CARDINALS-METS
Martinez shines for 6
PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. -- Carlos Martinez pitched six scoreless innings and Jhonny Peralta drove in two runs as the St. Louis Cardinals beat the New York Mets 5-4 Wednesday.
Martinez, the Cardinals' fifth starter, scattered three hits, struck out five and walked one.
"I worked better today and I felt better than any other start," Martinez said through a translator. "My changeup was my best pitch, I feel, and my slider was my best pitch after my changeup."
Mets opening-day starter Bartolo Colon allowed three runs and six hits in five innings, struck out two and walked one.
Peralta had an RBI double in the first inning and added a RBI single off Colon in the sixth. Kolton Wong and Mike Adams each had two hits and an RBI for the Cardinals.
"I've felt pretty good this spring," Peralta said. "I've been working really hard and I feel I'm ready to go. Bartolo's a good pitcher, but the whole of spring training I've been feeling good at the plate. I'm ready."
Matt Reynolds had three RBI for the Mets, including a two-run double in the eighth.
ASTROS-TIGERS
Final tune-up for Keuchel
KISSIMMEE, Fla.-- Dallas Keuchel allowed one run over 5 2/3 innings in his final tuneup for opening day, leading the Houston Astros over the Detroit Tigers 3-2.
Keuchel (Arkansas Razorbacks) gave up seven hits, struck out five and walked one. He starts against Cleveland on Monday.
"If we can play loose and have fun like we did this spring training, I think we're going to open up a lot of minds and make believers out of people," Keuchel said, challenging his young teammates to a higher set of expectations.
"The opportunity to establish yourself is closing," he said. "What I mean by that is younger guys are going to have to step up and do their jobs, and not take turns seeing who's going to fill in and who's not. You've got to come in the door and win because we've got guys who have already established themselves. If we want to take that next step toward the playoffs, we're going to have to have guys come in and contribute right away."
Keuchel established himself early last season, winning six of his first 10 starts before finishing 12-9 with a 2.93 ERA. He won a Gold Glove.
"I feel a little wiser, just about hitters in the league, and I feel more comfortable," he said. "I think my stuff is the same. My slider is still good. I know what hitters are trying to do against me, and as long as I have an understanding of that, I think I'm going to be pretty well off."
Evan Gattis, Chris Carter and Jake Marisnick drove in runs in the first against Kyle Ryan, who allowed three runs and four hits over two innings.
Marisnick had two doubles and a stolen base in the Astros' final exhibition game in Florida.
James McCann had two hits for the Tigers, including an RBI double.
ATHLETICS-ANGELS
A's finish 14-1 at home
MESA, Ariz. -- Jesse Chavez allowed three hits in six innings, Mark Canha homered and the Oakland Athletics beat the Los Angeles Angels 4-1 Wednesday to finish their first spring training at HoHoKam Park with a 14-1 record.
Billy Burns drove in a run on his major league-leading 29th hit, the most by an A's player in spring training since Tony Phillips had 30 in 1999. J.P. Sportsman also homered.
C.J. Cron had two doubles and drove in a run for the Angels.
Drew Rucinski gave up three runs and six hits in 5 1/3 innings, walked one and struck out four.
Chavez, who has a 3.27 ERA, allowed an unearned run, struck out six and walked one.
PHILLIES-BRAVES
Utley goes deep twice
CLEARWATER, Fla. -- Chase Utley hit two home runs to give him long balls in four consecutive at-bats, Cole Hamels pitched six innings in his final start before opening day and the Philadelphia Phillies beat the Atlanta Braves 9-2.
Utley has hit two home runs in each of his last two starts. His three-run home run to right field off Julio Teheran gave the Phillies the lead in the first. In his next at-bat, Utley led off the third with a shot that put the Phillies ahead 4-1.
"Having some positive results make you feel confident moving forward," Utley said. "That's the whole goal, try to put some good at-bats together, especially late in spring training, and try to take that into the regular season."
Utley had two days off between starts in hopes of staying fresh for the season. Phillies Manager Ryne Sandberg wants to better monitor the number of games Utley plays after he wore down over the course of last season. Utley agrees with that strategy.
"A lot of that is my doing, because I want to be out there on a daily basis," Utley said. "But I do understand that it might be beneficial taking a blow here and there."
Hamels pitched six innings and allowed two runs -- one earned -- in his final spring tuneup. He starts Monday's opener against the Boston Red Sox at Citizens Bank Park. The only noticeable mistake Hamels made against Atlanta resulted in a home run by Joe Benson in the second inning.
"When it comes down to the start of the season, you just want to have positive feelings and positive feedback from spring that you're healthy and everything's working," Hamels said. "Right now I would say I feel a lot more sharp than I did two weeks ago."
DODGERS-ROYALS
Kershaw sharp vs. KC
SURPRISE, Ariz. -- Clayton Kershaw and Yordano Ventura each had a final sharp outing in preparation for opening day, and the Los Angeles Dodgers and Kansas City Royals tied 4-4.
Kershaw, the 2014 National League MVP and Cy Young Award winner, threw 45 pitches while facing 11 batters and gave up one hit and an unearned run. He'll next face the San Diego Padres on April 6.
Kershaw had a 1.61 ERA this spring. He gave up just 15 hits and struck out 22 in 22 1/3 innings this spring.
Brett Eibner homered twice for the Royals, including a two-run shot in the ninth to tie it. Eibner tops the club with five home runs, but will begin the season in the minors.
Ventura, who threw seven no-hit innings against Seattle in his previous start, yielded two runs, one earned, and four hits in four innings.
Darwin Barney doubled and tripled for the Dodgers and scored on A.J. Ellis' third inning double.
The Dodgers played seven ties, a club spring training record.
MARLINS-NATIONALS
HRs highlight Miami's day
JUPITER, Fla. -- Giancarlo Stanton hit a two-run home run and Mike Morse had a three-run shot as the Miami Marlins roughed up Jordan Zimmermann in an 8-0 victory over the Washington Nationals.
Morse connected in the first and Stanton sent a drive onto the roof of the Marlins' clubhouse beyond the left field wall in the second as Miami opened an early 7-0 lead in its final Grape Fruit League game.
"I felt fine," said Zimmermann. "Location was the issue today. I feel good. I'm ready to go. It just wasn't a good day, today. I'm glad it happened now and not during the season."
Morse's home run was his fifth of the spring. Stanton has four.
RAYS-YANKEES
Shortstop a NY concern
TAMPA, Fla. -- In the first season following Derek Jeter's retirement, the Yankees have concerns about shortstop less than a week before opening day.
Four days after projected starter Didi Gregorius got hurt, backup Brendan Ryan strained his right calf in the sixth inning of New York's 3-0 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays and is expected to start the season on the disabled list.
New York Manager Joe Girardi called it "a longshot" that the infielder will be ready for Monday's opener against Toronto. Ryan was scheduled for an MRI.
Gregorius had been sidelined since spraining his left wrist diving for a grounder Saturday. Gregorius is scheduled to return Thursday, a day after performing defensive drills and hitting in an indoor cage.
"It felt great," Gregorius said.
Ryan was hurt going after Kevin Kiermaier's grounder up the middle. Ryan needed assistance as he limped off the field and had to be carried down the dugout steps.
Second baseman Stephen Drew could serve as a backup at his old shortstop position. Internal candidates for a reserve infield role include Nick Noonan, Rob Refsnyder and Cole Figueroa.
"Didi and Drew are healthy," Girardi said. "We'll going to have to look at, probably, more of a second baseman than necessarily a shortstop because you have two shortstops."
James Loney had three hits for the Rays, including an RBI single. Reliever Grant Balfour struck out Brett Gardner during a perfect third inning.
BLUE JAYS-RED SOX
Hutchison solid vs. Boston
FORT MYERS, Fla.-- Drew Hutchison wondered two years ago if he could pitch effectively again. No need to worry any more.
Hutchison tuned up for his opening-day start at Yankee Stadium next week by pitching three scoreless innings in the Toronto Blue Jays' 9-7 victory over a Boston Red Sox split squad.
"My arm is good," said Hutchison, who missed the 2013 season after a Tommy John operation. "I had the surgery just over two years ago. ... Now I am healthy."
Hutchison allowed three hits, struck out one and walked one, lowering his ERA to 1.50. He starts Monday against the Yankees, who open with Masahiro Tanaka.
Hutchison went 11-13 with a 4.48 ERA last year, striking out 184 in 184 2/3 innings.
Allen Craig hit an inside-the-park home run, Jeff Bianchi had a three-run double and Matt Spring a two-run double.
PADRES-WHITE SOX
Shields outpitches Samardzija
GLENDALE, Ariz. -- James Shields allowed three hits in three scoreless innings, Jedd Gyorko hit a three-run home run in a five-run first inning against Jeff Samardzija and the San Diego Padres beat a Chicago White Sox split squad 8-2 in the final game of the Cactus League season at Camelback Ranch.
Shields struck out two and walked none in what he said was an "ideal" length for a tuneup before Monday's opener at the Los Angeles Dodgers, who will start NL MVP Clayton Kershaw.
Samardzija gave up five runs and six hits in four innings. All but one of the hits came in the first inning, before the right-hander and catcher Tyler Flowers made adjustments.
Samardzija pitches Chicago's opener Monday at AL champion Kansas City.
REDS-DIAMONDBACKS
Bradley cruises for Arizona
GOODYEAR, Ariz -- Diamondbacks top prospect Archie Bradley pitched one-hit ball for six innings and Yasmany Tomas had a three-run double, leading Arizona to a 3-0 victory over the Cincinnati Reds.
Tomas, who is slated to start the season in Class AAA Reno, doubled off Johnny Cueto in the fourth. The Reds' ace did not allow a hit through three inning but he walked David Peralta and Aaron Hill before giving up hits to Jake Lamb and Tomas.
Cueto, who is in the final year of his contract with the Reds, completed five innings. He allowed three hits and two walks while striking out seven.
Bradley allowed only a single by Todd Frazier. Bradley is expected to begin the season with Reno.
Sports on 04/02/2015