Big crowd in Montreal watches Blue Jays win
MONTREAL — Josh Donaldson homered and the Toronto Blue Jays beat the Cincinnati Reds 9-1 Saturday before a crowd of 50,231 at Olympic Stadium.
The Blue Jays split the a two-game set with Cincinnati that drew 96,545 fans. The fans rallied, hoping to show Major League Baseball they want big league ball back after losing the Expos to Washington following the 2004 season.
Toronto starter Daniel Norris allowed one hit in three shutout innings on the final day of spring training.
“It’s a really cool experience,” Toronto starter Daniel Norris said. “And it’s a good tuneup for what’s to come.”
Donaldson homered in the second off Anthony Desclafani.
Toronto scored four times in the fifth off relievers Kevin Gregg and Chris Carpenter. Jose Reyes Encarnacion, Donaldson and Navarro each drove in a run.
DEVELOPMENTS
Royals’ Ventura gets $23M: Young ace Yordano Ventura and the Kansas City Royals have agreed on a five-year contract worth $23 million.
The 23-year-old Ventura dazzled as a rookie last season, going 14-10 with a 3.20 ERA.
The right-hander pitched seven shutout innings against San Francisco to win Game 6 of the World Series. The Giants won the title the next day.
Cubs lose spring finale: Mark Trumbo homered and had an RBI single in two at-bats, and the Arizona Diamondbacks finished spring training with a 4-2 win over the Chicago Cubs on Saturday at Phoenix.
Trumbo hit a two-run home run in the third inning after a run-scoring single in the first, ending his spring with a .421 batting average. His four home runs and 19 RBIs led the Diamondbacks.
The Cubs went with a lineup of minor league position players that included some of their top prospects, including shortstop Addison Russell, catcher Kyle Schwarber, second baseman Javier Baez, center fielder Albert Almora and left fielder Junior Lake. The major league team, including manager Joe Maddon, traveled to Chicago ahead of today’s regular-season opener against the St. Louis Cardinals.
Travis Wood and Kyle Hendricks, the Cubs’ fourth and fifth starters in the major-league rotation, worked one inning each to start the game. Wood allowed two runs on three hits with a strikeout and Hendricks pitched a hitless second inning.
In games: Tim Hudson pitched five shutout innings during the San Francisco Giants’ 2-1 victory Saturday in the final spring tuneup for both teams at Oakland, California. Former Collierville High star Drew Pomeranz, Oakland’s No. 5 starter, took the loss. ... Booed before each at-bat, Alex Rodriguez struck out swinging all three times up as the designated hitter Saturday during the New York Yankees’ 4-3 victory over the Nationals in the exhibition finale for both clubs at Washington. Rodriguez, a three-time AL MVP, is returning from a season-long drug suspension. Washington closer Drew Storen, recovering from a blister on his right foot, got just one out in the eighth, allowing a double by Didi Gregorius, Derek Jeter’s replacement at shortstop, and Chris Young’s go-ahead, tworun homer. ... Eric Stults celebrated his return to the major leagues, allowing one run in five innings to lead the Atlanta Braves past the Baltimore Orioles 5-3 in Kissimmee, Florida. Stults has pitched for three other major league teams and was brought to Braves camp as a non-roster invitee. He was 8-17 for the San Diego Padres last season. Braves closer Craig Kimbrel allowed his first run of the spring when Chris Parmelee homered off him in the ninth. Freddie Freeman hit his third home run for the Braves and finished exhibition play with a .339 batting average. A.J. Pierzynski had two hits to end the spring at .366. ... Anthony Recker hit a grand slam with two outs in the ninth and the New York Mets pulled out a 4-4 tie against the Texas Rangers at Arlington, Texas. ... Alfredo Simon allowed one hit over five innings, Victor Martinez hit his second home run and the Detroit Tigers beat the Tampa Bay Rays 1-0 at St. Petersburg, Florida.
Briefly: Clint Robinson made the Washington Nationals’ opening day roster as a left-handed batter off the bench, beating out Mike Carp for that role. Carp and left-handed reliever Rich Hill were reassigned to the minors, manager Matt Williams said Saturday. ... San Francisco Giants outfielder and first baseman Travis Ishikawa will begin the season on the disabled list with a back injury. Manager Bruce Bochy said Ishikawa is staying in Arizona and beginning to hit off a tee in his rehabilitation. ... New York Yankees opening day starter Masahiro Tanaka says his fastball speed could be down this season as he adjusts his pitching motion. “I’m trying to establish a certain pitching style for me this year, so maybe it isn’t the wisest to ask for velocity from me,” Tanaka said through a translator on Saturday, when the Yankees played their exhibition finale against the Washington Nationals. On Monday, the Japanese right-hander will pitch in New York’s regular-season opener at home against the Toronto Blue Jays, and he noted that he’ll be using more two-seam fastballs than four-seamers. “Because of the fact that I’m throwing more two-seamers, that would obviously make the velocity go down,” Tanaka said. ... Barry Zito, the 2002 AL Cy Young Award winner, was reassigned to Oakland’s minor league camp Saturday and the 38-year-old left-hander said he will accept the assignment to Nashville.