Baseball returns with exhibition games in Florida, Arizona

MLB spring training. — (Image credit: Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

Major League Baseball returns Friday with the first spring training exhibition games of the season. The pre-season games started a week earlier than normal this year due to the World Baseball Classic, which begins next month.

Going head-to-head Friday afternoon in the Grapefruit League are the Baltimore Orioles and Detroit Tigers, the New York Mets and the Boston Red Sox, and the Philadelphia Phillies and the New York Yankees. In the Cactus League, the Cincinnati Reds will face the San Francisco Giants, and the Tampa Bay Rays will face the Minnesota Twins later Friday. For a preview of the matchups, you can visit Sports on Earth.

Regular season baseball kicks off on April 2, with 29 teams seeking to dethrone the reigning World Series champions, the Chicago Cubs.

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Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.