TEMPE, Ariz. — Arizona Diamondbacks Manager Kirk Gibson is tired of the questions. Josh Collmenter is in the rotation.
Collmenter gave up 10 hits and eight runs, sending his spring ERA to 11.81, and the Diamondbacks were beaten by the Los Angeles Angels 9-2 Friday.
Albert Pujols hit his fifth home run, off Collmenter. Howie Kendrick hit a two-run home run and Bobby Abreu a two-run single in a four-run first against Collmenter.
“He got hit hard,” Gibson said.
Gibson added that he was “not planning” on pulling Collmenter or anyone out of his starting rotation.
“He left the ball out over the plate,” Gibson said. “That’s a good hitting team. We have to pitch a lot better to be able to compete with a team like that.”
Collmenter had a strong rookie season last year, going 10-10 with a 3.38 ERA over 24 starts (31 games overall). He also was the winning pitcher in Game 3 of the division series against Milwaukee.
“It was a few inches here and there,” Collmenter said of his pitch location. “They hit all the ones I left out over the plate.”
Collmenter was coming off his best outing of a rocky spring, when he allowed two runs over five innings March 25 against San Diego.
C.J. Wilson had another strong start for the Angels.He pitched 6 1/3 innings and allowed 5 hits and 1 run - Justin Upton’s fourth home run in the first. Wilson lowered his spring ERA to 1.33 after five outings.
Torii Hunter (Pine Bluff) had three of the Angels’ 14 hits and Pujols had two to raise his average to .404.
TIGERS 6, ORIOLES 4
Tony Plagman hit a tie breaking, two-run triple off Jim Johnson in the ninth inning to give the Detroit Tigers a victory over the Baltimore Orioles in Sarasota, Fla.
RED SOX 9, TWINS (SS) 7
Daniel Bard made his final case for a rotation spot, allowing 3 runs and 4 hits in 6 innings as the Boston Red Sox beat a Minnesota Twins split squad in Fort Myers, Fla. Bard, who struck out seven and walked three, is competing with Alfredo Aceves, Felix Doubront and Aaron Cook for the final two starting spots. Cody Ross hit two home runs for Boston. Twins starter Nick Blackburn gave up 2 runs and 5 hits in 5 innings.
CARDINALS 4, METS 3
Kyle Lohse allowed an unearned run and three hits in six innings and singled in a run to lead the St. Louis Cardinals to a victory over the New York Mets in Jupiter, Fla. The Mets’ Dilion Gee gave up 10 hits and 4 runs in 6 innings.
RAYS 3, PIRATES 3
Casey McGehee and Matt Hague each hit home runs for the Pittsburgh Pirates in a tie with the Tampa Bay Rays in Bradenton, Fla. McGehee homered in the fourth inning. Hague had a two-run home run in the seventh. The Pirates used five relievers instead of a starter.
TWINS (SS) 4, BLUE JAYS 1
Ben Revere followed Aaron Hicks’ fifth-inning double with a triple, and a Minnesota Twins split squad beat the Toronto Blue Jays in Dunedin, Fla. Chris Parmalee hit a home run in the sixth off Blue Jays starter Aaron Laffey. Twins starter Liam Hendriks held Toronto to one hit over five innings.
DODGERS (SS) 6, CUBS 3
Dee Gordon had a two-run triple in the seventh inning, leading a Los Angeles Dodgers split squad past the Chicago Cubs in Mesa, Ariz. The Dodgers lead off hitter is batting .381 with 15 runs and 10 stolen bases. Chicago starter Ryan Dempster pitched 4 2/3 innings his final start before opening day. He allowed a run and four hits. He walked three and struck out three.
BREWERS 9, DODGERS (SS) 4
Chris Capuano pitched six innings in his final preparation for his new spot as the Dodgers’ No. 3 starter and caused a stir by throwing behind Ryan Braun in a Los Angeles split squad’s loss to the Milwaukee Brewers in Glendale, Ariz. Braun hit a towering home run in the first.
ASTROS (SS) 5, BRAVES (SS) 1
Bud Norris allowed one run in six innings and a Houston Astros split squad beat an Atlanta Braves split squad in Kissimmee, Fla. Norris gave up three hits and no walks. Jason Castro had two of the Astros’ six hits.
BRAVES (SS) 3, ASTROS (SS) 1
Jair Jurrjens had his second strong outing of the spring, allowing one run in seven innings and an Atlanta Braves split squad topped a Houston Astros split squad in Kissimmee, Fla. Kyle Weiland allowed three runs in six innings for the Astros.
REDS 6, INDIANS 5
Todd Frazier, Juan Francisco and Ryan LaMarre hit home runs in a five-run eighth inning off reliever Dan Wheeler and the Cincinnati Reds rallied for a victory over the Cleveland Indians in Goodyear, Ariz.
NATIONALS 3, MARLINS 2
Giancarlo Stanton and Logan Morrison returned to the lineup for the Florida Marlins, who lost to the Washington Nationals in Viera, Fla. Stanton, who had not played since March 11 because of wrist and knee injuries, went 0 for 2 with a walk. Morrison was out with troublesome knee since March 13. He had an RBI single in three at-bats. Ian Desmond drove a home run to left on the first pitch by Miami starter Josh Johnson. Johnson struck out nine in 5 2/3 innings.
YANKEES 13, PHILLIES 9
Michael Pineda experienced soreness in the back of his right shoulder during the New York Yankees’ victory over the Philadelphia Phillies in Tampa, Fla. Pineda, bidding for a rotation spot, allowed 6 runs and 7 hits in 2 2/3 innings. Yankees General Manager Brian Cashman said he is concerned about Pineda, who will have a magnetic resonance imaging today. Curtis Granderson hit a two-run home run later in third off Jonathan Papelbon.
ROYALS 7, WHITE SOX 2
Sean O’Sullivan pitched five hitless innings and Alex Gordon hit a two-run home run as the Kansas City Royals defeated the Chicago White Sox in Surprise, Ariz. Eric Hosmer added two runs with a fifth inning single, increasing his RBI total to a Cactus League-leading 28.
Friday’s results St. Louis 4, NY Mets 3 Minnesota (ss) 4, Toronto 1 Boston 9, Minnesota (ss) 7 Pittsburgh 3, Tampa Bay 3, tie Detroit 6, Baltimore 3 LA Angels 9, Arizona 2 Milwaukee 9, LA Dodgers (ss) 4 LA Dodgers (ss) 6, Chicago Cubs 3 Cincinnati 6, Cleveland 5 Washington 3, Miami 2 Houston (ss) 5, Atlanta (ss) 1 NY Yankees 13, Philadelphia 9 Atlanta (ss) 3, Houston (ss) 1 Kansas City 7, Chicago White Sox 2 Texas 5, Colorado 3 San Francisco vs. San Diego, (n)
Sports, Pages 22 on 03/31/2012