Indians split in 2 spring games; Bucs beat Boston
Associated Press
SURPRISE, ARIZ.
Aaron Laffey scattered four hits over four strong innings to lead a Cleveland Indians split-squad to a 12-2 win over the Texas Rangers on Friday.
Laffey, one of three pitchers fighting for the last two spots in the Indians’ rotation, walked one, hit a batter and struck out three.
Andy Marte was 2 for 4 with a first-inning grand slam, a double and two runs scored, and Shelley Duncan also homered for the Indians.
Texas starter Brandon McCarthy needed 42 pitches to get through the first inning. He allowed five runs on five hits and three walks with four strikeouts over four innings.
Vladimir Guerrero made his first appearance in right field for the Rangers and finished 1 for 2 with a double and a run scored.
Giants 7, Indians (ss) 6
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz.
Buster Posey hit a run-scoring double with two outs in the bottom of the eighth inning to lift San Francisco over Cleveland.
Indians left-hander Tony Sipp walked Matt Downs, who advanced to second base on a passed ball before Posey’s go-ahead hit.
Closer Brian Wilson held on in the ninth to record his first save of the spring.
Aubrey Huff hit a two-run double off right-hander Justin Masterson in the first inning to score Edgar Renteria and Pablo Sandoval. Sandoval scored all the way from first base but was spiked in the right shin as he slid across the plate. He left the game shortly thereafter, received five stitches and is listed as day-to-day.
Pirates 9, Red Sox 7
BRADENTON, Fla.
Josh Beckett pitched 31‚Ñ3 innings after missing his last start because of an illness, allowing four runs on six hits.
Beckett who walked two and struck out one.
Pirates left-hander Paul Maholm worked four innings and gave up three runs, two of them unearned. David Ortiz hit a two-run homer off Maholm in the first inning.
Delwyn Young knocked Beckett out of the game with a two-run home run, his fifth homer of the spring — all coming in a six-game span. Garrett Jones and Steve Pearce also hit two-run homers for the Pirates.