Orlando Arcia hit a home run and right-hander Charlie Morton went five strong innings as the Atlanta Braves earned a 5-2 victory Thursday over the visiting New York Yankees at North Port, Fla.
The 40-year-old Morton, who is heading into his 17th major league season, gave up two runs on four hits with three walks and three strikeouts as he improved to 2-1 on the spring.
Marcell Ozuna had a hit in three at-bats for the Braves to raise his spring average to .341, but Matt Olsen went 0-for-3 with three strikeouts as his batting average dropped to .171.
Austin Wells had two hits for the Yankees, including an RBI single in the fifth inning for a 2-1 lead before the Braves scored four times the rest of the way.
Yankees left-hander Nestor Cortes (0-2) gave up three runs on six hits over four-plus innings with two walks and three strikeouts. Cortes gave up Arcia’s home run in the fifth inning then allowed a triple to Jarred Kelenic and a single to Ronald Acuna Jr. to end his day.
Astros 9, Cardinals 1
Yordan Alvarez and Joey Loperfido each drove in two runs and visiting Houston used a five-run six inning to take control in the victory over St. Louis at Jupiter, Fla.
Jeremy Pena finished 3-for-5 with an RBI and two runs, while Alvarez and Alex Bregman each added two hits for the Astros. Left-hander J.P. France (1-0) gave up four walks over 3 1/3 innings, allowing one run with five strikeouts.
Cardinals left-hander Zack Thompson (1-2) gave up two runs on six hits over four innings with two walks and two strikeouts. St. Louis right-hander Josh James was roughed up for five runs on two hits and three walks while recording just one out.
Nationals 9, Twins 8
Lane Thomas and James Wood each hit a home run out of the No. 2 spot in the order and Washington held on for the victory over visiting Minnesota at West Palm Beach, Fla., after taking a five-run lead through three innings.
Nationals starter Trevor Williams allowed five runs on eight hits over five innings with four strikeouts.
Alex Kirilloff, Kyle Farmer and Jake Rucker each had two hits for the Twins. Minnesota right-hander Cole Sands gave up four runs on three hits and two walks in two innings with a strikeout.
Rays 6, Phillies 5
Curtis Mead delivered a go-ahead RBI double in the ninth inning as the visiting Rays scored three runs in the final two innings to edge the Phillies at Clearwater, Fla.
Yandy Diaz had a home run among his two hits for Tampa Bay and Isaac Paredes also had two hits. Rays right-hander Ryan Pepiot, acquired in a trade this offseason with the Los Angeles Dodgers, gave up one run on one hit over five innings with six strikeouts.
Kody Clemens hit a home run for the Phillies, who took a 5-3 lead after a four-run sixth inning. Philadelphia left-hander Christopher Sanchez gave up three runs on six hits over three innings with a walk and two strikeouts.
Mets 10, Tigers 5
Harrison Bader, Brett Baty and Zack Short each hit home runs as visiting New York managed to put up double-digit runs on just seven hits by working seven walks in the victory over Detroit at Lakeland, Fla.
Short hit a grand slam in a seven-run eighth inning for the Mets after right-handed starter Dominic Hamel gave up four runs on six hits over three innings with one walk and two strikeouts.
Parker Meadows, Colt Keith, Riley Greene and Kerry Carpenter each hit solo home runs for the Tigers, while starter Matt Manning gave up three runs (one earned) on three hits over four innings with three walks and four strikeouts.
Guardians 8, Royals 5
Starter Carlos Carrasco turned in a solid outing and benefitted from plenty of support as host Cleveland defeated visiting Kansas City in Goodyear, Ariz.
Carrasco (1-0) limited the Royals to three runs (one earned) over six innings of two-hit ball, striking out four and walking one. Jose Ramirez went deep and Steven Kwan and Josh Naylor each notched two RBIs.
Charged with four runs on seven hits over 3 2/3 innings, starter Alec Marsh (0-2) took the loss for the Royals, who were held to just six hits. Nelson Velazquez and John Rave each delivered an RBI single.
Cubs 5, Rockies 2
Cole Roederer blasted a tiebreaking, three-run homer in the top of the ninth inning, lifting visiting Chicago over Colorado in Scottsdale, Ariz.
Six Cubs pitchers held the Rockies to six hits, with reliever Sam McWilliams (1-0) picking up the win with two scoreless innings. Dominic Smith and Liam Spence notched RBI hits.
Colorado starter Ryan Feltner delivered a strong outing, yielding just one run on four hits over 5 2/3 innings with six strikeouts and one walk. Charlie Blackmon provided the Rockies’ offense with a two-run shot.
White Sox 3, Royals 3
Chicago’s Paul DeJong and Andrew Benintendi notched RBI singles in the seventh, forging a tie with host Kansas City in Surprise, Ariz.
Five White Sox relievers held the Royals scoreless after starter Garrett Crochet was charged with three runs on five hits over 3 2/3 innings.
Crochet’s counterpart, Andrew Hoffmann fared better, limiting the White Sox to one run and five hits in 2 2/3 innings. Nick Pratto went 2-for-4 with a solo homer and two RBIs.
Giants 7, Brewers 6
Marco Luciano homered and drove in four runs to lead visiting San Francisco past Milwaukee in Phoenix.
Luciano and Luis Matos each had two hits for San Francisco. Landen Roupp (1-0) struck out five in three innings of scoreless, hitless ball.
Brewers starter Robert Gasser (0-1) was tagged for six runs on seven hits in 3 1/3 innings.
Mariners 7, Reds 6
Cal Raleigh hit a two-run homer and Ryan Bliss added a three-run shot as host Seattle defeated Cincinnati in Peoria, Ariz.
Collin Snider (1-0) retired all three batters he faced, striking out one, for the win.
Mike Ford homered twice for the Reds, who also got long balls from Spencer Steer and Will Benson.
–Field Level Media
