Atlanta claims lefty McKirahan from Miami
The Atlanta Braves have claimed left-handed pitcher Andrew McKirahan off waivers from the Miami Marlins.
The move comes after the Braves released veteran left-hander James Russell in a surprise move last week.
The 25-year-old McKirahan was claimed by the Marlins as a Rule 5 pick from the Chicago Cubs i n December. He must remain on the Braves’ 25man roster all season or be offered back to the Cubs.
McKirahan posted 10 saves and a 2.08 ERA in 44 games last season with Class A Daytona and Double-A Tennessee. He has a 2.16 ERA in four minor league seasons. He missed parts of two seasons following Tommy John surgery.
He is expected to report to the Braves’ camp today.
Phillies rough up Braves’ Teheran
Chase Utley hit t wo homers to give him long balls in four straight atbats, Cole Hamels pitched six innings in his final start before opening day and the Philadelphia Phillies beat the Atlanta Braves 9-2 Wednesday.
Utley has hit two homers in each of his last two starts. His three-run homer to right field off Julio Teheran gave the Phillies the lead in the first. In his next at-bat, Utley led off the third with a shot that put the Phillies ahead 4-1.
Utley had two days off between starts in hopes of staying fresh for t he season. Phillies manager Ryne Sandberg wants to better monitor the number of games Utley plays after he wore down over the course of last season. Utley agrees with t hat strategy.
Hamels pitched six innings and allowed two runs one earned in his final spring tuneup. He starts Monday’s opener against t he Boston Red Sox at Citizens Bank Park. The only noticeable mistake Hamels made against Atlanta resulted in a solo home run by Joe Benson in the second inning.
Teheran struggled during his four-inning outing. The Phillies scored seven runs and had eight hits, including four homers.
EXHIBITIONS
Anthony Rizzo hit a three-run homer off Kyle Lohse, and Jason Hammel allowed one run in five innings as the Chicago Cubs beat the Milwaukee Brewers 11-7 at Mesa, Arizona. ... Avisail Garcia homered among his three hits and drove in four runs, Jose Abreu added to his sizzling spring training with two more hits and a Chicago White Sox split squad beat the Seattle Mariners 12-4 at Peoria, Arizona. Abreu raised his spring training-leading batting average to . 518 (29 for 56). ... Diamondbacks top prospect Archie Bradley pitched one-hit ball for six innings and Yasmany Tomas had a three-run double, leading Arizona to a 3- 0 victory over the Cincinnati Reds at Goodyear, Arizona . ... Clayton Kershaw and Yorduna Ventura each had a final sharp outing in preparation for opening day, and the Los Angeles Dodgers and Kansas City Royals tied 4 - 4 at Surprise, Arizona. Kershaw, the 2014 National League MVP and Cy Young Award winner, threw 45 pitches while facing 11 batters and gave up one hit and an unearned run.
World Ser ies MVP Madison Bumgarner outpitched AL Cy Young Award winner Corey Kluber, and the San Francisco Giants completed t heir Arizona portion of the exhibition season by beating the Cleveland Indians 5-2 at Scottsdale, Arizona. ... Troy Tulowitzki homered twice and Carlos Gonzalez added his first spring home run for the Colorado Rockies in a 10- 4 victory over the Texas Rangers at Scottsdale, Arizona. ... Phil Hughes and Clay Buchholz each had their final spring training tuneups as the Minnesota Twins and a Boston Red Sox split squad played to a 4-4 tie in nine i nnings at Fort Myers, Florida.
Drew Hutchison tuned up for his opening- day start at Yankee Stadium next week by pitching t hree scoreless i nnings in the Toronto Blue Jays’ 9-7 win over a Boston Red Sox split squad at Fort Myers, Florida. Hutchison allowed three hits, struck out one and walked one, lowering his ERA to 1. 50. He starts Monday against the Yankees, who open with Masahiro Tanaka. ... Giancarlo Stanton hit a two-run homer and Mike Morse had a t hree-r un shot as the Miami Marli ns roughed up Jordan Zimmermann in an 8- 0 win over the Washington Nationals at Jupiter, Florida. ... Yankees shortstop Brendan Ryan strained his right calf in the sixth inning of New York’s 3-0 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays at Tampa, Florida, and is ex- pected to start the season on the disabled list. Ryan was hurt going after Kevin Kiermaier’s grounder up the middle. Yankees manager Joe Girardi called it “a longshot” that the backup infielder will be ready for Monday’s opener against Toronto. Ryan was scheduled to go undergo an MRI exam.
Dallas Keuchel allowed one run over 5 2/3 innings i n his f i nal t uneup for opening day, leading the Houston Astros over the Detroit Tigers 3-2 at Kissimmee, Florida. Keuchel gave up seven hits, struck out five and walked one. He starts against Cleveland on Monday. ... Jesse Chavez a l lowed t h ree hits in six innings, Mark Canha homered and the Oakland Athletics beat the Los Angeles Angels 4-1 at Mesa, Arizona. Billy Burns drove in a run on his major league-leading 29th hit, the most by an A’s player in spring training since Tony Phillips had 30 in 1999. J.P. Sportsman also homered.
James Shields allowed three hits in three scoreless innings, Jedd Gyorko hit a t hree-r un homer in a five-run first inning against Jeff Samardzija, and the San Diego Padres beat a Chicago White Sox split squad 8-2 Wednesday in the final game of the Cactus League season at Camelback Ranch in Glendale, Arizona.
In a matchup of openi ng- day pitchers, Chris Tillman allowed two runs over five i nnings while Francisco Liriano gave up one run in three innings as the Baltimore Orioles a nd Pittsbu rg h Pi rates played to a 3-3 tie in 10 innings at Sarasota, Florida. Tillman and Liriano were both selected to start on opening day for the second straight season. Pedro Alvarez, who leads t he Grapefruit League with 17 RBIs, hit a two-run homer off Tillman in the second inning.