Marlins ‘spoil’ Haren’s debut
Davis inspires Orioles to 5th straight
VIERA, Fla , Feb 28, (AP): Dan Haren knows no one is going to confuse his fastball with the overpowering pitch thrown by Stephen Strasburg.
That’s why Haren’s control and ability to set up hitters are so important.
He struggled with his command in the first inning of his Nationals spring debut Wednesday, but was much better in the second of what turned out to be a 51 loss to the Miami Marlins.
Miami starter Nathan Eovaldi, meanwhile, couldn’t have been happier with his performance. The Marlins right-hander faced the minimum six hitters in his first start, walking one and striking out three.
While he didn’t throw any curveballs in his 26 pitches, Eovaldi did work in a few changeup which is something he has been working on this spring to help compliment his two best pitches - the fastball and slider.
Eovaldi attributed his leadoff walk to Washington’s Denard Span to being a little jittery in his first spring start. But once he got his shoulders back in line with home plate, he was able to come back and strike out Washington’s Bryce Harper on a slider and get Jayson Werth looking. Span was running on that last pitch and was thrown out at second by Marlins catcher Kyle Skipworth for a double play.
Miami prospect Christian Yelich had a triple leading off the game and scored on a sacrifice fly by Donovan Solano, who had two hits and score a run.
Derek Dietrich added an RBI double, Chris Coughlin had an RBI and Eric Lucas had a two-run single for the Marlins.
Orioles 5, Red Sox 3 In Sarasota, Fla, Will Middlebrooks gave the Boston Red Sox a scare.
In the first inning of Wednesday night’s 5-3 loss to the Baltimore Orioles, Middlebrooks swung at Chris Tillman’s first pitch of his at-bat, he grimaced and appeared to hurt his right wrist, then left the game. Red Sox fans gasped. Middlebrooks broke his right wrist last Aug 10 when he was hit by a pitch.
But, by the time reporters were allowed into Boston’s clubhouse in the seventh inning, Middlebrooks was dressed and there was no bandage on the wrist.
Boston manager John Farrell said Middlebrooks’ wrist would be re-evaluat- ed Thursday.
Middlebrooks was replaced by Pedro Ciriaco. Farrell realizes how important the third baseman is to the Red Sox.
The Orioles won both halves of their split squad games, beating the New York Yankees 10-7 in Tampa, Fla., on Wednesday afternoon. Baltimore is now 5-0 in spring training for the first time since 2001.
Chris Davis hit a two-run home run in the sixth inning to give the Orioles the lead. Matt Wieters had two hits, and his backup catcher Taylor Teagarden drove in two runs.
The Red Sox brought many of their regulars, and Baltimore gave Tillman his first start of the spring. Tillman allowed a single to Dustin Pedroia in the first, and made it 1 2-3 innings before he was removed.
Dodgers 11, Cubs 7 In Mesa, Ariz, Starlin Castro wanted a third at-bat. He got it and then pulled up lame.
Castro left in the bottom of the fourth inning after pulling up on a ground ball to shortstop Wednesday during an 11-7 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The Cubs said their shortstop had left hamstring tightness. Castro, who was the designated hitter, played in 162 games last and expects to do so again this year.
Castro said he never had experienced a similar injury and thought conditioning may have been a factor.
Aaron Harang, bidding for a spot in the Dodgers rotation, allowed four runs, five hits and a walk in the first, then threw a 1-2-3 second. He was 10-10 with a career-best 3.61 ERA last year. He tightened up during the top of the first.
“I felt like I was having a hard time getting loose again” he said of the bottom half. “It felt like it took to the middle of the inning before I was getting anywhere loose.”
Jerry Hairston Jr. hit a two-run double off Trey McNutt in the second inning and added a sacrifice fly in the third. Darwin Barney had two singles and two RBIs.
Alfredo Amezaga had three hits and two RBIs for the Dodgers, who trailed 41 after the first but led 8-4 in the middle of the third.
Reds 14, Diamondbacks 6 In Scottsdale, Ariz, Amanda McCarthy was a nervous wreck in the stands. Her husband was as calm as could be on the mound.
Brandon McCarthy methodically struck out four in two innings in his first game since a horrific head injury, an impressive return that overshadowed all else in the Diamondbacks’ 14-6 loss to the Cincinnati Reds on Wednesday.
McCarthy, signed to a two-year deal by the Diamondbacks as a free agent, gave up one run on three hits. He had not taken the mound in a game since Sept 5 when he was struck in the head by a line drive off the bat of the Angels’ Erick Aybar while pitching for Oakland. McCarthy sustained an epidural hemorrhage, brain contusion and skull fracture.