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Molina in lineup for second time this spring training (The Associated Press)

The Republican establishment all but capitulated to Donald Trump on Thursday night, treating the party's frontrunner with kid gloves in the most subdued debate yet of the 2016 primary season. Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio and John Kasich instead tread carefully around Trump, gently prodding him at times but avoiding a scorched-earth approach against the man who remains overwhelmingly likely to be the party's nominee in the fall. A man in charge: With a commanding lead in the delegate count and a decent chance of effectively securing the GOP nomination after next Tuesday's delegate-rich nominating contests, Trump needed only to avoid a disastrous performance.