Grapefruit League Roundup - Tribe & Bucs

Mets 3, Indians 1

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — After giving up a first-inning homer to Jason Michaels, JohnMaine settled down to lead New York over Cleveland. The right-hander, who was 15-10 with a 3.91 ERA last year, struck out seven in 52‚Ñ3 innings. He gave up five hits and a walk, though he said his slider was off and so he didn’t use it much. “It’s kind of that time for me to learn if my slider’s not there, I can’t keep trying it,” Maine said. “I’ve got to try to go to something else and try to be effective.” Maine gave up a sixth-inning single to Ryan Garko, ending his outing with runners at first and second. Joe Smith struck out Franklin Gutierrez to end the inning. Cleveland starter Aaron Laffey was solid for the second consecutive outing. He allowed one run and five hits in five innings. “I thought Aaron threw the ball well,” Indians manager Eric Wedge said. “I mean, he was as good as we’ve seen him all spring. He was aggressive with his sinker. His secondary stuff was good. It was a very impressive day.” Laffey gave up two runs — one earned — in four innings during his previous start.

Yankees 12, Pirates 9

BRADENTON, Fla. — In the first night game at McKechnie Field, Byung-Hyun Kim gave up two late homers to an old nemesis: the New York Yankees. The Pittsburgh reliever was tagged for home runs by Nick Green and Chad Moeller in a four-run eighth inning as New York rallied under new lights at the 85-year-old ball park. Kim gave up three pivotal home runs to the Yankees while pitching for Arizona in the 2001 World Series, which the Diamondbacks won in seven games. This time, Green’s homer came with a runner on and broke a 9-all tie. Moeller hit a solo shot. Kim was charged with four runs in one inning while taking the loss. Kim wasn’t the only pitcher to struggle on a windy night as both starters had rough outings and each team hit three home runs. Yankees right-hander Phil Hughes allowed seven runs, six earned, and seven hits in four innings. Pittsburgh’s Matt Morris was rocked for eight runs and 13 hits in four innings. Jorge Posada went 3-for-4 with three RBIs for the Yankees, including a two-run homer off Morris. Bobby Abreu added two hits and two RBIs. Nate McLouth, Ryan Doumit and Chris Gomez homered for the Pirates.

Associated Press