Johnny DeLuca worked a bases-loaded walk and Tampa Bay scored four runs in the top of the ninth as the Rays defeated the Philadelphia Phillies 5-4 on Thursday in Clearwater, Fla.

Rays prospect Brock Jones hit home runs in his first two at-bats of the spring, tying the game at 4 in the top of the ninth with a two-run shot off of former Tampa Bay reliever Joel Kuhnel, one inning after his solo blast got the Rays on the board.

After Jones’ second homer, Curtis Mead reached base for the fifth time in the game with a single and eventually scored on DeLuca’s walk. Mead went 4-for-4 to raise his batting average to .778 (14-for-18) this spring.

Nick Castellanos and Max Kepler belted back-to-back home runs to right field in the fourth inning for the Philles.

Nationals 12, Cardinals 1

Keibert Ruiz hit two home runs, Nasim Nunez had three of Washington’s 13 hits and right-hander Michael Soroka whiffed six in four innings as the Nationals beat St. Louis in Jupiter, Fla.

Willson Contreras had two hits and St. Louis collected five singles, including Brendan Donovan’s run-scoring hit to center that plated Lars Nootbaar in the fourth inning.

Ruiz went deep in the fourth and followed No. 8 hitter Paul DeJong’s three-run blast in the sixth with a fence-skimmer to right field, giving Washington an 11-1 lead.

Blue Jays 7, Red Sox 4

Bo Bichette singled in his first three at-bats and Toronto got back-to-back home runs from Eric Clement and Dylan Schneider in the second inning to stroll past Boston in Dunedin, Fla.

Bichette went 3-for-4 in the leadoff spot as part of the ongoing experiment with Vlad Guerrero Jr. batting behind him and scored in the first inning. After a single, Bichette came around on Guerrero’s double off of right-hander Cooper Criswell.

Jays right-hander Andrew Bash struck out the side for the save in the ninth inning.

Twins 8, Yankees 4

Matt Wallner hit a three-run homer in the second inning and Minnesota roughed up New York ace Gerrit Cole for six runs in 2 2/3 innings at Tampa, Fla.

Wallner’s blast capped a five-run second inning and Brooks Lee added a solo shot in the third off Cole. Mike Ford and Mickey Gasper (3-for-4, two RBIs) homered off Yankees relievers.

J.C. Escarra hit a long ball in the ninth for New York and was 2-for-3 with three RBIs. Cole was pulled after Wallner’s blast with two outs in the second and then was brought back to pitch the third inning.

Giants 7, White Sox 3

Justin Verlander struck out four over four innings and Matt Chapman smacked a pair of solo homers as San Francisco beat visiting Chicago in Scottsdale, Ariz.

Verlander (1-0) scattered one run and four hits without a walk in his second spring start with his new club. Jung Hoo Lee hit a two-run home run in between Chapman’s blasts in the second and third innings, and Mike Yastrzemski hit a two-run shot in the sixth.

Jonathan Cannon (0-2) allowed the Giants’ first three homers among four hits and struck out three for the White Sox. Adam Hackenberg had a two-run homer in the ninth.

Rangers 8, Padres 2

Marcus Semien and Cameron Cauley went deep while Cory Bradford tossed four innings for Texas in a split-squad win over visiting San Diego in Surprise, Ariz.

Cauley added a run-scoring single after his two-run blast doubled the Rangers’ lead early in the seventh. Bradford (1-0) gave up a pair of home runs while striking out two before Jack Leiter threw three solid innings of relief with three strikeouts.

Eguy Rosario and Jackson Merrill went yard off Bradford for the Padres. Logan Gillaspie (0-1) entered after Dylan Cease worked the first three innings, and he gave up Leody Taveras’ go-ahead double and Kevin Pillar’s RBI single in the fourth.

Dodgers 8, Rangers 4

Freddie Freeman, Will Smith and Tommy Edman all homered as host Los Angeles outgunned Texas in Phoenix.

Dustin May (1-0) struck out three, allowed one hit and walked two in a scoreless three-inning start. After the Dodgers established a 4-0 lead, Nick Ahmed sliced the lead in half with a two-run blast before Edman answered with his own two-run shot.

Michael Conforto went 3-for-3 and scored a pair of runs as Los Angeles out-hit Texas 13-11. Joshua Hatcher provided two hits for the Rangers, and starter David Buchanan (0-1) took the loss after one unearned run in one inning.

Marlins 1, Braves 1

Agustin Ramirez homered in the top of the ninth to pull visiting Miami into a tie with Atlanta in North Port, Fla.

Seven Marlins pitchers combined on a two-hitter, with starter Ryan Weathers striking out three in 2 1/3 innings. Adam Mazur added two scoreless innings, and Anthony Bender and William Kempner each pitched one inning and struck out three.

Eli White hit a solo home run in the seventh for the Braves. Starter Ian Anderson dodged a hit and four walks to pitch 3 1/3 scoreless innings. He struck out four. Angel Perdomo surrendered Ramirez’s home run.

Pirates 9, Orioles 5

Liover Peguero hit a solo home run in the eighth inning and Jason Delay singled home three runs in the ninth as Pittsburgh broke away from a tie to defeat host Baltimore in Sarasota.

Endy Rodriguez added three hits and one RBI for the Pirates. In his second start this spring, reigning National League Rookie of the Year Paul Skenes surrendered two runs on four hits and two walks in three innings. He struck out three. Kyle Nicolas (1-0) pitched a scoreless seventh inning with two strikeouts to pick up the win.

Orioles starter Zach Eflin gave up three runs on three hits and two walks in 2 2/3 innings. He had no strikeouts. Luis Gonzalez (0-1) took the loss after giving up Peguero’s blast, and Rodolfo Martinez yielded three runs on two hits and two walks in the ninth. He fanned one.

Astros 5, Mets 1

Cam Smith had three hits, one run and one RBI and Quincy Hamilton had two hits and drove in a run for Houston, which defeated host New York in Port St. Lucie, Fla.

Astros starter Ryan Gusto (1-0) worked 2 2/3 scoreless innings, giving up a hit and three walks while striking out two. Among the six pitchers who followed, Brandon Walter struck out four in two innings. He allowed two hits and a walk.

Mark Vientos had three of the Mets’ seven hits, and Francisco Lindor singled home a run in the fourth. Mets starter Brandon Sproat (1-1) gave up two runs over two innings, and Edwin Diaz allowed two more in one-third of an inning.

Royals 9, Cubs 3

Cole Ragans struck out six in three shutout innings and Jac Caglianone, the sixth overall pick in the 2024 draft, cracked a two-run homer as Kansas City routed host Chicago in Mesa, Ariz.

Ragans surrendered one hit and didn’t walk a batter. Michael Massey, MJ Melendez and Freddy Fermin had RBI doubles in Kansas City’s three-run fourth inning.

Gage Workman hit a two-run homer in the ninth for the Cubs, and Pete Crow-Armstrong had a double and a single. Starter Ben Brown (1-1) yielded three runs on four hits in 3 2/3 innings. He struck out five with no walks. Chris Flexen was charged with four runs on five hits and a walk in 1 2/3 innings.

Guardians 4, Diamondbacks 0

Bo Naylor homered twice to account for all of his team’s runs as host Cleveland blanked an Arizona split squad in Goodyear, Ariz.

Naylor’s solo shot in the second inning got the Guardians rolling, and in the third, he followed a walk and a hit batter with his second blast of the spring. Starter Tanner Bibee pitched three innings, giving up two hits and a walk with three strikeouts. Doug Nikhazy also worked three innings, fanning six.

The Diamondbacks managed only six hits. Starter Ryne Nelson gave up Naylor’s first bomb and Gerardo Gutierrez, who came on with one out and the bases empty in the third, was charged with the other three runs.

Brewers 10, Athletics 0

Right-hander Jacob Misiorowski led six Milwaukee pitchers in the three-hit shutout of the host Athletics in Mesa, Ariz.

Misiorowski struck out three in three innings and Craig Yoho fanned four in two innings late in the game. Garrett Mitchell drove in three runs with a pair of singles and Ernesto Martinez Jr. added a two-run single.

Athletics starter Jeffrey Springs was charged with three unearned runs in his 2 1/3 innings. He gave up two hits and three walks with two strikeouts.

Angels 5, Mariners 5

A Seattle split squad forged a tie with visiting Los Angeles thanks to a gift run in the ninth in Peoria, Ariz.

With two on and one out and the Angels up 5-4, Seattle’s Luis Suisbel lifted a deep fly ball that left fielder Rhylan Thomas appeared poised to catch in front of the wall. However, center fielder Kyren Paris cut in front of Thomas and appeared to deflect the ball, which fell in front of Thomas.

Jose Suarez — going for a three-inning save — then struck out the next two batters to preserve the tie. He fanned six in his three innings.

Diamondbacks 11, Mariners 4

In a matchup of split-squad teams, Arizona finished with 15 hits and piled up seven runs in the seventh inning to defeat visiting Seattle in Scottsdale, Ariz.

Garrett Hampson had two hits, two RBIs and one run for Arizona, while Ketel Marte added three hits. Diamondbacks starter Merrill Kelly was dinged for two runs on four hits and two walks in 2 1/3 innings. He struck out three.

Mariners starter Jhonathan Diaz was charged with four runs on seven hits and a walk in 2 2/3 innings. He fanned four. Samad Taylor hit a two-run single for Seattle in the second inning, but Arizona came back with four runs in the bottom of the frame.

–Field Level Media