As Opening Day approaches, the Brewers are making their final tune ups before the start of the season. With Brandon Woodruff’s status still uncertain, he made a crucial start this evening. It ended up being the offense that dominated the game, as the Brewers defeated the Rangers 11-4.

The Brewers got on the board quickly. Sal Frelick led off the game with a walk, stole second, and scored on an Andrew Vaughn single. In the next inning, back-to-back home runs from Gary Sánchez and Luis Rengifo added two more runs. David Hamilton set up another run with a single and steal, and Joey Ortiz drove him in with a single. After two innings, the Brewers had a 4-0 lead.

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In the fourth inning, the Brewers unleashed a barrage of runs. Vaughn led off the inning with a single, then Garrett Mitchell reached on a fielding error. Sánchez drew a walk after that to load the bases. After Rengifo flew out to center, Brandon Lockridge continued his strong spring with an RBI double, driving in two. Hamilton followed that up with another RBI double to bring in another two runs. That chased Rangers starter Jacob Latz from the game, and Dane Acker entered in relief. After a Frelick groundout and Ortiz walk, Christian Yelich punctuated the inning with a three-run home run. After the first three innings, the Brewers had scored 11 runs.

Meanwhile, Woodruff started the night with two 1-2-3 innings, striking out two. That started to unravel in the third inning. The Rangers got their first run from a Tyler Wade single and Alejandro Osuna RBI double. Woodruff recovered with strikeouts of Jonah Bride and Joc Pederson, but walked Evan Carter between them. Joe Corbett finished out the inning for Woodruff, striking out Danny Jansen to end the inning.

Woodruff returned for the fourth inning, but promptly allowed back-to-back home runs to Ezequiel Duran and Mark Canha. He got Sam Haggerty to line out, but that was it for his day. In total, he pitched a combination of three innings over the course of the first four innings. He allowed three runs and four hits, two of those going for home runs. He also struck out four and walked one while throwing 62 pitches. While he did get the four ups that he wanted in the game (his goal was to start four innings to get warmed up and pitch), his velocity was noticeably down at the end of his start. After the game, Woodruff said that despite the velocity, he felt great.

Curt Hogg (@CyrtHogg) on X

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After the fourth, both bullpens buckled down for the rest of the game. Trevor Megill pitched the fifth inning and struck out two, but recorded four outs after Canha reached on a wild pitch swinging strikeout. Abner Uribe made his first appearance after returning from the World Baseball Classic, allowed a leadoff single but retired the next three in order, striking out one.

Jared Koenig got into some trouble in the seventh by starting the inning with back-to-back singles. He got two outs thanks to a double play from the defense, then a fly out from Canha ended the inning. Grant Anderson walked one in the eighth inning, but that was it in a scoreless inning of work. Stiven Cruz finished out the game for the Brewers, walked two but held the Rangers scoreless to end the game.

Vaughn and Hamilton each had two-hit days for the Brewers’ offense. Yelich had three RBI from his second home run of the spring, and Lockridge and Hamilton added on two RBI each. Ortiz also reached base twice with a hit and a walk, and also drove a run in. As a team, the Brewers had nine hits — three of those home runs — and four walks.

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Tomorrow features a doubleheader of action for the Brewers. The day will start out with the first of two Spring Breakout games for the Brewers’ prospects, as the Mariners’ Prospects travel to face them in Phoenix. That game will take place at 4:10 p.m. and be broadcast on MLB Video. Then, at night the Brewers travel to face the Diamondbacks, with first pitch set for 8:10 p.m. That game will have an audio broadcast available on MLB.com.

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) shared the training schedule with all the Pakistan Super League (PSL) teams despite the ongoing tensions in the region. Although the Pakistan-Afghanistan conflict has escalated massively in the past few days, a report in The Express Tribune stated that no foreign player, including the Australians, has informed their franchises about their unavailability. The opening match of PSL 2026 is scheduled to take place between defending champions Lahore Qalandars and Hyderabad Kingsmen at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore. The report claimed that PCB officials have made it clear that the event will take place on time and the team practice sessions will take place on March 24 and 25.

In the past, the PCB has considered United Arab Emirates (UAE) as aa backup venue but according to the report, the PCB has not considered shifting the matches to another country. The players will reportedly be provided security equivalent to that of a head of state and the final of the competition is scheduled to take place on May 3.

Meanwhile, the participation of Bangladesh cricket team players in the upcoming Pakistan Super League (PSL) faced a major roadblock in light of the ongoing regional tensions.

Six players, Mustafizur Rahman, Parvez Hossain Emon (Lahore Qalandars), Shoriful Islam, Nahid Rana, Tanzid Hasan Tamim (Peshawar Zalmi), and Rishad Hossain (Peshawar Zalmi), were granted No Objection Certificates (NOC) by the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) after they were picked in the auction. However, the board has now decided to seek government approval before allowing the players to travel, according to Cricbuzz.

“Of course, we will seek permission from the government before sending our cricketers for the PSL. Under normal circumstances, these things are not required. We provide clearance, they go, play, and return. But since the situation is not normal and there is a risk element concerning the players, obviously we will discuss it with the government,” BCB cricket operations chairman Nazmul Abedin told Cricbuzz.

“We will seek to know from the government whether it will be safe to travel or not, and based on that government decision, we will have to take the ultimate call on whether the players will go or not,” he said.

“Because it is not actually possible for us to understand the situation there. It is possible for the government to know. The government will know, and if the government tells us that it is safe to go and the players can travel, then the players will go. But, in principle, we have decided that we will give the NOC and they will go to play. But it depends on the situation at that time,” Nazmul added.

Former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan has raised concerns over Chennai Super Kings’ (CSK) death bowling options for IPL 2026, which begins on March 28. In a major development on Thursday, March 19, Sportstar reported that Nathan Ellis will miss the upcoming season due to a hamstring injury.

Speaking on his YouTube channel on Friday, March 20, Pathan questioned who would handle the death overs for the franchise. He noted that Anshul Kamboj is an option, having made his Test debut last year. However, Pathan pointed out that while Kamboj can bowl yorkers, the team needs a more reliable option in such situations. He also mentioned that Matheesha Pathirana, who used to perform this role for CSK, was released after the 2025 season. He said:

“You have Anshul Kambhoj as an option, but he is still a bit new. He has played international Test cricket, and he has faced some criticism, but we have seen that he has good seam and can bowl very well with the new ball. He can also bowl yorkers. But under pressure, you need a solid bowler. Pathirana used to perform this role for many years, but when he went to the auction, due to injuries and inconsistent performance, you let him go. Now Chennai no longer has him. So who will fill that role? This is a very big question.”

The 41-year-old further pointed out that while Khaleel Ahmed is an excellent new-ball bowler, if he delivers three overs upfront and one at the death, it still leaves a gap. He questioned who would handle the remaining overs, noting that no clear specialist for the death overs comes to mind. He said:

“But when we look at the bowling, when you talk about a proper death bowler, that name doesn’t really come to mind. You have Khaleel Ahmed, a top-quality new-ball bowler. He performed very well last year, and you want to get three overs out of him there. But if he bowls one over, then who will bowl the remaining overs at the end?”

CSK will begin their campaign on March 30 when they face Rajasthan Royals (RR) in Guwahati.

“Nathan Ellis’s absence will be a big concern” – Irfan Pathan on Australia star missing IPL 2026 for CSK

In the same video, Irfan Pathan noted that Nathan Ellis’s absence will be a concern for CSK, as the right-arm seamer was a key option in the death overs, and without him, the bowling unit appears weaker. He said:

“Nathan Ellis’s absence will be a big concern because he was the kind of bowler I was watching who could comfortably bowl four overs, especially in the final parts when he would bowl during the death overs. Now, looking at their bowling unit, it seems there is a bit of weakness.”

Ellis has played 17 IPL matches, picking up 19 wickets at an average of 28.73, with a strike rate of 19.8 and an economy of 8.66, including best figures of 4/30.