Former National League Cy Young winner Sandy Alcantara struck out four and retired all nine batters he faced on Thursday to help the Miami Marlins post a 2-0 win over the Houston Astros at Jupiter, Fla.
Alcantara threw 31 of his 43 pitches for strikes at the outset of a contest in which five Miami pitchers combined for a one-hit shutout and 13 strikeouts. Alcantara was the NL’s top pitcher in 2022 before a major arm injury helped derail him in recent seasons.
Robby Snelling replaced Alcantara and fanned six in three innings. He gave up the lone Houston hit, a single by Zach Cole to start the fourth inning.
Xavier Edwards had an RBI single in the third and Esteury Ruiz delivered a run-scoring single in the sixth.
Twins 15, Yankees 0 (7)
Luke Keaschall went 3-for-4 with a homer and four RBIs and James Outman hit a two-run shot as visiting Minnesota ended New York’s eight-game winning streak at Tampa, Fla., in a game called in the top of the seventh inning due to rain.
Noah Cardenas drove in three runs and Gabriel Gonzalez knocked in two as the Twins racked up 16 hits. The Yankees had just two hits in their 18 at-bats with Jasson Dominguez getting a single in the first and Ryan McMahon doubling in the fifth.
Cardinals 3, Pirates 2
Jimmy Crooks hit a tiebreaking single to score Joshua Baez with two outs in the eighth inning as visiting St. Louis registered the victory over Pittsburgh at Bradenton, Fla.
Nolan Gorman smacked a two-run homer for the Cardinals, who had six hits. Alika Williams hit a two-run blast for the Pirates.
Nationals 7, Mets 4
Trey Lipscomb ripped a tiebreaking two-run double during a four-run sixth inning to help host Washington knock off New York at West Palm Beach, Fla.
Matt Mervis had a run-scoring single and Seaver King had an RBI double later in the inning for the Nationals. For the Mets, Brett Baty hit a two-run homer and prized free agent Bo Bichette went 2-for-3 with one RBI.
Braves 9, Blue Jays 5
Tristin English lined a three-run double and Chris Sale gave up one run in three innings as Atlanta best visiting Toronto at Venice, Fla.
Dominic Smith hit a two-run homer and Drake Baldwin added a two-run single for the Braves. Addison Barger and Cutter Coffey each had two-run doubles for the Blue Jays.
Orioles 4, Rays 3
Will Robertson hit a two-run homer and Jose Barrero drilled a solo shot to lead visiting Baltimore past Tampa Bay at Port Charlotte, Fla.
The blast by Robertson gave the Orioles a 4-0 lead in the sixth. Jose Perez, Gregory Barrios and Nicandro Aybar had run-scoring singles for the Rays.
Phillies 6, Red Sox 2
Jesus Luzardo struck out five and gave up two hits in three scoreless innings to help Philadelphia defeat visiting Boston at Clearwater.
Dylan Moore had a two-run single in a three-run third inning and Christian Cairo added a solo shot in the seventh. Braiden Ward went 2-for-2 with two steals for the Red Sox to raise his spring average to .450 to go with 10 thefts.
Reds 14, Dodgers 13
Rece Hinds clubbed a walk-off three-run homer to left field to hand Cincinnati a win over Los Angeles in Goodyear, Ariz.
Hector Rodriguez hit an RBI double one batter earlier to set the stage for Hinds, who went deep off Jordan Weems to secure the Reds’ comeback win. The Reds went from ahead 6-1 to trailing 11-6 in a span of three innings.
Each team hit five home runs. Former Red Santiago Espinal homered twice and finished with six RBIs (including two sac flies) for the Dodgers, who extended their lead to 13-10 in the top of the ninth on a solo shot by Nick Senzel — another former Red. Elly De La Cruz and Will Benson left the park in the first inning for Cincinnati, and Matt McLain went 3-for-3 with a home run and three runs.
Cubs 8, Diamondbacks 1
Dansby Swanson and Carson Kelly hit two-run home runs as Chicago sailed past Arizona in Mesa, Ariz.
Cubs starter Colin Rea struck out six batters and scattered one run and four hits in his 3 2/3 innings of work. Nico Hoerner added an RBI triple.
Pavin Smith’s home run supplied the only run for the Diamondbacks. Ryne Nelson gave up the Cubs’ first two runs on three hits while fanning three in a 2 2/3-inning start.
Brewers 10, Rockies 8
Garrett Mitchell hammered a leadoff homer and a three-run double to fuel Milwaukee past Colorado in Scottsdale, Ariz.
Jake Bauers contributed a two-run shot and Sal Frelick added two RBIs on a groundout and a single for the Brewers. Seven of Milwaukee’s 10 RBIs came with two outs.
Both teams finished with 12 hits, but the Rockies were less opportunistic (3-for-11 with RISP). Jordan Beck and Ryan Ritter each hit two doubles as Colorado made a late push from down 10-5 that fell short.
Athletics 16, Angels 11
Tyler Soderstrom’s grand slam anchored an eight-run second inning and the A’s fended off Los Angeles in a slugfest in Tempe, Ariz.
Brent Rooker followed Soderstrom’s four-bagger with a solo shot, and Austin Wynns hit a solo homer two batters later. Junior Perez added a two-run homer to make it 13-4 Athletics in the sixth. After the Angels nearly completed a comeback, Clark Elliott crushed a 445-foot bomb to center in the top of the ninth.
Angels starter Alek Manoah issued five walks and yielded five runs in 2 1/3 innings before being replaced by Aneurys Zabala, who gave up the A’s first three homers. Los Angeles’ rally included Denzer Guzman’s solo shot, a three-run double by Sebastian Rivero and a run-scoring triple by Kyren Paris. The Angels outhit the A’s 15-12.
Padres 27, Mariners 6
Freddy Fermin had two hits, including a double, and drove in three runs during San Diego’s 12-run second inning, and eight different players homered as part of a blowout of Seattle in Peoria, Ariz.
Fermin finished 3-for-3 with six RBIs and three runs after he blasted a three-run homer to center in the third that made it 15-2. Jake Cronenworth (3-for-3) and Jackson Merrill (3-for-4) also had standout performances, while Bryce Johnson (three-run shot) and Nick Schnell poured it on with homers in the seventh and eighth.
The Mariners yielded 28 hits, issued five walks and committed a pair of errors to boot. On the plus side, they had four homers of their own, courtesy of Patrick Wisdom, Rob Refsnyder, Carson Taylor and Jared Sundstrom.
–Field Level Media

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