Grapefruit League Roundup: Tribe/Bucs

Indians 7, Astros 6

KISSIMMEE, Fla. — C.C. Sabathia pitched seven strong innings and David Dellucci singled, doubled and tripled as the Indians (14-12-3) defeated Houston at Osceola County Stadium. Sabathia allowed three runs, striking out six without issuing a walk. He retired the last eight Astros he faced. Center fielder Franklin Gutierrez triggered the play of the day, firing a rocket to Victor Martinez at home plate to gun down Lance Berkman. Martinez then completed the double play when he threw to first base, where Miguel Tejada had overrun the bag. Jensen Lewis allowed three runs in the eighth, but Rafael Perez pitched a perfect ninth. Indians outfielder David Dellucci played all nine innings and appears to be recovering from the sore left wrist and forearm that sidelined him from March 16-23. He singled, doubled and belted a two-run triple in five at-bats. “I think today proves I’m good to go,” Dellucci said. “I feel confident about it. Today was my best day. I swung as hard as I could go on my first swing and my last.” The Indians will finish off the Florida portion of their schedule today, playing host to Tampa Bay at 1:05 p.m. Cliff Lee is scheduled to start against Andy Sonnanstine. Today will be the final Indians spring training game in Winter Haven after 16 years.

Pirates 7, Tigers 4

BRADENTON, Fla. — The Tigers never saw the Dontrelle Willis they were eager to see all spring. For the Pirates, it was a much different story. They saw the Zach Duke of 2005. Willis, the two-time All-Star who was added during the Tigers’ aggressive series of offseason moves, had another bad outing. He allowed seven runs, six earned, and eight hits while walking four in three innings. In his final two spring appearances, Willis was roughed up for 15 hits, 11 earned runs and eight walks in 61‚Ñ3 innings. Adam LaRoche and Jose Bautista each had two hits and an RBI for the Pirates, who led 7-1 after three innings. Duke is a .195 career hitter, but he drove in three runs with a pair of singles, including a two-run single that finished off a five-run first inning. What an inning that was — Willis gave up four hits, walked three in a row, threw a wild pitch and allowed a stolen base. Making his final spring appearance against major league hitters, Duke struck out five while permitting one run and five hits over five innings, lowering his spring ERA to 3.32. One of the majors’ top rookie pitchers while going 8-2 with a 1.81 ERA in 2005, Duke was a combined 13-21 and yielded 416 hits in 3222‚Ñ3 innings the last two seasons. He also sat out two months last season due to left elbow pain. “The main thing that’s helped me get back to where I want to be is just being healthy,” Duke said. “I know I can throw the ball and not worry about any aches and pains. That makes everything so much easier. When you’ve got a clear mind, you can focus on the hitter.”

Combined dispatches