The Baltimore Orioles jumped out to an eight-run lead after two innings and held off the visiting Tampa Bay Rays 12-8 in spring training action on Tuesday in Sarasota, Fla.
Jordan Westburg capped Baltimore’s five-run first with a three-run homer. Adley Rutschman went 3-for-4 with two RBIs and Ramon Urias and Daniel Johnson both went deep as part of a 15-hit attack. Starter Tyler Wells (2-0) gave up one run over four innings.
Taj Bradley was slated to start for Tampa Bay but felt tightness in his chest muscle and was sent for an MRI. Erasmo Ramirez (0-2) started and gave up eight runs on eight hits in three innings. Rob Brantly homered twice and Randy Arozarena hit his first spring dinger for the Rays.
Cardinals 8, Red Sox 6
Alec Burleson and Ivan Herrera went deep and drove in two runs apiece as visiting St. Louis roughed up Boston starter Brayan Bello in Fort Myers, Fla.
Fresh off signing a six-year, $55 million deal last week, Bello (0-1) was charged with four runs on six hits over three innings. Trevor Story hit his first homer of the spring and went 3-for-3 with three RBIs. Ceddanne Rafaela also homered for the Red Sox.
Cardinals starter Matthew Liberatore (2-0) had a rough outing, giving up five runs on seven hits in four innings, but struck out five and picked up the win.
Blue Jays 8, Yankees 1
Justin Tuner went 3-for-3 with two RBIs as Toronto collected 12 hits and cruised over visiting New York in Dunedin, Fla.
Santiago Espinal and Daulton Varsho each added two RBIs to back starter Jose Berrios (1-0), who tossed 3 1/3 innings of one-run ball.
Jose Rojas went 2-for-3 with an RBI single for the Yankees. Reliever Duane Underwood Jr. (0-1) was saddled with the loss, yielding two runs (one earned) on three hits in 1 1/3 innings.
Astros 9, Marlins 1
Sparked by a six-run outburst in the fourth inning, Houston rolled to victory over host Miami in Jupiter, Fla.
In the fourth, Grae Kessinger and Yordan Alvarez delivered two-run hits, while Jose Altuve and Alex Bregman notched RBIs. Starter Hunter Brown (2-0) gave up five hits in 3 2/3 innings but struck out four and allowed only an unearned run.
Marlins starter Jesus Luzardo (0-2) had a tough outing, giving up three runs on five hits over 3 1/3 innings with four strikeouts.
Pirates 5, Braves 1
Oneil Cruz led off the bottom of the first inning with his fourth spring homer, sparking host Pittsburgh to a win over Atlanta in Bradenton, Fla.
Billy McKinney capped the Pirates’ four-run sixth with a three-run shot after Jack Suwinski went deep earlier in the inning. Six pitchers limited the Braves to just two hits, with Josh Fleming (1-0) picking up the win after two scoreless innings of relief.
Joe Jimenez (0-1) took the loss for the Braves, though he gave up just one run in 1 1/3 innings. Jarred Kelenic had Atlanta’s lone RBI and stole a base.
Tigers 1, Twins 0
In a pitchers’ duel, Detroit’s Kenta Maeda tossed four scoreless innings in a win over visiting Minnesota in Lakeland, Fla.
Maeda (1-1) gave up just one hit, walked two and struck out seven, outdueling the Twins’ Joe Ryan (1-1), who allowed the game’s only run over his four innings. Ryan yielded three hits and struck out six with no walks.
Javier Baez’s second-inning sacrifice fly plated Kerry Carpenter, who had tripled to lead off the inning.
–Field Level Media