Morning Update - 3/5/2021

Cardinals to allow close to 15,000 fans at Busch Stadium, Jose Castillo needs Tommy John surgery, & more.

Good morning.

It’s March 5th, 2021 and here’s everything that happened in the world of baseball from 5:00 PM EST yesterday to 9:00 AM EST today.

The Most Important Thing

Derrick S. Goold @dgoold

Welcome home, #Cardinals fans.

stltoday.comCardinals ready to welcome close to 15,000 fans back to Busch for home opener, team and city announceSeason ticket holders will have the first opportunity to purchase tickets for the April 8 game against Milwaukee and other April home dates.

Another bit of great news regarding fans at the ballpark. Busch Stadium will allow close to 15,000 fans to begin the season. Even the small crowds at the spring trainings games have been a beautiful site. Here’s hoping everything continues progressing well and we have packed stadiums by the end of the season.

Everything Else

Game Recaps

• Royals 5, Reds 3 (FS Kansas City)

• Orioles 6, Red Sox 3 (Fox Baltimore)

• Tigers 8, Blue Jays 2 (Detroit Free Press)

• Rays 5, Twins 2 (FS North)

• Pirates 6, Braves 1 (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)

• Phillies 15, Yankees 0 (Philadelphia Inquirer)

• Mets 8, Nationals 4 (Yahoo)

• Rangers 5, Padres 3 (Gaslamp Ball)

• Giants 3, White Sox 1 (The Mercury News)

• Diamondbacks 9, Angels 2 (AZ Snake Pit)

• Rockies 9, Mariners 9 (Seattle Times)

• Indians 5, Brewers 1 (FS Wisconsin)

• Astros 14, Cardinals 0 (St. Louis Post-Dispatch)

• Cubs 7, Dodgers 0 (MLB.com)

Injuries/Chatter

• Padres LHP Jose Castillo suffered a UCL tear and will need Tommy John surgery.

• An accident involving OF Shogo Akiyama’s wife was the reason he was away from Reds’ camp. She was reportedly struck by a fallen tree. Akiyama says she will be okay.

• OF Cody Bellinger is progressing very well and should be ready for opening day, manager Dave Roberts told reporters.

• Notes from Giants manager Gabe Kapler: OF Jaylin Davis has had some knee soreness but will be in the lineup soon; Brandon Belt is recovering from a non-COVID virus. He did some baseball activity yesterday and did some throwing today.

• Padres RHP Javy Guerra will be out 2-4 weeks with a grade 1 UCL sprain, reports Kevin Acee.

• Angels OF Brandon Marsh was removed from today’s game due to cramping. Manager Joe Maddon says he hasn't gotten any more info from the trainers.

Posts With Your Toast

• MLB.com predicts each team’s top future slugger.

• Joe Bloss and Josh Jackson recap how baseball’s top prospects performed on Thursday.

• Mike Puma believes LHP David Peterson is making an early case for a Mets rotation spot.

• Jessica Kleinschmidt explains why MLB’s newly announced “Lou Gehrig Day” is extra special for Stephen Piscotty.

• Mandy Bell with 7 Indians players to keep an eye on in camp. Also from Bell: A delivery overhaul is paying off early for Aaron Civale.

• Albert Pujols reflects on what could be his final season in baseball.

• Bruce Zimmermann and Ramon Urias are making early impressions at Orioles’ camp, says Roch Kubatko.

• Rowan Kavner writes Jimmy Nelson has been enjoying every day after long road back to competition.

Random Baseball Rewind

SABR BioProject @SABRbioproject

Prior to the formation of the Negro National League in 1920, the Chicago American Giants were one of the premiere Black barnstorming teams in country. Team owner Rube Foster, seated in middle, was a baseball pioneer whose @sabr bio you can read sabr.org/bioproj/person…

SABR BioProject @SABRbioproject

Happy 74th to rubber-armed Kent Tekulve, who appeared in an NL-best 94 games in 1979 to help the We Are Family @Pirates to the World Series title. Here's Teke's @sabr bio sabr.org/bioproj/person…

Foul Tips

• Pete Alonso's appreciation for his mother runs deep at Mets’ spring training, writes Tim Healy.

God bless and good day!

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