Toronto newcomers Justin Turner and Eduardo Escobar each clubbed a three-run homer on Wednesday as the host Blue Jays pounded the Pittsburgh Pirates 10-3 in Dunedin, Fla.
Turner, who spent last season with the Boston Red Sox, went deep in the first, while Escobar, coming off a season in which he split time between the New York Mets and Los Angeles Angels, left the yard in the seventh.
Right-hander Chris Bassitt (1-1) was the beneficiary of Toronto’s offensive showcase, earning the win after allowing one run on three hits in 5 1/3 innings. He walked one and struck out nine.
Oneil Cruz ripped a solo shot for Pittsburgh, which had nine hits but went just 2-for-14 with runners in scoring position. Pirates starter Roansy Contreras (0-2) struggled with his control, walking six in four innings. He gave up four runs and two hits while fanning three.
Twins 1, Cardinals 1
Christian Vazquez sent an RBI single to right in the bottom of the seventh to allow a Minnesota split squad to post a tie against visiting St. Louis in Fort Myers, Fla.
Dylan Carlson had put the Cardinals ahead with a solo home run in the top half of the frame.
Both starters went four innings in what ended up being a pitchers’ duel. The Twins’ Louie Varland surrendered just one hit and recorded four strikeouts, while St. Louis’ Zack Thompson struck out five and walked one without giving up a hit.
Rays 4, Twins 3
Jacob Lopez allowed just one hit across three strong innings of relief, helping host Tampa Bay beat Minnesota’s split squad in Port Charlotte, Fla.
Lopez (2-0) kept the Twins off the scoreboard, issued one walk and fanned five to collect the win. With the Rays trailing 3-2, Jonathan Aranda smacked a two-run blast in the fifth to drive in what ended up being the winning run.
All of Minnesota’s runs came via home runs — Matt Wallner’s two-run homer and Michael Helman’s solo shot.
Phillies 4, Tigers 1
Philadelphia struck for a three-run eighth to dispatch visiting Detroit in Clearwater, Fla.
The Tigers took a 1-0 lead into the bottom of the sixth, when Whit Merrifield went deep to tie things up. Kody Clemens scored on a wild pitch for the go-ahead run when the eighth rolled around.
Matt Vierling cranked a solo shot against his former team to provide Detroit with its lone run. Phillies starter Aaron Nola kept the Tigers at bay, giving up just one run on two hits in 4 2/3 innings.
Red Sox 9, Yankees 4
Triston Casas blasted a 421-foot home run to highlight Boston’s victory over host New York in Tampa, Fla.
Enmanuel Valdez also homered and Tyler McDonough added a two-run double for the Red Sox, who had five relievers combine to surrender just one run across six innings. One of those relievers, Justin Hagenman (1-0), got the win.
Despite the loss, the Yankees got four innings of one-run ball from starter Carlos Rodon. Anthony Rizzo went 3-for-3 and Giancarlo Stanton went 2-for-3, but fellow New York star Juan Soto was held hitless in three at-bats.
Nationals 2, Marlins 1
Jake Irvin settled for a no-decision despite posting five shutout innings, but visiting Washington still came away with a win against Miami in Jupiter, Fla.
Irvin allowed just one hit and struck out five before turning things over to the bullpen. Derek Law (2-0) ended up getting the win, and Robert Gsellman notched the save.
Luis Garcia Jr.’s fielder’s choice brought the winning run across the plate in the eighth for the Nationals. Josh Bell had an RBI double, one of four hits for the Marlins. Miami starter Eury Perez retired just one batter and left due to a finger injury.
Braves 7, Orioles 5
Visiting Atlanta overcame a 5-0, first-inning deficit to take down Baltimore in Sarasota, Fla.
Kolten Wong headlined the Orioles’ first-inning outburst with a two-run double, but it was all Braves from there. Atlanta put together back-to-back three-run innings in the second and third, later tacking on a run in the ninth on Cal Conley’s RBI single.
Neither starter could find his footing. Cole Irvin was charged with six runs on seven hits in 3 2/3 innings for Baltimore, and the Braves’ Bryce Elder was touched up for five runs and five hits in 4 1/3 innings.
Mets 6, Astros 5
Houston charged back with a four-run top of the ninth, just for Joe Suozzi to hit a walk-off sacrifice fly in the bottom of the frame that sent host New York to its ninth win in 17 spring-training games.
Joey Loperfido cracked a two-run double before Narbe Cruz tied things at 5 with a run-scoring double in the ninth for the Astros. Will Wagner started the rally by driving in C.J. Stubbs with a base hit.
Houston’s Cristian Javier had to settle for a no-decision after allowing just two hits across four shutout innings. He struck out four without issuing a walk.
Cubs 8, Guardians 3
Miguel Amaya led a powerful Chicago offense with a grand slam and the Cubs knocked off host Cleveland in Goodyear, Ariz.
Garrett Cooper and David Bote had solo home runs and Patrick Wisdom added a two-run shot for Chicago, which gave Kyle Hendricks (1-1) his first victory of the spring. Hendricks issued one run and four hits in 3 2/3 innings. He walked two and struck out three.
Tanner Bibee (1-1) was tagged for five runs on seven hits in three innings, fanning two without walking anyone. Jose Ramirez hit a two-run homer for the Guardians.
Royals 3, Angels 2
Kansas City snuffed a ninth-inning rally to edge visiting Los Angeles in Surprise, Ariz.
Trailing 3-1 entering the top of the ninth, the Angels cut their deficit to one when Caleb Hamilton scored on Nelson Rada’s groundout — the first out of the frame. However, Evan Sisk then recorded back-to-back strikeouts to lock down the save.
Maikel Garcia opened the scoring with a leadoff homer in the first for the Royals.
Mariners 8, Dodgers 1
Mitch Garver, Lazaro Montes and Ty France each had two RBIs and Los Angeles’ star offseason acquisitions struggled as Seattle coasted past the host Dodgers in Glendale, Ariz.
Mariners starter Casey Lawrence (1-1) didn’t allow a run across three innings. He didn’t issue a walk, surrendered four hits and fanned one.
Los Angeles right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto (0-1) continued to go throw growing pains in the major leagues, giving up four runs and eight hits in 4 2/3 innings. He did, however, strike out seven, but his ERA now sits at 8.38. Meanwhile, Shohei Ohtani went 0-for-3 with two strikeouts.
Reds 19, Giants 11
Luke Maile went 3-for-4 with five RBIs and two runs and visiting Cincinnati outslugged San Francisco in Scottsdale, Ariz.
Seven Reds drove in at least two runs, with Nick Martini bringing home four. Frankie Montas (1-1) took home the win despite getting knocked around for four runs on five hits in three innings.
Nearly everyone who took the mound for the Giants struggled, with six of San Francisco’s seven pitchers allowing at least one run. Mason Black (1-1), Wil Jensen and Ryan Walker each gave up four, and Ethan Small gave up five.
Rockies 7, Diamondbacks 5
Nolan Jones laced a go-ahead RBI triple in the seventh to give Colorado a win over host Arizona in Scottsdale.
Jones put the Rockies up 6-5 after the Diamondbacks managed to draw even with a four-run sixth. Benny Montgomery provided Colorado with some insurance with a ninth-inning homer.
Arizona starter Merrill Kelly allowed two runs on five hits in three innings without a walk. He struck out four and walked away with a no-decision thanks to the Diamondbacks’ rally.
Padres 12, Athletics 11
San Diego raced out to an 8-0 lead and Tyler Wade later hit a grand slam to help hold off visiting Oakland in Peoria, Ariz.
The Athletics clawed within 8-7 on Will Simpson’s RBI single in the top half of the sixth, but Wade cleared the bases by sending a ball over the right-center-field wall in the home half of the inning to give the Padres some breathing room.
Oakland’s Kyle McCann drove in two runs with a one-out single in the ninth to make it 12-11 before Henry Bolte lined out and Jacob Wilson grounded out to leave the tying run — McCann — stranded on first.
White Sox 15, Brewers 4
On a day it dealt ace right-hander Dylan Cease to the Padres, Chicago exploded for 21 hits in a drubbing of host Milwaukee in Phoenix.
Korey Lee and Mark Payton each drove in three runs for the White Sox, who brought in right-hander Steven Wilson and a trio of prospects in the deal for Cease. Erick Fedde (1-1) went four innings for the win. He gave up three runs and seven hits.
Bryse Wilson (1-1) struggled to miss bats, allowing 10 runs (nine earned) on 12 hits in three innings. Brewer Hicklen had a two-run homer for the Brewers.
–Field Level Media
