Grapefruit League game roundup: March 8

JUPITER, Fla. (AP) -- Nathan Eovaldi allowed one run in four innings and John Maine followed with two scoreless innings Friday to help the Miami Marlins beat the New York Yankees 6-1.
Maine, who hasn't pitched in the major leagues since 2010, is competing for the fifth spot in the Marlins rotation.
New York starter Adam Warren allowed four runs and six hits in four innings. In his previous two spring training starts, Warren gave up one run and one hit in five innings.
Miami's Adeiny Hechavarria had two hits and two RBIs. Donovan Solano and Rob Brantly each had two hits and scored twice. Matt Downs had an RBI double and a sacrifice fly.
Melky Mesa had two hits and scored a run, and Thomas Neal had an RBI double for the Yankees.

LAKELAND, Fla. (AP) -- Max Scherzer struck out six in 2 2-3 hitless innings Friday and the Detroit Tigers defeated the New York Mets 3-2.
Scherzer walked three. He was taken out after retiring the first two batters in the third inning.
Mets starter Dillon Gee allowed one hit in four innings. He gave up one run.
Tigers minor leaguer Tyler Collins hit a solo home run to break a tie in the eighth. The 22-year-old outfielder, who hasn't played above Class A, leads the team with 10 hits this spring.
Jordany Valdespin homered for the Mets.



VIERA, Fla. (AP) -- Jordan Zimmermann was hit hard, allowing eight runs and nine hits in three innings Friday during the Washington Nationals' 16-10 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals.

Zimmermann has given up 13 runs and 16 hits over nine innings in three spring training starts.

Matt Carpenter was 4 for 4 with two doubles and an RBI for St. Louis, which had 17 hits. Rob Johnson had two doubles and three RBIs, Ronny Cedeno also drove in three runs and Shane Robinson hit a grand slam off Nathan Karns.

Winner Shelby Miller, making his first spring training start, gave up two runs and three hits in three innings.

Micah Owings had a solo home run for Washington, and Zach Walters hit a two-run drive.



KISSIMMEE, Fla. (AP) -- Freddie Freeman and rookie Evan Gattis each hit their second home run this spring and the Atlanta Braves beat the Houston Astros 14-9 Friday in a meeting of split squads.

Freeman's two-run shot off Jordan Lyles came in a six-run first inning. Gattis hit a three-run homer off Sam Demel in the second and added an RBI double the next inning.

Lyles gave up seven hits and six runs to nine batters. Demel, the first of seven Houston relievers, allowed five runs while getting only two outs.

Sean Gilmartin gave up two runs and five hits in three innings in his first start for the Braves.

Brandon Barnes hit his third home run of the spring for the Astros. Marc Krauss also homered and Trevor Crowe hit a bases-loaded triple.



KISSIMME, Fla. (AP) -- Josh Johnson struck out five in 3 2-3 perfect innings, leading the Toronto Blue Jays past a split squad of Atlanta Braves 7-1 on Friday.

Johnson fanned four of his last five batters and lowered his spring ERA to 1.17. He was 8-14 with a 3.81 ERA for the Miami Marlins last season.

Braves starter Kris Medlen allowed three earned runs, including a homer by Anthony Gose. He struck out three and gave up five hits.

Gose had three hits and drove in two runs, improving his spring average to .375. Rajai Davis had two hits and three RBIs for the Blue Jays.

The Braves managed only two singles, including a hit by B.J. Upton.



PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. (AP) -- Evan Longoria hit a two-run double Friday, helping the Tampa Bay Rays beat the Philadelphia Phillies 3-2 despite a rough outing for AL Cy Young Award winner David Price.

Price was hit hard, allowing eight hits -- though only two runs -- in four innings. Kevin Frandsen had two hits off the left-hander, including a solo homer in the third.

Michael Young also drove in a run off Price with a first-inning single, the last of three straight hits the Phillies put together to begin the game.

The Rays minimized the damage against their ace with good defense.



FORT MYERS, Fla. (AP) -- Mike Pelfrey struck out five in three impressive innings to help the Minnesota Twins beat the Boston Red Sox 2-0 on Friday night.

It was Pelfrey's second scoreless outing in a row following a shaky spring debut with his new team. The big right-hander, dumped by the Mets in the offseason, is coming off Tommy John surgery last May and competing for a spot in Minnesota's rotation.

Red Sox starter Ryan Dempster went 3 2-3 innings, allowing two runs and five hits with two strikeouts.

Minnesota got to Dempster with two outs in the third. Aaron Hicks doubled and scored on Brian Dozier's single. Ryan Doumit's run-scoring single made it 2-0.

Brian Duensing, Josh Roenicke, Michael Tonkin and Tyler Robertson combined to pitch six scoreless innings for the Twins, giving up three hits with two walks and five strikeouts.



BRADENTON, Fla. (AP) -- Pittsburgh Pirates right-hander Kyle McPherson gave up three runs in the third inning, and the Baltimore Orioles held on for a 6-3 victory Friday night at McKechnie Field.

Wei-Yin Chen allowed two runs, one earned, over 2 1-3 innings in his second start for Baltimore.

With the score tied at 1, McPherson hit leadoff batter Alexi Casilla in the third and walked Ryan Flaherty. Jason Pridie hit a one-out RBI single, Travis Ishikawa doubled in a run and Trayvon Robinson drove in another with a single.

It was McPherson's third start of the spring. Pittsburgh's 2011 minor league pitcher of the year is fighting for a spot in the rotation.

Starling Marte was 2 for 2 with a walk, two stolen bases and two runs scored for the Pirates.