Reliever JR Ritchie pitched a shutout over the final four innings and Tyler Tolve homered in the ninth as visiting Atlanta improved to an MLB-best 15-5 this spring with a 1-0 victory Sunday afternoon over Philadelphia in Clearwater, Fla.
Ritchie (1-1) permitted no hits and struck out six. He walked none and lowered his spring ERA to 2.25 over four games and 12 innings.
Tolve’s home run came with one out in the top of the ninth, off Genesis Cabrera (0-2). Brett Wisely went 2-for-4 in the leadoff spot for the Braves.
The Phillies got five strong innings from starter Taijuan Walker. He gave up no runs and three hits, walking two and striking out three, to drop his ERA to 1.29 over two games and seven innings.
Tigers 12, Yankees (ss) 1
Visiting Detroit banged out 18 hits — including two apiece from Trei Cruz, Dillon Dingler and Javier Baez — and pinch hitter Jordan Yost hit a grand slam in the rout of a New York split squad in Tampa.
The Tigers had three other home runs — a three-run shot by Spencer Torkelson, a two-run blast by Matt Vierling, and a solo shot by Riley Greene.
For New York, starter Luis Gil (2-1) surrendered seven runs and nine hits over three innings. Jonathan Ornelas brought it in the lone run for the Yankees with a RBI single in the ninth.
Cardinals 6, Nationals 3
Nelson Velazquez hit his fourth home run of the spring and drove in four runs to lead host St. Louis past Washington in Jupiter, Fla.
Velazquez’s homer was a three-run shot in the first inning. He has nine RBIs this spring and is batting .333 in 33 at-bats. Winning pitcher Richard Fitts (2-1) gave up two runs and one hit over the first 4 2/3 innings. He walked three and struck out five.
The Nationals committed four errors. They were led by Joey Wiemer, who hit a three-run homer in the second inning.
Rays 6, Pirates 1
Cedric Mullins went 3-for-4 with a solo homer and four RBIs, while Jake Fraley went 3-for-3 with two runs as host Tampa Bay beat Pittsburgh in Port Charlotte, Fla.
Starter Shane McClanahan (2-0) earned the victory, surrendering no runs and no hits — with seven strikeouts — over 3 2/3 innings.
Pittsburgh had four hits and scored its run in the ninth inning on a homer by Konnor Griffin.
Red Sox 7, Twins 2
Caleb Durbin had two of Boston’s 10 hits, and Jason Delay hit a solo homer in his only at-bat as the Red Sox beat visiting Minnesota in Fort Myers, Fla.
Durbin is batting .400 in 30 at-bats this spring, with seven RBIs and three stolen bases.
For Minnesota, Alan Roden went 2-for-3 with an RBI, and starter Zebby Matthews (0-2) pitched five innings, giving up two runs (none earned) and four hits.
Astros 1, Marlins 0
Shay Whitcomb’s line-drive double in the eighth provided Houston with its only hit and run of the game, but it was enough to send the host Astros past Miami in West Palm Beach, Fla.
Houston starter Cristian Javier threw a shutout over four innings, giving up two hits and striking out five, with only one walk. AJ Blubaugh, the fifth Astros pitcher of the day, got his first decision of the spring after surrendering one hit over two shutout innings. He struck out three.
Marlins starter Eury Perez pitched hitless ball over four innings, walking one and striking out five.
Mets 8, Blue Jays 1
Mike Tauchman went 2-for-3 with two RBIs, and Marcus Semien homered and drove in three runs as host New York defeated Toronto in Port St. Lucie, Fla., in a game called after six innings because of rain.
Semien’s home run was a solo shot in the first inning.
Toronto had only four hits, and starting pitcher Grant Rogers gave up eight runs (five earned) and seven hits over 2 1/3 innings to drop to 0-2 with an 8.59 ERA this spring.
