Spring Training Recap: Mike Yastrzemski, Braves blitz Red Sox

Mike Yastrzemski hit two home runs and Ronald Acuna Jr. hit a grand slam to lift the Boston Red Sox to a 15-8 victory over the Atlanta Braves in spring training Friday in Northport, Florida.

Yastrzemski, whose grandfather Carl was a Hall of Fame player who played his entire career with the Red Sox, has hit three home runs in four games this spring, including singles in the second and fourth innings. Acuna and Matt Olson homered to cap an 11-run third inning that put Atlanta ahead 13-3.

It wasn’t the best start for Braves pitcher Chris Sale, who allowed three runs and was tagged on three hits in 2-2/3 innings, but it was better than Red Sox starter Brayan Bello, who allowed five runs in two innings.

Jarren Duran, Ceddanne Rafaela, Marcelo Mayer, Nathan Hickey and Tyler McDonough all homered for Boston.

Yankees 17, Twins 5

Spencer Jones was one of five New York players to hit a home run against Minnesota in Fort Myers, Florida.

Jones hit his third home run of the spring with three RBI and two runs scored. The Yankees took an 8-1 lead in the second inning on home runs by Jason Dominguez and JC Escara. Lewis Gill earned the win after allowing one run over 2 1/3 innings.

Minnesota scored four runs in the final two innings on home runs by Eric Wagaman and Trevor Larnach.

Pirates 6, Orioles 1

Shane Baz dazzled in his Baltimore debut, but Pittsburgh rallied late to pull out a win in Bradenton, Florida.

Baz, who was acquired from Tampa Bay last December with four prospects and the 33rd pick in this year’s draft, allowed no hits in 2 1/3 innings, striking out four and walking two.

Pirates starting pitcher Mitch Keller also performed well, striking out four and allowing no runs over 2 1/3 innings, while Termarr Johnson tied the game at 5 and 7 with a two-run hit.

Rays 6, Blue Jays 5

Cedric Mullins had a pair of early RBIs for Tampa Bay and overcame a late charge to beat Toronto in Port Charlotte, Florida.

Mullins, a career Orioles signing with Tampa Bay this offseason, hit his unofficial first home run off Ray in the third inning. Junior Carminero also hit a 2-run hit in the first inning, and Ryan Villade hit a sacrifice fly in the 8th inning to give them the win.

The Blue Jays, who used their reserve lineup as a road team, gave up 4 runs in the 8th inning and tied the game at 5. Eric Lauer struggled in his second spring start, allowing three runs in 1 2/3 innings.

Mets 14, Cardinals 3

MJ Melendez hit back-to-back inning home runs to spark New York’s big win over St. Louis in Jupiter, Florida.

In his first four seasons with the Royals, Melendez had four RBIs. AJ Ewing also homered and had two runs and three RBI for the Mets, who pitched three scoreless innings from Freddie Peralta.

Quinn Matthews, the Cardinals’ No. 6 prospect in the 2025 MLB Pipeline rankings, started and allowed just one run on one hit over 2 2/3 innings. St. Louis’ No. 1 prospect shortstop JJ Wetherholt hit his first hit of the spring, a home run.

Phillies(ss) 10, Marlins 2

Trey Turner and Adolis Garcia each accounted for two of Philadelphia’s 14 hits in the split team’s loss to Miami in Clearwater, Florida.

The Phillies hit just one home run but had six doubles, got hits from 10 different players and took a 4-0 lead in the first inning, giving veteran Aaron Nola (two strikeouts and one earned run in two innings) a cushion in his first start.

Miami’s fourth-ranked prospect last year, Robbie Snelling, was hit hard, allowing five hits and five runs (four earned) in 1 1/3 innings. The Marlins got RBI singles from Heriberto Hernandez and Griffin Conine.

Tigers 16, Phillies (ss) 8

Detroit scored 11 runs in the sixth inning against Philadelphia in Lakeland, Florida.

Replacement catcher Tomas Nido had two hits and three RBIs in extra innings after Javier Baez hit his first spring home run in the fourth inning. Jack Flaherty struck out four and allowed one hit and one run over two innings in his second start.

Christian Cairo led the Phillies with two hits and two RBI. They were 3 for 12 with runners in scoring position while the Tigers were 9 for 16.

Angels 4, Reds 3

Logan O’Hoppe hit a two-run homer and Denzer Guzman had an RBI double as Los Angeles beat host Cincinnati in Goodyear, Arizona.

Oswald Peraza also hit a ground-rule double as the Angels won despite falling behind 7-6. Brent Sutter pitched two innings and allowed three hits and one run.

Jose Trevino went 2 for 2 with an RBI for Cincinnati, and Blake Dunn’s solo shot in the ninth wasn’t enough to overcome the deficit. Rhett Lowder, the 7th overall pick in the 2023 draft, allowed no runs while striking out a number of innings over three innings.

White Sox (SS) 3, Rangers 1

LaMonte Wade Jr. hit a two-run bomb that propelled Chicago’s split team during a visit to Texas in Glendale, Arizona.

Miguel Vargas went 2-for-3 out of Chicago’s dugout, and Darren Baker’s one-run single produced another run for the White Sox. Veteran pitcher Erick Fedde pitched two hitless innings with two strikeouts, while Mike Vasil allowed three hits and one run over four and three innings.

Cameron Cauley scored Texas’ only run in the fourth on a double, but the Rangers were silent after that. MacKenzie Gore allowed three hits but no runs in three innings. Alexis Diaz followed immediately, giving up all three runs in two-thirds of an inning.

Rockies 3, Padres 2

Zac Veen hit his second walk-off home run of spring training as Colorado lost on the road to San Diego in Scottsdale, Arizona.

The 24-year-old Beane went viral during the offseason for losing 43 pounds to add strength to his swing, and his story about how he overcame substance abuse made him an easy figure to root for. Hunter Goodman took his own solo shot. Colorado struck out 12 batters, starting with Tanner Gordon pitching two scoreless innings.

A Manny Machado sacrifice fly and Samad Taylor one-run single were the Padres’ only runs. Randy Vasquez pitched another scoreless start, pitching 2 2/3 no-hit innings with four strikeouts.

Brewers 5, White Sox (ss) 2

Luis Rengifo’s two RBI, including a solo home run, lifted Milwaukee above visiting Chicago in Phoenix.

Bryce Turan, Jackson Churio and William Contreras each allowed one run, and Brewers starter Brandon Sprott pitched just 1 1/3 innings, recording three strikeouts and three hits.

Edgar Quero drove in both runs for Chicago with a single and double as the White Sox struck out 12 times. Sean Burke pitched three innings, allowing two runs and striking out two.

Cubs 8, Guardians 6

Dansby Swanson’s three RBIs led host Chicago to a win over Cleveland in Mesa, Arizona.

Swanson started off with a two-run deep shot in the first inning and scored the next run with an RBI single in the sixth. Scott Kingery’s solo home run and Leonel Espinoza and Jefferson Rojas’ two-run hits were enough to thwart a late comeback attempt. Rookie Edward Cabrera made his first appearance on the mound for the Cubs and pitched two perfect innings, striking out three batters.

The seven-inning breakout saw Maick Collado, Jonah Advincula and Bo Naylor score five runs. In the 9th inning, Joe Lampe’s single gave Cleveland a 2-run lead. Logan Allen allowed three hits and two runs in the first three innings.

Royals 7, Athletics 6

Bobby Witt Jr. went 2-for-2 with a three-run home run as Kansas City took on the Athletics in Surprise, Arizona.

Josh Rojas and Nick Loftin each had two RBI, with Loftin hitting the final two-run double in the seventh. Bailey Falter made his second start of spring training and allowed two runs and three hits in 1 2/3 innings.

Max Muncy and Jacob Wilson stepped up for the A’s, who had a strong day at the plate despite the loss (12-for-37). Jeffrey Springs started the matchup for the A’s, allowing three hits and four runs over 1 2/3 frames.

Giants 12, Dodgers 4

Victor Bericotto hit a three-run homer, one of 14 hits for host San Francisco as they beat Los Angeles in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Bericotto, Patrick Bailey, Daniel Susac, Heliot Ramos and Jared Oliva (4 RBI) all had multiple hits for the Giants. Willy Adames also went out into the yard. Robbie Ray took the mound and allowed a hit and a run over two innings.

In the third inning, James Tibbs III and Santiago Espinal scored alternate runs to tie the game at 2-2. Chris Newell hit a garbage-time, two-run home run in the ninth. Yoshinobu Yamamoto pitched an unusual three-inning start, allowing five hits and two runs while striking out four.

–Field level media