Adam LaRoche, who suffered back spasms Saturday that caused him to leave a game in Surprise, Ariz., against the Royals, is getting a little bit better, according to manager Robin Ventura.

After throwing two scoreless innings in his first spring outing Wednesday, Jake Arrieta played a little baseball with his 4-year-old son, Cooper, who made better contact off his dad than the Indians did.

Joe Mauer is continuing to experiment with wearing sunglasses at the plate after experiencing occasional vision issues the last two seasons related to his concussion he suffered in 2013.

Appearing at shortstop for the first time during the Giants’ Cactus League season, Brandon Crawford played four innings before leaving Wednesday’s 8-6 loss to the Rockies. The National League’s reigning Gold Glove Award winner at the position handled exactly one ground ball, which Colorado’s Nolan Arenado tapped in the first inning.

Tommy Milone is locked in a competition for the fifth spot in the Twins’ rotation, but he’s doing his best to embrace it, as it’s nothing new for him.

D-backs infielder Jean Segura was scratched from the lineup for Wednesday’s 8-4 win over the Padres with soreness on the side of his knee. He is also expected to miss Thursday’s game.

The NHL announced on Wednesday that the St. Louis Blues will take on the Chicago Blackhawks in the 2017 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic on Jan. 2. That means the Cardinals’ home ballpark will play host to the Blues’ first appearance in a regular-season outdoor game, as the franchise celebrates its 50th anniversary.

Will you choose the “Punisher?”

The Dodgers need Adrian Gonzalez’s bat in the lineup more than anybody’s this year, but when the day comes to replace the All-Star first baseman, it will probably be done by Cody Bellinger.

The Giants are bringing Johnny Cueto along slowly this spring, considering the fact that he pitched 212 innings last season for the Reds and Royals, and then 25 more for Kansas City in the postseason. His brilliant World Series performance at Kauffman Stadium was on Oct. 28, barely a little bit more than four months ago.

Zero doubt preceded the announcement, but manager Bob Melvin had to make it official anyway, naming ace Sonny Gray the A’s Opening Day starter a third consecutive year.

Last week, the boy who’d spent most of his first 2 1/2 years in hospitals finally saw his father pitch. Mikael Lopez. He is the son of the Brewers’ top pitching prospect, Jorge Lopez, coming up on his third birthday now but experiencing a flood of firsts after being released last month from a Cincinnati hospital. It was the most promising stop to date on his family’s quest for solutions to Mikael’s autoimmune disorder.

The beauty of baseball is the stuff you can’t project or expect, and that beauty was especially evident on a sunny Wednesday at Sloan Park, where the Cubs’ Jake Arrieta (2015 National League Cy Young Award) and the Indians’ Corey Kluber (2014 American League Cy Young Award), two of the more unlikely major award winners in recent memory, toed the rubber for their respective clubs.

Yovani Gallardo made his much-anticipated Orioles debut on Wednesday against the Phillies, pitching two innings in Baltimore’s 8-4 loss. Gallardo, who pitched a scoreless second inning, got jumped on early. Philadelphia tagged him with four hits — including a pair of doubles and a home run — en route to a three-run first.

The Red Sox have had a few weeks to relish the fact that David Price is now with them instead of against them. But it will take a higher form of reality on Thursday afternoon, when the lefty ace pitches at home against the Twins in his first Grapefruit League game for his new team.

Saying he’s a “nobody now in 2016,” reigning American League Cy Young winner Dallas Keuchel took the mound for the first time in Grapefruit League play this spring and threw two scoreless innings against the Braves on Wednesday afternoon.

Reds center fielder Billy Hamilton, who has been limited to one exhibition game because of soreness in his surgically repaired right shoulder, has made some progress. After being limited to cardio work, Hamilton has resumed baseball activity.