Forrest Wall hit three-run home runs in back-to-back innings for the Atlanta Braves, who held on for a 12-9 win over the host Tampa Bay Rays in spring training action on Thursday in Port Charlotte, Fla.
Wall chased Rays starter Zach Eflin (0-1) with a bomb to right field in the second inning before expanding Atlanta’s lead to 10-0 in the second by taking Naoyuki Uwasawa to left. Wall is up to three home runs this spring.
David Fletcher stole home for the Braves and went 3-for-4 with a double, an RBI single and two runs. Marcell Ozuna added a solo shot and starter Dylan Dodd (1-0) tossed two spotless innings with two strikeouts.
Tampa Bay trailed 12-2 entering the bottom of the sixth but scored the final seven runs of the game before running out of time. Austin Shenton racked up four RBIs on two infield singles.
Braves 5, Twins 0
Spencer Strider fanned five over three scoreless innings as host Atlanta swept its pair of games by blanking Minnesota in North Port, Fla.
Ronald Acuna Jr. hit an RBI double to open the scoring and Michael Harris II drove in runs on singles in the fourth and sixth innings for the Braves. Atlanta held Minnesota to five hits while striking out 11 batters.
Kody Funderburk (0-1) gave up four runs (three earned) on four hits and a walk while striking out two over 1 2/3 innings in relief of starter Chris Paddack, who had two scoreless, hitless innings.
Orioles 9, Pirates 8
Daniel Johnson drove in Errol Robinson to complete a four-run comeback in the bottom of the ninth as host Baltimore edged Pittsburgh in Sarasota, Fla.
With one out, pinch hitter Silas Ardoin hit a two-run triple to begin the charge, and Robinson singled Ardoin home to tie the game before stealing second. Their heroics made a winner out of reliever Tucker Davidson (1-0), who struck out two while giving up a run on two hits over two innings.
Henry Davis, the No. 1 overall draft pick by the Pirates in 2021, hit a three-run homer off Orioles starter Corbin Burnes in the top of the first. Connor Sadzeck (0-1) blew the save.
Red Sox 5, Tigers 2
Rafael Devers hit a solo home run and finished 2-for-3 with two runs as Boston defeated visiting Detroit in Fort Myers, Fla.
Trevor Story added RBIs on a double and a bases-loaded walk, while starter Garrett Whitlock (1-0) fanned six batters over three innings, yielding a run on three hits.
Ryan Kreidler and Trei Cruz drove in the Tigers’ runs. Reese Olson (0-2) allowed two runs on four hits over two innings but struck out three.
Nationals 3, Cardinals 1
Lane Thomas and James Wood hit back-to-back home runs to lead off the game to lift Washington past host St. Louis in Jupiter, Fla.
Thomas’ homer to left and Wood’s shot to center came off Kyle Gibson (0-1), who later allowed a third earned run on a wild pitch. Nationals starter Patrick Corbin (1-1) struck out four and allowed three hits in three scoreless frames.
Cesar Prieto drove in the Cardinals’ only run of the game on a single in the bottom of the ninth. Both teams managed just five hits.
Phillies 5, Blue Jays 0
Trea Turner went 2-for-3 with an RBI and seven Philadelphia pitchers combined to allow just four hits in a shutout of host Toronto in Dunedin, Fla.
Max Castillo and Kolby Allard (1-0) set the tone by each pitching two innings with one hit, one walk and one strikeout. The final five relievers combined to yield just two hits while accounting for five of the Jays batters’ seven strikeouts. Colin Pache added a solo homer for the Phillies.
Jose Berrios started for the Blue Jays and gave up two hits in two scoreless innings. Connor Cooke (0-1) allowed Turner’s go-ahead hit.
–Field Level Media