GRAPEFRUIT LEAGUE ROUNDUP | Wednesday's games

Indians 2, Astros 1
KISSIMMEE, Fla. -- Under the cover of darkness, Paul Byrd, not exactly known for his blazing fastball, lit up the Houston Astros. Byrd, the Cleveland Indians' No. 4 starter, had his best performance of the spring, allowing just one hit in five innings. He retired the first 12 Astros in a row, most of them on routine plays, before giving up a single to Morgan Ensberg leading off the fifth. In all, the right-hander set down 14 of the 15 batters he faced. "I felt good," he said. "I'm not sure the batters could see the ball with this being a night game. I was throwing fastballs by guys, so I'm not going to be fooled by that. When I threw a couple by [Craig] Biggio and [Jeff] Bagwell, I knew something was wrong." The race for the fifth spot in the Astros' rotation got even more muddled. Taylor Buchholz and Fernando Nieve, two of the three candidates for the job, had solid outings. Also in the running is lefty Carlos Hernandez. Buchholz got the start and allowed six hits and two runs with four strikeouts in five innings. Nieve gave up four hits and no runs and struck out three in four innings. Neither has pitched in a major league game. "Both of them pitched well," Astros manager Phil Garner said. "Both of them did a fine job." Buchholz said he's feeling "wonderful" after struggling with some arm problems in the past. "I felt really good out there," he said. "I just tried to stay within myself. In the past I've gone out there, overthrown, getting behind guys and getting myself in trouble. But today it just felt real comfortable out there and I made my pitches."
KISSIMMEE, Fla. -- Under the cover of darkness, Paul Byrd, not exactly known for his blazing fastball, lit up the Houston Astros. Byrd, the Cleveland Indians' No. 4 starter, had his best performance of the spring, allowing just one hit in five innings. He retired the first 12 Astros in a row, most of them on routine plays, before giving up a single to Morgan Ensberg leading off the fifth. In all, the right-hander set down 14 of the 15 batters he faced. "I felt good," he said. "I'm not sure the batters could see the ball with this being a night game. I was throwing fastballs by guys, so I'm not going to be fooled by that. When I threw a couple by [Craig] Biggio and [Jeff] Bagwell, I knew something was wrong." The race for the fifth spot in the Astros' rotation got even more muddled. Taylor Buchholz and Fernando Nieve, two of the three candidates for the job, had solid outings. Also in the running is lefty Carlos Hernandez. Buchholz got the start and allowed six hits and two runs with four strikeouts in five innings. Nieve gave up four hits and no runs and struck out three in four innings. Neither has pitched in a major league game. "Both of them pitched well," Astros manager Phil Garner said. "Both of them did a fine job." Buchholz said he's feeling "wonderful" after struggling with some arm problems in the past. "I felt really good out there," he said. "I just tried to stay within myself. In the past I've gone out there, overthrown, getting behind guys and getting myself in trouble. But today it just felt real comfortable out there and I made my pitches."
Blue Jays 7, Pirates 1
DUNEDIN, Fla. -- Gustavo Chacin pitched three shutout innings in his first start of spring training for Toronto. Chacin, who pitched for Venezuela in the World Baseball Classic, allowed one hit. He walked three, struck out three and threw 24 of his 44 pitches for strikes. Pittsburgh got only two hits, doubles by Jose Bautista and Ryan Doumit. Vernon Wells and Aaron Hill homered for Toronto. Russ Adams and Alex Rios added two hits each. Ian Snell went 4 1/3 inning for the Pirates, allowing four runs and five hits. He threw 65 pitches, 47 strikes.
Associated Press