Spring training report

TIGERS-CARDINALS

Cabrera recovering

LAKELAND, Fla. -- Miguel Cabrera hit his second home run of the spring and raised his average to .385, leading the Detroit Tigers past the St. Louis Cardinals 4-3 on Saturday.

Cabrera was playing in his sixth game of the spring while recovering from offseason surgery on his right ankle. It was his sixth consecutive game of the spring, and he will sit out today against Philadelphia.

Shane Greene, acquired during the offseason from the New York Yankees, allowed three runs in five innings for the Tigers. He also walked three while striking out six.

Lance Lynn started his third game of the spring for the Cardinals and allowed six hits and two runs in five innings. He walked none and struck out five.

Alex Avila homered for the Tigers.

REDS-CUBS

Frazier has big day

GOODYEAR, Ariz. -- Todd Frazier hit his fourth home run this spring and drove in four runs as the Cincinnati Reds beat a Chicago Cubs split squad 9-5.

Frazier hit an RBI single in the first inning off Gonzalez Germen, who was pulled after getting only two outs. Frazier also made two errors at third base.

Brennan Boesch, making a bid to win a spot as the Reds' fourth outfielder, also hit his fourth home run and doubled.

Reds closer Aroldis Chapman started and struck out the side in his only inning. Manny Parra and Tony Cingrani had scoreless outings as Cincinnati used eight pitchers.

Cubs second baseman Javier Baez had two hits and made two errors. Dexter Fowler hit his first home run of the spring.

Germen gave up four hits and walked three.

PIRATES-BLUE JAYS

Polanco homers again

BRADENTON, Fla. -- Gregory Polanco homered for the second consecutive day and Neil Walker hit a two-run double as the Pittsburgh Pirates beat a Toronto Blue Jays split squad 8-3.

Polanco hit a two-run shot in the first inning off left-hander Randy Wolf. Andrew McCutchen had two hits, including a double, and scored a run.

Daric Barton and Danny Valencia each hit a solo home run off Pirates right-hander Charlie Morton. Munenori Kawasaki had an RBI double.

Morton worked six innings and gave up three runs on six hits and two walks.

In his Blue Jays debut, Wolf threw 2 2/3 innings and allowed four runs on four hits. He walked two and struck out two.

Wolf signed a minor league contract with Toronto on March 16. The 15-year veteran pitched briefly in the majors last year with the Miami Marlins.

BRAVES-BLUE JAYS

Braves top Jays

DUNEDIN, Fla. -- Jose Bautista hit a two-run double for the split-squad Toronto Blue Jays in a 5-3 loss to the Atlanta Braves.

Bautista doubled to the left-center field gap off starter Alex Wood in the third inning, scoring Jose Reyes and Russell Martin.

Bautista, a five-time All-Star, is batting .324 with five home runs and 12 RBI in 14 exhibition games.

Wood gave up 3 runs on 6 hits in 6 innings. The left-hander also walked one and struck out two.

Pitching for the first time since sustaining a minor ankle injury last Sunday, Blue Jays starter Marco Estrada allowed an RBI single by Phil Goselin in the second. Estrada yielded 5 hits and struck out 3 in 3 innings.

Jace Peterson hit a two-run double for the Braves.

ORIOLES-YANKEES

Birds drub Yanks

TAMPA, Fla. -- Alex Rodriguez hit his third home run and raised his batting average to .306, new shortstop Didi Gregorius gave New York a scare and the Yankees lost 10-2 to the Baltimore Orioles.

Rodriguez hit a long first-pitch leadoff shot in the seventh off Brian Matusz. Earlier, A-Rod worked out at first base for 10 minutes on a back field with infield coach Joe Espada in final preparation for his first start there today against Houston.

Rodriguez, who will turn 40 in July and returning from a one-year drug suspension, is competing for the majority of his at-bats at DH. He could get limited time at third and first.

Gregorius left with a sprained left wrist after the fourth, two innings after landing awkwardly on it while diving on a grounder. X-rays were negative.

METS-NATIONALS

Mets flog Nats

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. -- Curtis Granderson and David Wright hit consecutive home runs off Stephen Strasburg in the bottom of the third inning, leading the Mets to a 10-2 victory over the Washington Nationals.

Strasburg, making his first start since March 17 and only his third Grapefruit League start because of toe and ankle injuries, allowed four runs on four hits in four innings.

Mets starter Jacob deGrom gave up one run -- a long home run to right field by Bryce Harper in the top of the sixth inning. DeGrom allowed four hits in seven innings, struck out four and walked two.

Lucas Duda had a home run and triple for the Mets, and Johnny Monell also connected.

TWINS-PHILLIES

Practice pays off

FORT MYERS, Fla. -- Joe Mauer hit his first home run of the spring and the Minnesota Twins beat the Philadelphia Phillies 7-1.

Mauer hit a two-run drive to right field. The three-time AL batting champion has spent extra time working off a tee with hitting coach Tom Brunansky, often focusing on getting the lefty-hitting Mauer to pull the ball hard to right.

Mauer hasn't hit more than 11 home runs in a season since 2009, when he hit 28 and was the AL MVP.

Twins starter Ervin Santana pitched six innings, allowing an earned run and five hits, with no walks while striking out two. His signature slider wasn't behaving, but he was still able to slice his spring ERA to 2.57.

Twins outfielder Shane Robinson, in camp on a minor league deal, went 3 for 4 and appears poised to win a reserve spot.

Phillies starter Jerome Williams gave up six runs on nine hits and two walks in four innings.

MARLINS-ASTROS

Latos' best start

JUPITER, Fla. -- Mat Latos followed his worst start of the spring with his best, helping the Miami Marlins play to a 1-1 tie with the Houston Astros.

Five days after allowing nine runs in three innings to the Mets, Latos rebounded by limiting the Astros to one run in 5 1/3 innings.

"I think you see night and day," Latos said. "I couldn't get an out the other day. My last outing my mechanics were completely off. Today everything was downhill."

While Latos' improvement was significant, it left room for improvement. He walked two, threw two wild pitches and give up six hits.

Houston manager A. J. Hinch said Roberto Hernandez strengthened his chances of claiming the fifth spot in Houston's rotation by allowing only one run in five innings.

RED SOX-RAYS

Four limit damage

PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. -- Mike Napoli homered and Hanley Ramirez also drove in two runs to help the Boston Red Sox beat the Tampa Bay Rays 9-6.

Right-hander Steven Wright made the start for the Red Sox, allowing five unearned runs in 3 2/3 innings -- all of the damage coming after an error with two outs in the fourth inning. Four other pitchers teamed up to limit the Rays to one run and three hits the rest of the way.

Napoli hit a two-run, opposite-field home run off Nathan Karns in the third. Ramirez had a sacrifice fly and RBI double off the young right-hander, who has earned a spot in Tampa Bay's pitching rotation.

Steven Souza Jr. had a two-run single off Wright. Brandon Guyer, Logan Forsythe and Curt Casali also drove in runs during the Rays' five-run fourth.

Sports on 03/29/2015

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