PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — New York Mets captain David Wright was 0 for 3 in his spring training debut and St. Louis Cardinals prospect Oscar Taveras went 1 for 3 with a run in his first appearance of the exhibition season, a 5-5 tie Friday.
PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — New York Mets captain David Wright was 0 for 3 in his spring training debut and St. Louis Cardinals prospect Oscar Taveras went 1 for 3 with a run in his first appearance of the exhibition season, a 5-5 tie Friday.
Matt Holliday and Kolten Wong each had three hits and drove in two runs. Holliday was 3 for 3 and Wong was 3 for 4 with a double and stolen base.
Cardinals starter Carlos Martinez allowed one hit in three scoreless innings.
Mets starter Daisuke Matsuzaka gave up two runs and six hits in two innings and struck out two. John Lannan, competing with Matsuzaka to become New York’s fifth starter, allowed two runs and three hits in two innings.
New York’s Anthony Recker hit an opposite-field homer to right in the seventh against Alexander Reyes.
Marlins 7
Cardinals (ss) 3
JUPITER, Fla. — Henderson Alvarez retired all nine batters he faced in his first start since pitching a no-hitter on the final day last season, leading the Miami Marlins to a 7-3 victory over a Cardinals split-squad Friday.
Alvarez was slowed this spring by a shin infection. He hasn’t allowed a run since Sept. 24 or a hit in 12 consecutive innings.
“I felt good,” said Alvarez, who only needed 26 pitches. “I was just trying to keep the ball in the zone, let the batters swing, just throw strikes.”
Cardinals ace Adam Wainwright was equally efficient in his first start of spring training. Wainwright faced the minimum in two innings while striking out one. The right-hander needed only 25 pitches to get through the first two innings.
“I didn’t go out there and try to blow anything out,” Wainwright said. “I wanted to be very under control and tried to finish square — and for the most part I did.”
Wainwright was slated to make his first appearance Thursday at Minnesota, but that game was rained out. He will pitch again Tuesday, working on three days’ rest, to get him back on track to start opening day.
The Marlins roughed up Lance Lynn for five runs in a third inning that featured doubles from Donovan Solano, Adeiny Hechavarria’s and Giancarlo Stanton.
Matt Adams hit his first homer of the spring, a drive that hit the Cardinals’ clubhouse beyond the center field wall on the fly.
Giants 5, Royals 0
SURPRISE, Ariz. — Tim Lincecum pitched three strong innings and Hunter Pence homered as the San Francisco Giants beat the Kansas City Royals 5-0.
The two-time NL Cy Young Award winner is coming off his third straight losing season. The Giants re-signed him to a two-year, $35 million contract in the offseason. Lincecum allowed two hits in the first inning, including a leadoff double to Norichika Aoki, who was out trying to steal third.
Pence hit his first home run to center in the sixth off Wade Davis.
Tony Abreu, who played for the Royals in 2012, singled home Gregor Blanco in the third inning for the Giants. Joaquin Arias’ sacrifice fly in the second brought home Michael Morse with the first run.
Giants non-roster invitee Mark Minicozzi, who played for independent league teams from 2009-11, homered off Jon Rauch in the two-run ninth.
Red Sox 4
Braves 1
FORT MYERS, Fla. — David Ortiz ended an 0-for-8 spring training start with a double in the fourth inning as the Boston Red Sox beat the Atlanta Braves 4-1.
Ortiz had struck out four times and walked once before his first hit of the exhibition season.
Left-hander Felix Doubront, making his second start, allowed two hits in four scoreless innings with three strikeouts.
Alex Wood, a left-hander trying to become Atlanta’s fifth starter, gave up two hits with two strikeouts in three scoreless innings.
Jason Heyward hit his second home run of spring training, a sixth-inning drive against Junichi Tazawa.
A three-run Boston rally off right-hander Cody Martin in the seventh gave the Red Sox a 4-1 win.
Rockies 7 Angels (ss) 2
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Troy Tulowitzki hit two long home runs, Jorge De La Rosa improved in his second start and the Colorado Rockies beat a Los Angeles Angels’ split squad 7-2 Friday.
Tulowitzki hit the first pitch he saw from Joe Blanton halfway up the sloping lawn beyond left field in the first inning. His two-run homer to left in the third went farther, bouncing onto the concourse.
Mike McKenry added a solo homer and Josh Rutledge a two-run drive off Blanton, who gave up seven runs and eight hits before he was lifted with two outs in the fourth.
De La Rosa allowed one run and three hits in three innings. He gave up four runs and didn’t get out of the second inning in his first start.
Nationals 8, Astros 5
VIERA, Fla. — Bryce Harper and Wilson Ramos both hit mammoth home runs in the first inning, and the Washington Nationals beat the Houston Astros 8-5.
Harper, who said he has felt no pain in his surgically-repaired left knee this spring, hit a two-run homer off Astros starter Brett Oberholtzer in the first inning.
“I’ve felt great,” Harper said. “I’ve had zero pain on it. I’ve been able to do everything I’ve wanted to do. It’s felt really good. I’m excited about that.”
That it came against a left-hander is a good sign for the lefty swinging Harper, who struggled against them last year. He has a career .229 average against left-handers as opposed to a .292 mark against righties.
“I hit lefties pretty good,” Harper said. “I always have. Last year, my knee killed me. I couldn’t stay back on lefties. I was killing myself on that. It’s going to be a little bit different this year.”
Ramos followed three batters later with a three-run drive that went over 400 feet and might have gone out of Space Coast Stadium. The wind was blowing at 16 mph but Ramos didn’t need help with this shot.
“I heard it (but) I couldn’t even see it,” Nationals starting pitcher Tanner Roark said. “I saw a guy in the beer deck look behind him and I went, ‘Wow.’”
Nationals right-hander Doug Fister was scratched from his scheduled start because of inflammation in his elbow. Manager Matt Williams says he’ll “push him (back) a couple of days, just to make sure; get it out of there.”
Washington closer Rafael Soriano saw his first action of the spring and gave up two runs on three hits in one inning.
First baseman Marc Krauss went 3 for 4 with a home run for the Astros. Carlos Corporan had two RBIs.
Twins 6, Pirates 5
BRADENTON, Fla. — Andrew McCutchen homered, doubled and singled for the Pittsburgh Pirates in a 6-5 loss to the Minnesota Twins.
McCutchen went 3 for 3, scored twice and drove in two runs. The reigning NL MVP is 8 for 11 in four games this spring.
“No big deal,” he said. “They don’t count in the spring.”
McCutchen’s two-run homer was part of a five-run barrage against Minnesota starter Vance Worley in 1 2-3 innings.
In the first inning, the Pirates sent nine batters to the plate and scored three times. McCutchen doubled and scored on Travis Snider’s two-run single.
Worley was replaced by Kris Johnson after serving up McCutchen’s homer in the second. Worley faced 12 batters, but recorded only four outs. The right-hander allowed five hits.
Pirates left-hander Wandy Rodriguez pitched two scoreless innings. He allowed two hits and struck out two.
Orioles 15, Phillies 4
SARASOTA, Fla. — Ubaldo Jimenez pitched two perfect innings in his debut with the Baltimore Orioles in their 15-4 win over the Philadelphia Phillies.
Jimenez, who signed a four-year, $50 million contract with the Orioles on Feb. 19, struck out three.
“I feel good, but I know I’m not 100 percent like most of the pitchers are right now. They’re probably a week ahead of me, but I feel fine. I’m getting there. I’ve been doing some routines that they want me to do in order to get ready for the season, and that’s what I’m doing,” Jimenez said.
Nick Markakis was 4 for 4, including two doubles and a triple. Matt Wieters, J.J. Hardy, Ryan Flaherty and Jemile Weeks each drove in two runs. Hardy had three hits.
A.J. Burnett allowed six runs on seven hits in three innings for the Phillies, who are now 1-8-1 in spring training. Miguel Alfredo Gonzalez gave up four runs in one inning.
“We’ve got some work to do,” Philadelphia manager Ryne Sandberg said. “Just a lot of little things. The wind blowing, players unaware of it, bobbles on the infield, cutoff throws coming in — yeah, we’ve got a lot of work to do.”
Baltimore’s Miguel Gonzalez sustained a bruised left leg when he was hit by a line drive from Cameron Rupp in the fifth.