Max Scherzer looked sharp in his latest spring tuneup, working five scoreless innings as the Toronto Blue Jays edged the Minnesota Twins 2-1 in Fort Myers, Fla.
Scherzer allowed two hits, walked two and struck out three as he picked up the win in his longest outing of the spring. The 41-year-old has allowed no runs in 13 2/3 innings this spring.
Toronto opened the scoring in the second when Josh Kasevich doubled to left to bring home Sean Keys. The Blue Jays made it 2-0 in the fifth on Tyler Heineman’s RBI single to left that drove in Jesus Sanchez.
Minnesota finally broke through in the ninth on Jayson Bass’ RBI double, but that was all the Twins’ offense could muster. Starter Simeon Woods Richardson allowed both runs on nine hits over five innings of work.
Tigers 4, Phillies 4
Dillon Dingler’s two-run homer in the seventh inning erased a 4-2 deficit as Detroit and Philadelphia played to a tie in Clearwater, Fla.
Philadelphia did all of its scoring in the third. Justin Crawford tripled and scored on Bryce Harper’s single. Alec Bohm followed with an RBI double and Adolis Garcia capped the inning with a two-run single to make it 4-0.
Detroit chipped away with a run in the fifth on Dingler’s groundout and another in the sixth, setting the stage for Dingler’s game-tying shot. Tarik Skubal allowed four runs (three earned) and fanned five over four innings for the Tigers. Cristopher Sanchez went five innings for the Phillies and gave up one run on two hits while striking out four.
Rays 2, Red Sox 0
Junior Caminero drove in a run with an RBI double in the first inning and Jonny DeLuca added an RBI single in the seventh as Tampa Bay blanked Boston in Port Charlotte, Fla.
Shane McClanahan earned the win with five scoreless innings, allowing three hits while striking out four. Brandon Wehunt took the loss despite a solid four-inning start for Boston — one run on three hits — and Luis Guerrero worked the ninth for the save.
The Red Sox managed five singles — including a two-hit day from Ceddanne Rafaela — but went 0-for-2 with runners in scoring position and never pushed a runner past second.
Cardinals 4, Mets 3
Ramon Urias hit a solo homer and Ivan Herrera added a two-run shot as St. Louis built an early cushion and held off New York in Port St. Lucie, Fla.
Matthew Liberatore earned the win with five scoreless innings, allowing one hit while striking out five. Tobias Myers took the loss despite allowing just one, Urias’ deep ball, over his two innings.
Urias opened the scoring with his solo homer in the first. The Cardinals added three more in the fifth on JJ Wetherholt’s sacrifice fly and Herrera’s two-run blast. The Mets broke through in the eighth on Ben Rortvedt’s sac fly, then pulled within a run when Dominic Smith doubled in two.
Angels 4, White Sox 3
Los Angeles did all of its damage in the first inning and held on for the win in Tempe, Ariz., by halting a Chicago rally in the bottom of the ninth.
The Angels jumped ahead on a Josh Lowe RBI single, an Adam Frazier RBI walk and a two-run single by Sebastian Rivero. Chicago finally got on the board in the eighth when Kyle Lodise scored on a throwing error, then pulled within one in the ninth on Alec Makarewicz’s solo homer and Lodise’s RBI single.
The White Sox had Bryce Eblin on second base and Lodise on first as the winning run with one out in the ninth, but Jakob Guardado induced a 6-4-3 double play from Anthony Depino to seal the win and earn the save.
