MLB SPRING RECAPS

MLB Recaps: Taylor’s bomb pushes Nats over Astros

The Sports Xchange

February 28, 2017 at 11:41 pm.

Feb 28, 2017; West Palm Beach, FL, USA; Washington Nationals starting pitcher Jeremy Guthrie (80) delivers a pitch in the game against the Houston Astros at The Ballpark of the Palm Beaches. Photo Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports

Feb 28, 2017; West Palm Beach, FL, USA; Washington Nationals starting pitcher Jeremy Guthrie (80) delivers a pitch in the game against the Houston Astros at The Ballpark of the Palm Beaches. Photo Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports

Michael Taylor’s ninth-inning homer sent the Washington Nationals to a 4-3 victory over the Houston Astros on Tuesday in an exhibition game in West Palm Beach, Fla. The Nationals had tied the score in the eighth on Jose Lobaton’s RBI single. Derek Norris hit a fourth-inning homer for the Nationals and Carlos Beltran belted a two-run shot in the fourth for the Astros. Jeremy Guthrie started for Washington, pitched two shutout innings and tallied two strikeouts.

Yankees (ss) 5, Red Sox 4

Greg Bird hit two home runs, including a two-run shot off Kyle Kendrick in the first inning, and drove in three runs to lead a Yankees split squad past the Red Sox in Fort Myers, Fla. Pablo Sandoval had a two-run double for the Red Sox in the first.

Yankees (ss) 9, Tigers 5

Masahiro Tanaka pitched two scoreless innings, striking out two, and a Yankees split squad pounded out 12 hits against the Tigers in Tampa, Fla. Brett Gardner, Chase Headley and Gary Sanchez each had two hits for the Yankees. Sanchez hit a two-run homer in the third inning.

Braves 2, Cardinals 0

Atlanta newcomer Brandon Phillips accounted for the only runs with a two-run double in the first inning against St. Louis in Kissimmee, Fla. Freddie Freeman had two of the Braves’ four hits. Cardinals starter Mike Leake pitched three perfect innings, striking out three.

Phillies 7, Orioles 5

Pinch-hitter Brock Stassi hit a three-run homer in the eighth inning and Aaron Altheer followed with a home run to rally Philadelphia past Baltimore in Clearwater, Fla. Tommy Joseph’s two-run homer had given the Phillies a 2-0 lead in the second, but the Orioles responded to go up 5-3 after seven innings.

Blue Jays 12, Pirates 0

Toronto pounded out 16 hits and its pitching held Pittsburgh in check in Bradenton, Fla. The Blue Jays launched four home runs, including three solo shots in the ninth inning off reliever A.J. Schugel. Gregorio Petit, Mike Ohlman and Joshua Palacios each drove in two runs for Toronto.

Mets 3, Marlins 1

Travis d’Arnaud and T.J. Rivera hit solo home runs in the second inning and New York went on to beat Miami in Jupiter, Fla. Brandon Nimmo and Gavin Cecchini had two hits each for the Mets. The Marlins managed only four hits against Mets pitching.

Rays 19, Twins 0

Tampa Bay completely demolished Minnesota in Port Charlotte, Fla. The Rays banged out 23 hits and held the Twins to three. A five-run second and an eight-run third staked the Rays to a 13-0 lead. Tampa Bay hit five homers. One those was by Rickie Weeks Jr., who collected three hits and three RBIs. Minnesota’s Hector Santiago and Tyler Duffey combined to give up 10 earned runs.

Mariners 8, White Sox 1

Seattle scored seven runs in the first two innings and coasted past Chicago in Glendale, Ariz. Mitch Haninger had two hits and drove in three runs, and Guillermo Heredia and Jean Segura each had two hits and scored twice for the Mariners. Seattle starter Felix Hernandez gave up three hits and one run in two innings.

Royals 6, Brewers 3

Peter O’Brien hit a two-run homer in the eighth inning and Brayan Pena also drove in two runs to lead Kansas City past Milwaukee in Phoenix. Keon Broxton accounted for two of the Brewers’ 10 hits.

Athletics 5, Indians 4

Rangel Ravelo hit a tiebreaking homer in the eighth inning off James Russell to lift Oakland past Cleveland in Mesa, Ariz. Marcus Semien had a two-run homer and Travor Plouffe a solo shot for the Athletics.

Diamondbacks 8, Rangers 4

Arizona collected 13 hits and was helped by three Texas errors in Surprise, Ariz. Daniel Descalso hit a solo homer and Socrates Brito’s two hits included a double for the Diamondbacks.

Angels 7, Cubs 5

C.J. Cron hit a two-run homer in the first inning, Los Angeles scored four times in the sixth and Michael Hermisillo added a homer in the ninth against Chicago in Mesa, Ariz. Addison Russell blasted a three-run homer in the fourth for the Cubs.

White Sox 10, Reds 9

Cincinnati scored four runs in the ninth inning, but its rally fell short against Chicago in Goodyear, Ariz. Leury Garcia had a big day at the plate for the White Sox with three hits and four RBIs. Adam Duvall and Ryan Raburn drove in two runs each for the Reds.

Padres 9, Giants 5

Jabari Blash hit a three-run homer in the fourth inning and drove in a game-high five runs to lead San Diego past San Francisco in Peoria, Ariz. The Padres scored twice in the second against Giants starter Madison Bumgarner. Joe Panik had two hits and scored two runs for San Francisco.

Dodgers 14, Rockies 3

Andre Ethier, O’Koyea Dickson and Brett Eigner homer and Los Angeles collected 14 hits against Colorado pitching in Maricopa County, Ariz. Henry Ramos drove in three runs and Tyler Holt added two hits for the Dodgers. Raimel had two of the Rockies’ 10 hits.

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