MLB: What to watch on March 29, 2026

• 29 March 2026
• mlbw

Here are today's MLB games, ordered by watchability, based on how interesting the teams and starting pitchers look. Higher is better. For more information, read this post.

Notes:

• Pitcher 'no data': Pitchers only have a pNERD score once they've started at least one game and have at least 20 innings pitched. I also show 'no data' when I can't correctly link a starting pitcher with their stats.
• Generated by the mlb-watchability project on GitHub.

Detail

Chicago White Sox @ Milwaukee Brewers, 11:10a

Summary

This is the top gNERD game on today’s board, and Milwaukee has already given the model some supporting evidence: the Brewers are 2-0 in the series, with 20 runs and a .348/.464/.493 line through two games. The pitching stats are a shrug, but the pitchers are not: Anthony Kay is back from Japan after a 1.74 ERA and 130 strikeouts in 155 innings for Yokohama in 2025, while Brandon Sproat is Milwaukee’s No. 5 prospect, acquired in the Freddy Peralta trade and set to start the third game of the season after making the Opening Day roster. With both teams carrying strong tNERD marks, the appeal is more lineup-and-context than ace duel: Milwaukee gets there with real offensive and baserunning juice, while Chicago’s young, low-payroll weirdness tends to make for lively baseball. Chicago is also without starting catcher Kyle Teel for 4 to 6 weeks because of a Grade 2 hamstring strain, while Milwaukee’s rotation depth has been squeezed by Quinn Priester’s lingering wrist issue, which gives Sproat’s assignment a bit more novelty. If you prefer clean certainty, look elsewhere; if you enjoy top-of-the-day NERD with a side of roster experimentation, this will do.

(A model from OpenAI generated the above text using instructions, the NERD scores, and these sources: 1, 2.)

Recommended broadcasts: TV, Milwaukee Brewers (2.66); radio, Chicago White Sox (2.57)

Chicago White Sox

Milwaukee Brewers

Anthony Kay, Chicago White Sox

No detailed stats available

Brandon Sproat, Milwaukee Brewers

No detailed stats available

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Cleveland Guardians @ Seattle Mariners, 4:20p

Summary

This is the rare game whose appeal comes less from the listed starters than from everything humming around them. Cleveland and Seattle are both high-end team watches, and the first three games of this series have already produced two one-run Guardians wins, so a dull sequel would be mildly surprising. Cleveland’s 13.69 gNERD sits near the top of today’s slate because both lineups bring something useful: the Guardians pair strong defense with a broad, competent offensive profile, while Seattle’s giant barrel-rate component matches a club still built around Cal Raleigh’s thunder after his 60-homer 2025 and still smarting from falling eight outs short of the World Series. Emerson Hancock and Slade Cecconi are not exactly the marquee—both have 0.00 pNERD because there’s no data here—but Hancock is in this spot with Bryce Miller on the IL after a spring with better velocity and a new sweeper, while Cecconi spent camp sharpening a harder cutter and sweeper after making 23 starts last year. Add the national Sunday-night stage, and this is a perfectly respectable way to spend your baseball attention.

(A model from OpenAI generated the above text using instructions, the NERD scores, and these sources: 1, 2, 3.)

Recommended broadcasts: TV, Seattle Mariners (2.35); radio, Cleveland Guardians (3.14)

Cleveland Guardians

Seattle Mariners

Slade Cecconi, Cleveland Guardians

No detailed stats available

Emerson Hancock, Seattle Mariners

No detailed stats available

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Colorado Rockies @ Miami Marlins, 10:40a

Summary

This is a surprisingly decent watch: a 12.55 gNERD game with enough young-Marlins chaos and enough Max Meyer uncertainty to merit a look. If you prefer clean excellence, keep walking; if you enjoy a game that might turn on speed, defense, bullpen leverage and one pitcher trying to turn “finally healthy” into a season, this works. Miami’s huge 11.01 team NERD fits the opening-week evidence: the Marlins are 2-0 with two one-run wins over Colorado, getting a three-hit opener from Javier Sanoja, a homer from Liam Hicks, and a three-hit game from Owen Caissie even while Kyle Stowers is sidelined. Meyer is the actual novelty here; he’s back from June’s left hip labral surgery after flashing breakout stuff early in 2025, including a 14-strikeout game, so the pNERD zero is just missing paperwork. Colorado’s 4.10 tNERD is dragged down by ugly contact quality, but Ezequiel Tovar has already homered, and Quintana was signed to bring veteran ballast to a rotation that posted a 6.65 starter ERA last year.

(A model from OpenAI generated the above text using instructions, the NERD scores, and these sources: 1, 2, 3.)

Recommended broadcasts: TV, Miami Marlins (1.79); radio, Colorado Rockies (1.80)

Colorado Rockies

Miami Marlins

Jose Quintana, Colorado Rockies

No detailed stats available

Max Meyer, Miami Marlins

No detailed stats available

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Los Angeles Angels @ Houston Astros, 11:10a

Summary

This is a respectable keep-it-on game: the NERD likes the Angels’ side of the mess, and the series has already gone from two Halos wins to an 11-9 Astros counterpunch. Both pNERDs being zero feels oddly appropriate, because Jack Kochanowicz and Tatsuya Imai arrive with more mystery than model certainty. The Angels’ 10.15 team NERD is doing most of the sales job here: elite batting-run value, solid batted-ball authority, and enough luck in the profile to suggest the offense may not be done being a nuisance. Kochanowicz is less shiny than the lineup, but he did grab a rotation spot after a strong spring, and the Angels need those innings with Grayson Rodriguez and Alek Manoah opening on the injured list. Houston, meanwhile, gets the better novelty start: Imai is the Astros’ $54 million NPB import, the top pitcher posted from Japan this winter, and his deep arsenal plus early MLB-adjustment phase make him more interesting than a blank pNERD suggests. Add in an Astros club trying to rebound after missing the 2025 playoffs by one game, and this lands in the “worth a look, especially if you like uncertainty with your offense” tier.

(A model from OpenAI generated the above text using instructions, the NERD scores, and these sources: 1, 2, 3.)

Recommended broadcasts: TV, Los Angeles Angels (2.59); radio, Los Angeles Angels (2.01)

Los Angeles Angels

Houston Astros

Jack Kochanowicz, Los Angeles Angels

No detailed stats available

Tatsuya Imai, Houston Astros

No detailed stats available

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Washington Nationals @ Chicago Cubs, 11:20a

Summary

This is a respectable rubber game, not a cancel-your-plans one: the 10.54 gNERD is basically middle-shelf, but the pitching matchup is better than the model’s zeroed-out pNERDs imply. Shota Imanaga gives it shape; Jake Irvin gives it a fair chance to become slapstick. The series is split after Washington won 10-4 and Chicago answered 10-2, so both teams have already demonstrated their full emotional range. Imanaga is the main reason to tune in: after a hamstring-marred 2025, he still logged 144 2/3 innings with 117 strikeouts, carried a 4.47 FIP and 4.59 xFIP, and showed spring life with a 93 mph average fastball, up 2.2 mph from last year. Irvin, meanwhile, is durable and combustible—180 innings last season, eighth-most in baseball since the start of 2024, but also 38 homers allowed with a 5.50 FIP. Washington’s tNERD gets a lift from loud contact and youth, though the glove work is shakier; Chicago brings the sturdier overall package, with Alex Bregman added to a lineup that already features Pete Crow-Armstrong’s 30-homer/30-double/30-steal chaos, even with Seiya Suzuki on the IL.

(A model from OpenAI generated the above text using instructions, the NERD scores, and these sources: 1, 2, 3.)

Recommended broadcasts: TV, Chicago Cubs (3.01); radio, Chicago Cubs (3.15)

Washington Nationals

Chicago Cubs

Jake Irvin, Washington Nationals

No detailed stats available

Shota Imanaga, Chicago Cubs

No detailed stats available

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Pittsburgh Pirates @ New York Mets, 10:40a

Summary

This is a middling watch, but McLean keeps it from feeling anonymous: the Mets are up 2-0 in the series, their lineup has already scored 15 runs, and his start gives the game a real point of curiosity. You’re mostly buying the Mets’ side of the ledger here, plus the chance that a zeroed-out pNERD is hiding an actual event. McLean’s 0.00 pNERD is a data gap; MLB lists him as the Mets’ top prospect, he got past vertigo-like symptoms in March, pitched for Team USA in the WBC, and came off a 2025 debut with a 5-1 record, 2.06 ERA and 57 strikeouts in 48 innings. Pittsburgh imported more thunder with Brandon Lowe, Ryan O’Hearn and Marcell Ozuna, and Lowe already has two homers, but the Pirates are 0-2, Jared Jones is on the 60-day IL, and their tNERD sheet still screams bad fielding, bad bullpen, not much loud contact. So this isn’t a headliner, but Mets competence plus McLean novelty is enough to make it watchable.

(A model from OpenAI generated the above text using instructions, the NERD scores, and these sources: 1, 2, 3.)

Recommended broadcasts: TV, New York Mets (3.32); radio, New York Mets (3.05)

Pittsburgh Pirates

New York Mets

Carmen Mlodzinski, Pittsburgh Pirates

No detailed stats available

Nolan McLean, New York Mets

No detailed stats available

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Texas Rangers @ Philadelphia Phillies, 10:35a

Summary

This is watchable in a slightly bureaucratic way: the gNERD is merely middle-class, but the mound gets a lift from two lefties with fresh storylines and real strikeout pedigree. MacKenzie Gore is making his first Rangers start after Texas acquired him in January, while Jesús Luzardo takes the ball for a Phillies club that just handed him a five-year extension and is already acting like its usual contender self.

A 9.72 gNERD sits a bit below this slate’s average and just under the historical median, so this is not the day’s obvious chaos merchant. But the zeroes beside both pNERDs are a data gap, not a boredom certificate: Gore was a 2025 All-Star with a 3.74 FIP and 185 strikeouts in 159 2/3 innings, while Luzardo is coming off career highs in strikeouts and innings and has become even more important with Zack Wheeler still tracking toward an April return. Texas gets the slight team-score edge from harder contact and a better bullpen component, while Philadelphia has already shown the familiar recipe by pairing big homers with late relief in a 5-3 Opening Day win. Solid choice, if not exactly appointment television.

(A model from OpenAI generated the above text using instructions, the NERD scores, and these sources: 1, 2.)

Recommended broadcasts: TV, Philadelphia Phillies (2.92); radio, Philadelphia Phillies (2.69)

Texas Rangers

Philadelphia Phillies

MacKenzie Gore, Texas Rangers

No detailed stats available

Jesús Luzardo, Philadelphia Phillies

No detailed stats available

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Athletics @ Toronto Blue Jays, 10:37a

Summary

This is more decent than urgent: the gNERD sits a bit below today’s average, but the first two games of the series were 3-2 and 8-7 in 11 innings, so these teams have at least supplied late drama. The real reason to watch is Luis Morales, whose pNERD is blank only because the model lacks data, not because the arm is. Morales reached the majors in a hurry last year, struck out 43 in 48 2/3 innings, and touched 99.4 mph, which gives this otherwise modest matchup some prospect value. Eric Lauer is the less glamorous counterweight: Toronto treated him as rotation insurance while Shane Bieber ramped up, and he’s back in the mix with Bieber and José Berríos on the IL. The Athletics get tNERD points for youth, speed and loud contact, and Shea Langeliers has already hit three homers in the series, but their bullpen remains adventurous. Toronto is 2-0, Andrés Giménez is coming off a four-hit game, and that should keep Morales from having to supply all the entertainment himself.

(A model from OpenAI generated the above text using instructions, the NERD scores, and these sources: 1, 2, 3, 4.)

Recommended broadcasts: TV, Toronto Blue Jays (3.10); radio, Toronto Blue Jays (2.39)

Athletics

Toronto Blue Jays

Luis Morales, Athletics

No detailed stats available

Eric Lauer, Toronto Blue Jays

No detailed stats available

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Boston Red Sox @ Cincinnati Reds, 10:40a

Summary

This is less must-see theater than a respectable prospect matinee: Boston supplies most of the watchability, while both clubs hand the ball to young arms whose blank pNERDs mean the scouting report matters more than the spreadsheet. That makes it a decent game to sample, not one to rearrange your life around. The Red Sox are the sturdier side here, with a 6.57 tNERD built on positive batting and bullpen marks, and the real-world roster still has some heft even with Triston Casas out until at least May, thanks to a loaded outfield featuring Roman Anthony and Willson Contreras covering first base. Connelly Early is the novelty hook: Boston gave its No. 3 prospect the last rotation spot after a strong spring, and he punctuated camp by striking out seven Yankees over five scoreless innings; he also punched out 29 in 19 1/3 major-league innings last year. Cincinnati’s tNERD is dragged down by weak contact, running and defense, so Rhett Lowder is the reason to linger: after injuries wiped out his 2025, he returned to fight for a rotation job, and with Hunter Greene out until July and Nick Lodolo on the IL, these innings matter more than the usual early-season rehearsal.

(A model from OpenAI generated the above text using instructions, the NERD scores, and these sources: 1, 2, 3.)

Recommended broadcasts: TV, Boston Red Sox (2.47); radio, Boston Red Sox (2.64)

Boston Red Sox

Cincinnati Reds

Connelly Early, Boston Red Sox

No detailed stats available

Rhett Lowder, Cincinnati Reds

No detailed stats available

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Kansas City Royals @ Atlanta Braves, 10:35a

Summary

This is more Braves machine than baseball dessert. Atlanta’s gNERD lands on the lower end of this slate mostly because Kansas City brings a thin offensive profile, and the first two games have done little to dispute that: Atlanta has taken the first two, 6-0 and 6-2, outscoring the Royals 12-2 while batting .308 to Kansas City’s .161, which neatly echoes the NERD split between a punchless Royals offense and a Braves club with the stronger lineup, defense and bullpen. The pitcher model has no real opinion here, but the starters do supply some texture. Grant Holmes is back in Atlanta’s rotation after rehabbing a partially torn UCL and flexor issue, and he punched out 123 hitters in 115 innings in 2025; Seth Lugo, meanwhile, is trying to recover the steadier form that made him the 2024 AL Cy Young runner-up after an injury-chopped 2025. So this is a serviceable watch if you want to see whether the Braves keep flexing; if you want tension, there are better aisles in the store.

(A model from OpenAI generated the above text using instructions, the NERD scores, and these sources: 1, 2.)

Recommended broadcasts: TV, Atlanta Braves (2.36); radio, Atlanta Braves (2.36)

Kansas City Royals

Atlanta Braves

Seth Lugo, Kansas City Royals

No detailed stats available

Grant Holmes, Atlanta Braves

No detailed stats available

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Minnesota Twins @ Baltimore Orioles, 10:35a

Summary

This is not the day’s glamour game; it’s baseball in a neat gray suit. With an 8.79 gNERD near the bottom of today’s slate, and only eight total runs through the series’ first two games, the appeal is subtle rather than loud. Minnesota and Baltimore both have middling tNERDs for sensible reasons: neither offense has done much damage yet, though the Twins do add a little life with good baserunning and Royce Lewis coming off a homer in Saturday’s 4-1 win. The pitcher scores are zeros only because the data is missing, not because the starters are uninteresting. Baz is the cleaner reason to tune in: Baltimore paid dearly to get him after a 176-strikeout, 166 1/3-inning season, and the Orioles still see frontline stuff even with Jackson Holliday and Jordan Westburg on the IL. Ober is the quieter subplot, trying to look healthy and mechanically sound again after last year’s hip and knee trouble while the Twins navigate a season without Pablo López.

(A model from OpenAI generated the above text using instructions, the NERD scores, and these sources: 1, 2, 3, 4.)

Recommended broadcasts: TV, Baltimore Orioles (2.82); radio, Baltimore Orioles (2.10)

Minnesota Twins

Baltimore Orioles

Bailey Ober, Minnesota Twins

No detailed stats available

Shane Baz, Baltimore Orioles

No detailed stats available

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Tampa Bay Rays @ St. Louis Cardinals, 11:15a

Summary

This is the day’s lowest gNERD, and it feels like it: more scrappy series-finale energy than appointment viewing. Still, the first two games produced 27 runs, St. Louis is 2-0, and Dustin May’s comeback tour gives the pitching matchup more personality than the model can capture. The Cardinals carry this on the team side, with a 6.76 tNERD built on decent baserunning, competent fielding and a usable bullpen, while Tampa Bay’s 0.74 tNERD is dragged down by weak baserunning, defense and relief work. That also suits the current roster state: the Rays opened this series without Gavin Lux, Ryan Pepiot and Taylor Walls, and the Cardinals are playing without Lars Nootbaar but already getting loud early offense from Alec Burleson. May is the main reason to tune in, healthy after a long injury slog and coming off a 123-strikeout, 132 1/3-inning 2025; Matz, facing his former club, is a quieter subplot after restoring his value with a 3.6 percent walk rate last year and a healthy-looking spring.

(A model from OpenAI generated the above text using instructions, the NERD scores, and these sources: 1.)

Recommended broadcasts: TV, Tampa Bay Rays (2.27); radio, St. Louis Cardinals (2.15)

Tampa Bay Rays

St. Louis Cardinals

Steven Matz, Tampa Bay Rays

No detailed stats available

Dustin May, St. Louis Cardinals

No detailed stats available

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