Pittsburgh’s Paul Skenes was the marquee pitcher entering Saturday’s spring game between the host Pirates and Baltimore Orioles in Bradenton, Fla., but Zach Eflin wound up in the bigger spotlight.
Eflin and six relievers combined on a no-hitter as Baltimore beat Pittsburgh 4-0 with the teams’ regular-season opener less than a week away. The gem was the first spring no-hitter since the Chicago Cubs used seven pitchers to defeat the San Diego Padres 4-0 in Peoria, Ariz., on March 3, 2023.
Eflin pitched the first three innings Saturday, striking out four and walking one. Riley Cooper ended the no-hitter by striking out Matt Gorski. Cooper threw one inning, fanning two and walking none. Relievers Gregory Soto, Yennier Cano, Cionel Perez, Bryan Baker and Roansy Contreras also worked a hitless inning for Baltimore. Soto gave up the Orioles’ other two walks, and Perez (1-0) was the winning pitcher, striking out two.
Livan Soto led the Orioles’ offense, going 2-for-4. He had one RBI in Baltimore’s three-run seventh.
Skenes, the National League Rookie of the Year last season, gave up no runs and one hit over 3 1/3 innings. He struck out four and walked one. Skenes has been named the starter for the Pirates’ opener on Thursday at Miami, while Eflin is scheduled to start on the same day for the Orioles at the Toronto Blue Jays.
Blue Jays 2, Twins 1
Max Scherzer won his first game of the spring, pitching four shutout innings to help visiting Toronto edge Minnesota in Fort Myers, Fla.
Scherzer (1-0), signed by the Blue Jays as a free agent in February, gave up two hits, walked one and struck out four. The 40-year-old, who is entering his 18th major league season, lowered his spring ERA to 1.38.
Alan Roden had two hits and an RBI for Toronto, while Byron Buxton homered for Minnesota.
Phillies 8, Yankees 7
Aaron Judge hit his first home run of the spring, but host New York fell to Philadelphia in Tampa, Fla.
Judge, the 2024 American League MVP with 58 homers, 144 RBIs and a .322 batting average, launched a two-run homer in the third inning off the Phillies’ Jesus Luzardo. Judge is hitting only .138 with five RBIs in 29 at-bats this spring,
Robert Moore hit a three-run homer to highlight the Phillies’ eight-run ninth inning. The blast came off loser Leonardo Pestana (0-1), the sixth Yankees reliever.
Braves 0, Tigers 0
Behind a combined six pitchers, Atlanta and host Detroit played to a scoreless tie in Lakeland, Fla.
Reynaldo Lopez started for the Braves, surrendering five hits over six innings as his spring ERA dropped to 2.08. He struck out two and walked none. Bryce Elder threw the final three innings (one hit, three strikeouts, no walks).
Jack Flaherty pitched the first six innings for the Tigers. He gave up three hits, struck out five and walked none. Three relievers finished.
Rays 14, Red Sox 2
Kenny Piper and Taylor Walls drove in four runs apiece to lead host Tampa Bay past Boston in Port Charlotte, Fla.
Walls had a three-run homer in the fifth as the Rays built an 11-0 lead, and Piper hit a three-run triple in the second.
Wilyer Abreu and Kristian Campbell hit solo home runs for the Red Sox.
Nationals 5, Mets 5
Each team had eight hits as Washington and host New York tied in the matchup in Port St. Lucie, Fla.
Jacob Young had two hits and two RBIs for the Nationals, and Francisco Lindor and four others drove in a run apiece for the Mets. New York’s Hayden Senger hit a solo home run.
Left-hander MacKenzie Gore gave up three runs on four hits and two walks in three innings for the Nationals. He struck out four. Mets starter Tylor Megill lasted 5 1/3 innings, surrendering three runs on six hits and two walks. He fanned five.
Cardinals 8, Marlins (ss) 2
Willson Contreras’ two-run homer highlighted a four-run first inning that carried visiting St. Louis past a Miami split squad in Jupiter, Fla.
Jordan Walker drove in three runs for the Cardinals, and starter Matthew Liberatore (1-0) got the win after giving up one run and two hits over four innings.
Valente Bellozo (0-2) was the losing pitcher. He surrendered four runs and five hits over five innings to raise his spring ERA to 9.45.
Marlins (ss) 6, Astros 5
Led by Dillon Head’s two RBIs, a Miami split squad took a 6-0 lead into the bottom of the ninth and held on to edge host Houston in West Palm Beach, Fla.
Joe Hudson had a three-run double in Houston’s five-run ninth.
Miami starter Xzavion Curry earned the victory, giving up no runs and three hits over four innings. He is 2-0 this spring, with an 0.00 ERA in four games (two starts) covering 10 innings.
Rockies 10, White Sox (ss) 4
Kyle Farmer went 2-for-4 with three RBIs and a run as host Colorado beat a Chicago split squad in Scottsdale, Ariz.
Jordan Beck added a solo home run in the seventh for the Rockies, his fourth home run of the spring. Kyle Freeland (2-1) got the win, giving up three runs and five hits over five innings, with eight strikeouts and no walks.
For the White Sox, Nick Maton hit his fourth homer of the spring, a solo shot in the sixth.
Mariners 14, White Sox (ss) 1
Julio Rodriguez drove in four runs, and Victor Robles, Donovan Solano and Leo Rivas each had two of visiting Seattle’s 13 hits in the rout of a Chicago split squad in Glendale, Ariz.
Rodriguez hit a three-run homer in the fifth, and Solano had a solo shot in the fourth. Luis Castillo (2-0) earned the victory after limiting the White Sox to one run and six hits over 5 1/3 innings.
Travis Jankowski collected two hits for the White Sox and scored their only run.
Rockies (ss) 7, Cubs 3
Michael Toglia hit two solo home runs — his fourth and fifth homers of the spring — to lead a Colorado split squad past host Chicago in Mesa, Ariz.
Toglia’s homers came in the fifth and seventh innings.
The Cubs got two solo homers from Seiya Suzuki.
Padres 1, Reds (ss) 0
Dylan Cease and three relievers combined on host San Diego’s shutout of a Cincinnati split squad in Peoria, Ariz.
Cease pitched 5 2/3 innings, giving up two hits, no walks and striking out nine. Wandy Peralta earned the save with one scoreless inning. He surrendered two hits and had two strikeouts.
Starter Andrew Abbott pitched four shutout innings for the Reds to lower his spring ERA to 2.57. He gave up only one hit, with no walks and three strikeouts.
Guardians 12, Padres (ss) 8
Right-hander Tanner Bibee, 26, who signed a five-year contract with Cleveland earlier in the day, improved to 3-0 this spring as the host Guardians beat a San Diego split squad in Goodyear, Ariz.
Bibee gave up three runs and six hits over 5 1/3 innings, striking out five and walking one. Financial terms of Bibee’s deal weren’t announced by the Guardians, but The Athletic reported it is worth at least $48 million.
Lane Thomas posted four RBIs — including a two-run homer — for Cleveland, while Eguy Rosario and Tim Locastro each had a two-run homer for the Padres, who out-hit the Guardians 13-10.
A’s 4, Brewers 3
Sahid Valenzuela’s single to center field with one out in the ninth scored Angel Arevalo, lifting the Athletics over visiting Milwaukee in Mesa, Ariz.
Luis Urias and Colby Thomas finished with two hits apiece for the A’s, and Thomas had a two-run homer.
For Milwaukee, Andruw Monasterio went 2-for-3 with two RBIs.
Royals 9, Rangers 5
Newcomer Mark Canha, acquired in a trade with Milwaukee on Friday, collected three of Kansas City’s 20 hits in the victory over host Texas in Surprise, Ariz.
The Royals obtained Canha for a player to be named or cash considerations. Bobby Witt Jr. was one of four Royals to get two hits on Saturday. Freddy Fermin had a team-high three RBIs, on a homer in the eighth.
Jake Burger and Adolis Garcia knocked in two runs apiece for the Rangers.
Diamondbacks 7, Giants 7
Sabin Ceballos drove in a game-high three runs for host San Francisco, which scored four runs over the final two innings to gain a tie with Arizona in Scottsdale, Ariz.
The Diamondbacks went 6-for-16 with runners in scoring position and the Giants 1-for-8. Arizona left seven men on base and San Francisco eight.
Ildemaro Vargas had three hits, two runs and an RBI for the Diamondbacks.
–Field Level Media
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