Mike Yastrzemski homered twice and Ronald Acuna Jr. hit a grand slam to power the Atlanta Braves to a 15-8 spring-training smashing of the Boston Red Sox on Friday in North Port, Fla.
Yastrzemski, whose grandfather Carl is a Hall of Famer who played his entire career with the Red Sox, went yard in the second and fourth innings to give him three home runs in four games this spring. Acuna and Matt Olson homered to cap off an 11-run third inning that staked Atlanta to a 13-3 lead.
It wasn’t the best start for Braves pitcher Chris Sale, who was tagged for three runs and three hits in 2 2/3 innings, but he was better than Red Sox starter Brayan Bello, who allowed five runs in two innings.
Jarren Duran, Ceddanne Rafaela, Marcelo Mayer, Nathan Hickey and Tyler McDonough all homered for Boston.
Yankees 17, Twins 5
Spencer Jones was one of five New York players to hit a homer in a runaway win over Minnesota in Fort Myers, Fla.
Jones finished with three RBIs and two runs, hitting his third home run of spring. The Yankees jumped out to an 8-1 lead in the second inning on homers from Jasson Dominguez and J.C. Escarra. Luis Gil allowed one run over 2 1/3 innings to record the victory.
Eric Wagaman and Trevor Larnach homered for Minnesota, which scored four runs in the final two innings.
Pirates 6, Orioles 1
Shane Baz dazzled in his Baltimore debut but Pittsburgh rallied late for a win in Bradenton, Fla.
Baz, who was acquired from Tampa Bay for four prospects and the No. 33 pick in this year’s draft in December, allowed no hits over 2 1/3 innings, striking out four and walking two.
Pirates starter Mitch Keller also performed well, striking out four over 2 1/3 scoreless innings, and Termarr Johnson had a two-run single to wrap up a tiebreaking five-run seventh.
Rays 6, Blue Jays 5
Cedric Mullins had a pair of early RBIs for Tampa Bay, which overcame a late charge to beat Toronto in Port Charlotte, Fla.
Mullins, a career Oriole who signed with Tampa Bay this offseason, hit his unofficial first homer as a Ray in the third inning. Junior Caminero also had a first-inning two-run single, and Ryan Vilade hit a game-winning sacrifice fly in the eighth inning.
The Blue Jays, using a lineup of reserve players as the road team, rallied with a four-run eighth to tie the game at 5. Eric Lauer struggled in his second spring start, allowing three runs in 1 2/3 innings.
Mets 14, Cardinals 3
MJ Melendez homered in consecutive innings to spark New York’s blowout win over St. Louis in Jupiter, Fla.
Melendez, who spent his first four seasons with the Royals, finished with four RBIs. A.J. Ewing also homered, scored two runs and had three RBIs for the Mets, who got three shutout innings from Freddy Peralta.
Quinn Mathews, the Cardinals’ No. 6 prospect in the 2025 MLB Pipeline rankings, allowed just one run on one hit over 2 2/3 innings in his start. St. Louis’ No. 1 prospect, shortstop JJ Wetherholt, homered for his first spring hit.
Phillies (ss) 10, Marlins 2
Trea Turner and Adolis Garcia each accounted for two of Philadelphia’s 14 hits in the split squad’s defeat of Miami in Clearwater, Fla.
The Phillies managed just one homer but had six doubles, getting hits from 10 different players and jumping ahead 4-0 in the first to give veteran Aaron Nola (one earned run with two strikeouts over two innings) some cushion for his first start.
Robby Snelling, Miami’s No. 4 prospect in last year’s rankings, was hit hard, allowing five runs (four earned) on five hits over 1 1/3 innings. The Marlins got RBI singles from Heriberto Hernandez and Griffin Conine.
Tigers 16, Phillies (ss) 8
Detroit plated 11 runs in the sixth inning to pull away from Philadelphia in Lakeland, Fla.
Replacement catcher Tomas Nido had two hits and three RBIs during the extended inning after Javier Baez delivered his first spring homer in the fourth. Jack Flaherty struck out four and allowed one run on one hit over two innings in his second start.
Christian Cairo led the Phillies with two hits and two RBIs. They were 3-of-12 with runners in scoring position, while the Tigers were 9-of-16.
Angels 4, Reds 3
Logan O’Hoppe hit a two-run homer and Denzer Guzman had an RBI double as Los Angeles knocked off host Cincinnati in Goodyear, Ariz.
Oswald Peraza also brought home a run on a ground rule double, as the Angels won despite getting out-hit 7-6. Brent Suter let up three hits and one run in his two-inning start.
Jose Trevino went 2-for-2 with an RBI for Cincinnati, and a Blake Dunn solo shot in the ninth inning wasn’t enough to overcome the deficit. Rhett Lowder, the seventh overall selection in the 2023 draft, pitched three shutout innings with just as many strikeouts.
White Sox (ss) 3, Rangers 1
LaMonte Wade Jr. slammed a two-run bomb that propelled the Chicago’s split squad over visiting Texas in Glendale, Ariz.
Miguel Vargas highlighted Chicago’s dugout going 2-for-3 at the plate, and Darren Baker’s one-run single produced the White Sox’s other score. Veteran pitcher Erick Fedde produced a hitless two-inning start with two strikeouts, while Mike Vasil fanned four through three innings of relief, where he allowed three hits and one run.
Cameron Cauley chalked up the only score for Texas on a double in the fourth inning, but the Rangers went silent afterwards. MacKenzie Gore allowed three hits but no runs in his three innings. Alexis Diaz immediately followed, and surrendered all three runs through 2/3 of an inning.
Rockies 3, Padres 2
Zac Veen hit his second walk-off home run of spring training as Colorado defeated visiting San Diego in Scottsdale, Ariz.
Veen, 24, went viral over the offseason for reportedly putting on 43 pounds to add more power to his swing, and stories about how he overcame substance abuse made him an easy figure to root for. Hunter Goodman tacked on a solo shot of his own. Colorado struck out 12 batters, which began with Tanner Gordon producing a scoreless two innings.
A Manny Machado sacrifice fly and a Samad Taylor one-run single were the only scores from the Padres. Randy Vasquez pitched another scoreless start, as he went 2 2/3 hitless innings with four strikeouts.
Brewers 5, White Sox (ss) 2
Luis Rengifo’s two RBIs, which included a solo home run, hoisted Milwaukee over visiting Chicago in Phoenix.
Brice Turang, Jackson Chourio and William Contreras each drove in one run, while Brewers starter Brandon Sproat went just 1 1/3 innings, where he tallied three strikeouts and three hits.
Edgar Quero produced both scores for Chicago with a single and a double, as the White Sox were struck out 12 times. Sean Burke allowed two runs and tallied two strikeouts in his three-inning start.
Cubs 8, Guardians 6
Three RBIs by Dansby Swanson lifted host Chicago over Cleveland in Mesa, Ariz.
Swanson began with a two-run deep shot in the first, and plated the next run of the game in the form of an RBI single in the sixth. Scott Kingery hit a solo home run, and a pair of two-run hits by Leonel Espinoza and Jefferson Rojas was enough to hold off a late comeback attempt. Newcomer Edward Cabrera made his first appearance on the mound for the Cubs, where he pitched a perfect two innings and fanned three batters.
A seventh-inning breakout saw Maick Collado, Jonah Advincula and Bo Naylor create five runs. A run by Joe Lampe brought Cleveland within two in the ninth inning. Logan Allen pitched the first three innings, yielding three hits and two runs.
Royals 7, Athletics 6
Bobby Witt Jr. went 2-for-2 with a three-run homer as Kansas City overcame the visiting Athletics in Surprise, Ariz.
Josh Rojas and Nick Loftin each recorded two RBIs, and Loftin’s was the eventual game-winning two-run double in the seventh inning. Bailey Falter made his second start of spring training, allowing two runs and three hits over 1 2/3 innings.
Max Muncy and Jacob Wilson went yard for the A’s, who had a strong day at the plate despite the loss (12-for-37). Jeffrey Springs started the matchup for the A’s, allowing three hits and four runs in 1 2/3 frames.
Giants 12, Dodgers 4
Victor Bericoto hit a three-run home run, one of 14 hits from host San Francisco as it dominated Los Angeles in Scottsdale, Ariz.
Bericoto, Patrick Bailey, Daniel Susac, Heliot Ramos and Jared Oliva (four RBIs) all recorded multiple hits for the Giants. Willy Adames went yard as well. Robbie Ray started and allowed a hit and run apiece in two innings.
James Tibbs III and Santiago Espinal paired one-run alternating scores to tie the game 2-2 in the third inning. Chris Newell hit a garbage-time two-run home run in the ninth. Yoshinobu Yamamoto had an uncharacteristic three-inning start, where he allowed five hits and two runs alongside four strikeouts.
Astros 4, Nationals 4
Luis Garcia Jr. delivered the loudest swing as host Washington and Houston played to a tie in West Palm Beach, Fla.
Garcia’s three-run homer highlighted a four-run third inning that put the Nationals in front. The Astros answered in the middle innings, with Taylor Trammell’s two-run double cutting into the lead in the fourth before Jax Biggers’ two-run single in the fifth pulled Houston even at 4-4.
Neither side scored after that. Lance McCullers Jr. threw a clean opening inning for the Astros, while Miles Mikolas worked two scoreless frames for the Nationals, surrendering three walks while striking two.
Diamondbacks 3, Mariners 1
Pitcher Ryne Nelson retired all six batters he faced and A.J. Vukovich blasted a three-run homer in Arizona’s 3-1 victory over Seattle in Peoria, Ariz.
Nelson struck out three of the six Mariners he faced. He was staked to a 3-0 lead in the top of the second inning when Vukovich homered to right center off veteran hurler Luis Castillo, plating James McCann and Ildemaro Vargas, who led off the inning with back-to-back singles. Vargas and Gino Groover had two hits apiece for Arizona.
Seattle managed a run in the bottom of the seventh inning on a Cole Young ground-out. Will Wilson (2 for 2) had two of the Mariners’ six hits.
Diamondbacks 3, Mariners 1
Ryne Nelson threw two perfect innings and A.J. Vukovich blasted a three-run homer in Arizona’s victory over host Seattle in Peoria, Ariz.
Nelson struck out three of the six Mariners he faced. He was staked to a 3-0 lead in the top of the second inning when Vukovich homered to right center off Luis Castillo, plating James McCann and Ildemaro Vargas, who began the inning with back-to-back singles. Vargas and Gino Groover had two hits apiece for Arizona.
Seattle managed a run in the seventh inning on a Cole Young ground-out. Will Wilson had two of the Mariners’ six hits.
–Field Level Media
