Pitching usually dominates hitting at the start of Spring Training, with the Orioles’ intrasquad game on Saturday a classic case in point.

Pitcher Hyun-Jin Ryu said he accepts the fact that he won’t return to Major League action from shoulder surgery until May.

The D-backs signed infielder/outfielder Rickie Weeks to a Minor League contract Saturday and invited him to big league camp.

From the shoulder to the ankle to the oblique to the foot, Rusney Castillo’s body betrayed him in a variety of areas last year and prevented anyone from getting much of a read on the player the Red Sox invested $72.5 million in back in August 2014.

Blue Jays right-hander Marco Estrada is taking a cautious approach to the start of Spring Training, and while that’s mostly by design, it’s also because he has been dealing with tightness in his lower back.

Saturday’s focused side session will be part of Chris Sale’s program to get ready for the regular season over the next few weeks before making his Cactus League debut on March 19 against the Dodgers.

New manager Scott Servais has made a point of getting to know his players in the first week of Spring Training, and one of the results — a brand-spanking-new pool table — was sitting in the middle of the team’s clubhouse on Saturday morning.

Bud Black is back at Diablo Stadium as a special assistant with the Angels, who have him in uniform this spring helping manager Mike Scioscia get the team ready for the start of the season. In this week’s Q&A, Black reflects on the road he has followed in baseball.

The Phillies will prep for Tuesday’s Grapefruit League opener with an exhibition against the University of Tampa on Sunday at Bright House Field.

Carlos Martinez’s modified spring program will soon have him graduating to the next step — facing hitters — in order to stay on track for inclusion in the Cardinals’ Opening Day rotation.

Major League Baseball Players Association executive director Tony Clark conducted a players-only meeting with the Orioles on Saturday morning during the third stop of his Spring Training tour of camps.

It may have only lasted for a little less than three minutes, but the time spent throwing off the slope of the mound Saturday represented a huge milestone for Zack Wheeler.

With the St. Louis Cardinals, it is never about the other guys. It is about the Cardinals playing to their own lofty standards; then trying to reach beyond even that level.

Sure, Yoenis Cespedes’ cars are cool, but this is amazing.

While new Padres manager Andy Green picked young Tyson Ross to start on Opening Day, he’s relying on veteran James Shields to shoulder a lot of the load in setting the tone in the clubhouse.

He’s got a whole garage full of them.

The Marlins have big hopes for the “Big Bear.” Marcell Ozuna, Miami’s “Big Bear,” is primed to break loose in 2016. At least the Marlins are hopeful that this will be the season he taps into his potential.