Starters strong as Phillies, Red Sox tie
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CLEARWATER, Fla. — Philadelphia’s Cliff Lee struck out six over six innings in his next-to-last tuneup for opening day, helping the Phillies to a 2-2, 10-inning tie against the Boston Red Sox on Friday.
Scheduled to start the March 31 opener at Texas, Lee allowed two runs, three hits and one walk — just his third in 19 2-3 innings during spring training. The 2008 AL Cy Young Award winner ledf the major leagues last year in fewest walks per nine innings (1.3) and strikeout-to-walk ratio (6.94).
Lee walked Jonny Gomes with two outs in the sixth, then gave up a single to Will Middlebrooks and a two-run double to A.J. Pierzynski that hit off the left-field wall. It was his second straight outing against the Red Sox, following five scoreless innings in Fort Myers on March 15.
Red Sox starter Jon Lester gave up four hits in 5 2-3 scoreless innings, struck out five and walked one.
Tony Gwynn Jr., competing for a spot on the Phillies bench, homered in the eighth against Brayan Villarreal. Jimmy Rollins scored the tying run later in the inning when shortstop Jonathan Herrera allowed Clete Thomas’ soft popup to fall for a single.
Mets 9, Twins 1
FORT MYERS, Fla. — Ricky Nolasco allowed seven straight batters to reach in a seven-run first inning for the New York Mets.
The Twins’ opening-day starter threw 43 pitches in the inning but he was encouraged that he didn’t become fatigued. He was lifted after three innings.
Five of the Mets’ six hits in the inning went for extra bases, including Ike Davis’ two-run double, Kirk Nieuwenhuis’ triple and a two-run homer by No. 8 hitter Taylor Teagarden. Davis went 3 for 3 with two doubles.
Blue Jays 5, Rays 0
PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. — Brett Lawrie hit his first homer of the spring as the Toronto Blue Jays held AL East rival Tampa Bay Rays to just three hits.
Erik Bedard, in his final bid to earn the Rays’ fifth rotation spot, struggled through 5 2-3 innings. He gave up four runs over 94 pitches, walking one and striking out four.
Orioles 8, Braves (ss) 0
SARASOTA, Fla. — Miguel Gonzalez proved to be an excellent substitute for the Baltimore Orioles, tossing six innings of three-hit ball.
Gonzalez, who got the start after Chris Tillman was scratched due to an illness, walked none and struck out five. He came back out for the sixth with his pitch count at 55 and retired the next three batters in 18 pitches.
Tigers 3, Braves (ss) 0
KISSIMMEE, Fla. — Justin Verlander tuned up for his opening-day start by extending his spring training scoreless streak to 13 2-3 innings for the Detroit Tigers.
Coming off core muscle surgery in January, Verlander allowed five hits in five innings, struck out four and walked one, throwing 58 of 84 pitches for strikes. He has one more exhibition outing before the March 31 opener at home against Kansas City.
Marlins 7, Astros 2
KISSIMMEE, Fla. — Garrett Jones homered in the first inning and drove in three runs, leading the Miami Marlins over the Houston Astros.
Cardinals 2 Nationals 0
JUPITER, Fla. — Cuban shortstop Aledmys Diaz went 2 for 2 in his spring training debut for the St. Louis Cardinals, and Adam Wainwright allowed three hits over eight innings.
Tigers acquire SS from Angels
KISSIMMEE, Fla. — The Detroit Tigers have quickly moved to help replace injured shortstop Jose Iglesias, acquiring Andrew Romine from the Los Angeles Angels for left-hander Jose Alvarez.
The AL Central champions dealt for Romine on Friday, a day after they learned Iglesias could miss the season because of stress fractures in both legs.
