Series win over the Angels last night. Tyler Glasnow had 11 strikeouts — all 11 on his signature curveball — in just five innings … so he looks ready for the season to start. So does Shohei Ohtani, who ripped a 117.1 mph bases-clearing double during L.A.’s 10-run third inning. 

All Rise, late spring edition  

Aaron Judge crushed his first home run yesterday since returning to the Yankees from the World Baseball Classic (his third of the spring overall). It was a very Judgian 111.7 mph missile off Phillies veteran Aaron Nola. That’s Judge’s hardest-hit ball of Spring Training, although he did knock a 114 mph double against Canada in the WBC.  

Brewers prospects light up Spring Breakout

The Spring Breakout prospect showcase wrapped up this weekend, and the biggest stars were the Brewers’ top prospects. Twenty-year-old slugger Eric Bitonti crushed a 115.4 mph home run. MLB’s No. 3 overall prospect, Jesús Made, ripped a 112.7 mph double. And 2025 first-round Draft pick Andrew Fischer — fresh off a great run with Team Italy at the WBC and a ridiculous 112.4 mph double off a 102.1 mph fastball from Padres star reliever Mason Miller on Saturday — knocked a 111.3 mph double in the Spring Breakout game. 

Aces’ last tuneups

The Opening Day aces got their last Spring Training tuneups over the weekend, and a lot of them dominated. Paul Skenes threw four one-hit innings for the Pirates. Yoshinobu Yamamoto went five scoreless with seven strikeouts for the Dodgers. Chris Sale pitched six innings of one-run ball for the Braves. And Sánchez fired five sharp innings for the Phillies right before he got his extension. 

THE CRAZIEST BROADCAST READ EVER

If you watch baseball games on TV, you’ve seen a million broadcast readouts. You know, the disclaimers at the start of an inning that go, “This copyrighted telecast is brought to you by …” 

But we guarantee you’ve never seen one like this. 

The Brewers’ TV crew of Jeff Levering and Bill Schroeder did some genius improvisation on Saturday, when the piece of paper with their readout printed on it blew out of the press box and got stuck on the netting behind home plate. 

Milwaukee’s camera crew zoomed in on the runaway broadcast sheet … and Levering and Schroeder read it off the netting. That’s the way to get the job done. 

PAC-MAN CHOMPS TO THE BIG A

It doesn’t get any more classic than PAC-MAN. And the always-hungry arcade icon is chomping his way to Angel Stadium this season. 

The Halos over the weekend unveiled a fun collab with PAC-MAN, who will be the mascot of the “PAC-MAN Chomp Stop” in Anaheim, a concession stand full of PAC-MAN-themed sweet treats.  

The Angels had an arcade built in their ballpark last season, and the Chomp Stop will of course be right next door. 

DAILY WALKOFF

Put your baseball brain to the test with Daily Walkoff, where you can find 30 brand-new trivia puzzles every day, one for each team. Play Daily Walkoff >> 

 

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