GRAPEFRUIT LEAGUE ROUNDUP | Tribe & amp; Bucs

Indians 6, Braves (ss) 4
WINTER HAVEN, Fla. -- Jason Johnson pitched three scoreless innings in his Indians debut. Matt Esquivel hit a three-run homer and Wilson Betemit had a game-tying solo shot for Atlanta, while Jason Dubois homered to put his spring average at .500 (5-for-10) for Cleveland. "I was scheduled to work two innings, but they said keep going and that's fine with me," Johnson said. "I threw only 20 pitches and they wanted me up near 50." When Cleveland general manager Mark Shapiro signed Johnson to a one-year, $4 million contract as a free agent in December, he described the 32-year-old as a "durable innings-eater." He became the first Cleveland pitcher to go three innings this spring, allowing two hits and striking out one on 42 pitches overall, most of them sinking fastballs. "The first thing I asked when I was looking for a team was if I would get the ball every fifth day," Johnson said. "They said yes and that was good enough for me. My goal is to go six or seven innings in every start." A year ago, Johnson went at least six innings in 25 of 33 starts for the Detroit Tigers. Braves starter Kyle Davies is looking for more innings, too. The right-hander, trying to claim a spot in Atlanta's already crowded rotation, allowed one hit and one walk over two innings. The 22-year-old got three quick outs in the first inning, throwing nine of 10 pitches for strikes. In 14 starts as a rookie last season, Davies struggled to a first-inning ERA of 7.71, but had a respectable 3.82 mark in all other innings combined. Casey Blake drove in two runs with the fourth straight single off Braves reliever Jose Ascanio in the third inning. A sacrifice fly by Aaron Boone made it 3-0. Dubois' homer to right-center off Ascanio made it 4-0 in the third. Trevor Crowe singled to start Cleveland's two-run seventh against Scott Mullen (0-1). Crowe then stole second and scored on a pinch single by Armando Camacaro. Another run later scored on a passed ball by Braves catcher Todd Pratt.
Tigers 4, Pirates 1
LAKELAND, Fla. -- Jeremy Bonderman pitched two scoreless innings in his first start of the spring, helping Detroit beat Pittsburgh. "He was fine," Tigers manager Jim Leyland said. "He went after them real good. He's a real aggressive kid and we don't want to take anything away from that. You have to make sure when situations come up that you don't try to be too aggressive." The right-hander walked one and struck out two. He is scheduled to start Detroit's home opener April 10 against the Chicago White Sox. Non-roster invitee Mike Hessman hit a two-run homer in the sixth. Pittsburgh's Brandon Duckworth made his first start and second appearance of the spring. He allowed one run and two hits in two innings, striking out three and walking two. "I felt pretty good out there," Duckworth said. "Early on, I was a little quick with my delivery but then I got comfortable, settled in." Duckworth is competing with Ian Snell, Sean Burnett, Victor Santos and Ryan Vogelsong for two open spots in the starting rotation. Sean Casey had two hits for the Pirates, including an RBI single.
Associated Press