In a matchup of left-handed Opening Day starters, Chris Sale got the better of Garrett Crochet as the visiting Atlanta Braves defeated the Boston Red Sox, 6-1, on Saturday afternoon in Fort Myers, Fla.
Sale allowed just one run on two hits over six innings. He struck out four and walked one in an 86-pitch outing to lower his spring ERA to 2.75. Austin Riley went 3-for-4 with a home run, two doubles and four RBIs. Matt Olson also went 3-for-4 with two runs and an RBI.
Crochet’s spring ERA ballooned to 7.36 as he permitted six earned runs on six hits and two walks in 5 1/3 innings. He struck out three in an 89-pitch effort. Boston managed only four singles and its lone run scored in the second on Isiah Kiner-Falefa’s RBI groundout.
Rays 3, Twins 2
Chandler Simpson hit a two-out, two-run homer in the bottom of the seventh to rally Tampa Bay past Minnesota in Port Charlotte, Fla.
All five runs were scored via the long ball. Jonathan Aranda opened the scoring with a solo shot in the third, but Minnesota’s Matt Wallner and Ryan Jeffers countered with solo homers in the fourth and sixth, respectively.
Minor leaguer Jackson Baumeister started for Tampa Bay and allowed Wallner’s home run, but only one additional hit in 4 1/3 innings. Probable Twins Opening Day starter Joe Ryan finished with a 1.50 spring ERA as he permitted only Aranda’s long ball, along with two other hits and a walk, while fanning two in five innings.
Nationals 3, Mets (ss) 1
Joey Wiemer hit a two-run homer with one out in the bottom of the ninth to give Washington a walk-off win over New York’s split squad in Palm Beach, Fla.
After seven innings of shutout baseball by both staffs, the Mets’ Mark Vientos homered to put his side on top in the top of the eighth. Kervin Pichardo knotted the score with an RBI double in the bottom of the inning, which set up Wiemer’s heroics.
New York minor-leaguers Joander Suarez (4 innings) and William Watson (3 1/3 innings) held the Nationals scoreless through 7 1/3 innings. Washington starter Cade Cavalli, who threw 14 scoreless innings this spring, went five innings and allowed three hits. He is expected to start Opening Day versus the Cubs in Chicago.
Cardinals 7, Marlins 4
The first six Cardinals reached base in a four-run first inning as host St. Louis held off Miami in Jupiter, Fla.
Alec Burleson drove in the first two runs with a double and went 2-for-4 in the game. Thomas Saggese (2-for-3) homered in the sixth to extend the Cards’ lead to 6-4. Five St. Louis relievers held the Marlins scoreless over the final five innings.
Griffin Conine (2-for-3) hit a two-run homer and Connor Norby followed with a solo blast in the fourth inning to trim a 5-0 deficit to 5-4. Starter Janson Junk’s struggles continued as he allowed five runs (four earned) on seven hits and one walk in three innings. He concluded spring with a 10.13 ERA.
Tigers 3, Yankees 1
Prominent offseason acquisition Framber Valdez continued to look the part as he allowed one run and scattered seven hits and two walks over 6 1/3 innings as host Detroit prevailed over New York in Lakeland, Fla.
Valdez lowered his spring training ERA to 0.98 in 18 1/3 innings. The only run he allowed Saturday occurred on Austin Wells’ sacrifice bunt that gave the Yankees a 1-0 lead in the fourth.
The Tigers scratched out single runs in the fifth, sixth and seventh innings. Javier Baez went 2-for-3 with a run scored. New York starter Cam Schlittler was held to 62 pitches and threw 3 2/3 scoreless innings. He allowed two hits and one walk while striking out one.
Pirates 8, Blue Jays 3
In a battle between Opening Day starters, Pittsburgh’s Paul Skenes outdueled Toronto’s Kevin Gausman in Bradenton, Fla.
Oneill Cruz and Spencer Horwitz homered as Cruz (2-for-4) scored twice, drove in two runs stole his fifth base of the spring and pushed his batting average to .417. New infielder Brandon Lowe went 3-for-4. Skenes threw 36 of 56 pitches for strikes as he allowed one hit and three walks while fanning five over four innings.
Gausman pitched five innings and allowed four runs (three earned) and nine baserunners (six hits, three walks) while fanning two in five innings. Andres Gimenez went 2-for-3 with a run scored.
Astros 7, Mets (ss) 5
Houston scored four times in the top of the eighth to rally past New York in Port St. Lucie, Fla.
Christian Walker delivered the key blow as he blasted a three-run homer after the first two Astros reached base in the inning. Yainer Diaz (2 runs) and Nick Allen (2 RBIs) each had two hits in a nine-hit Houston attack. Starter Mike Burrows, pitching against his old team, allowed three runs and seven hits in 5 1/3 innings and finished the spring with a 1.50 ERA.
New Mets second baseman Marcus Semien cleared the bags with a three-run double in the sixth to give his side a 4-3 lead. Journeyman Aaron Salgado, on his sixth team since 2017, went 3-for-3 with a triple, a run and an RBI.
Orioles 10, Phillies 8
Jhonkensy Noel hit a grand slam to snap a 4-4 tie in the bottom of the sixth as Baltimore prevailed over Philadelphia in its Florida finale in Sarasota, Fla.
After Philadelphia sliced its 8-4 deficit in half in the top of the seventh, minor-leaguer Victor Figueroa added a two-run single. Swingman Tyler Wells struck out the side in the sixth to pick up the win.
Bryson Stott and Bryan De La Cruz each contributed a pair of hits for the Phillies and Liover Peguero drove in a pair with a seventh-inning double.
