Tigers fans greet Astros, Altuve with chorus of boos

Jose Altuve insisted he tuned out the hecklers. He couldn’t avoid a pitch that grazed him.

“He was hit in the foot. That ain’t nothing, you know what I mean?” Houston Astros manager Dusty Baker said Monday after an 11-1 win against Detroit at half-empty Joker Marchant Stadium in Lakeland, Fla. “It wasn’t intentional.”

Altuve was loudly booed when he was introduced for his spring training debut, cheered when he struck out and called a cheater by several fans. Quite a difference from past years, when the diminutive All-Star second baseman was among the most popular players in the majors.

But that was before Altuve and his Houston teammates were implicated in the sign-stealing scandal that’s rocked baseball.

“We just heard a lot of noise, and that’s it,” Altuve said.

Altuve and fellow starters Alex Bregman, Carlos Correa and Yuli Gurriel all played for the first time in the exhibition season. After Houston opened the Grapefruit League in the stadium it shares with the World Series champion Washington Nationals, this was the first time the Astros were away from their complex — providing a taste of the reaction they might receive on the road this year.

“We were focused on playing baseball,” Altuve said. “That’s what we’re thinking about right now.”

Twins

Kenta Maeda made his first appearance in a Minnesota uniform, pitching two innings and allowing a leadoff home run to Andrew Benintendi. Maeda was acquired Feb. 10 from the Los Angeles Dodgers. Nelson Cruz made his spring training debut and hit a two-run homer in a 3-2 win against a Boston Red Sox split squad in Fort Meyers, Fla.

Rays

Yoshitomo Tsutsugo, the Japanese league outfielder signed by Tampa Bay to add some power to the lineup, homered in his second game a 22 tie with the Red Sox in Port Charlotte, Fla. He has yet to make an out, walking twice with a single and home run.

Reds

Nick Castellanos, a doubles-hitting machine (58 last season) who signed a free agent contract with Cincinnati earlier this month, had a double and fellow newcomer Mike Moustakas homered in a 7-6 win against the Texas Rangers in Goodyear, Ariz.