MLB Spring Training: two Yankees sluggers down; one up
D J LeMahieu’s offense gave the Yankees a boost while Braves star Ronald Acuna continued to stumble. Here’s a recap of MLB Spring Training games on 3/3.
Our first losers go to the Yankees. Namely, Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton; two formidable figures when they’re on the field. But neither has done much this MLB spring training, and Tuesday Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said that inertial status is likely to continue for some time into the regular season.
Judge is dealing with muscle discomfort that has kept him out of spring games. “It’s two and a half weeks …and then having a spring training,” Cashman said.
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Stanton’s problem is a calf strain that has limited him to two spring plate appearances. Cashman put that recovery at four to six weeks, which bring him back to the Yankees some time in mid-April.
Winner: D J LeMahieu, New York Yankees infielder
LeMahieu’s performance against the Red Sox Tuesday was a balm to Yankees fans troubled by the nagging injuries to Judge and Stanton.
His leadoff base hit in the first inning touched off a six-run Yankees outburst. LeMahieu came up a second time in the first, singled a second time, and that hit drove in the inning’s final two runs.
Coming off a superb 2019, LeMahieu is hitting .313 this spring.
Winner: Paul DeJong, St. Louis Cardinals shortstop
Facing the Houston Astros Tuesday, Paul DeJong produced two more base hits to continue his torrid spring.
DeJong’s second-inning base hit began a two-run rally in what would become a 6-3 St Louis victory. He singled again in the fourth, although that hit did not lead to any runs.
Dejong now has eight hits – three of them home runs – in 14 MLB spring training at-bats.
MLB Spring Training Recap: March 3
Loser: Ronald Acuna Jr., Atlanta Braves outfielder
Is Ronald Acuna’s MLB spring training performance a matter of concern for the Braves yet?
Acuna went hitless in three at-bats, all of them strikeouts, against the Tampa Bay Rays Tuesday. In 19 spring at-bats to date, he has two singles and eight whiffs.
His spring is a microcosm of the Braves spring generally. The Braves are hitting .226 as a team in their first 11 games, eight of them Braves losses.
Winner: Anderson Tejeda, Texas Rangers infielder
Anderson Tejeda and is a four-year minor leaguer being given a spring opportunity to show his wares to the Rangers brass.
Although a natural shortstop, the start he got Tuesday against the San Francisco Giants game at second base, batting out of the ninth spot in the order. Tejeda drew an early walk, then came up again at an opportune moment in the sixth.
The Giants led 3-1 with runners at first and second and two out when Tejeda got his chance. His home run to center field on a 1-0 pitch thrust the Rangers into a 4-3 lead, and they rode that to an eventual 6-5 victory.
Tejeda is now hitting .417 for the spring. He still has an uphill fight to win a roster spot, and the odds of his taking playing time from either second baseman Rougned Odor or shortstop Elvis Andrus remain slim. But he’s having a quality spring.
Loser: Cleveland Indians pitchers
This has been a terrible spring for Indians pitchers, and it continued to deteriorate Tuesday.
The slide began when Mike Clevinger, expected to be the staff ace, came up sore with leg problems. Since then the Indians have produced a 6.35 staff ERA on their way to a 3-9 spring record.
The Indians’ 11-7 defeat at the hands of the Los Angeles Angels illustrated the pitching problems. The starter, Carlos Carrasco, lasted two innings, gave up two runs on three hits, and left with a 9.00 ERA.
Hunter Wood came in to pitch the sixth inning holding a 5-2 lead and gave up four runs, although just two were earned. Then in the seventh, Jefry Rodriguez allowed four more runs on three hits and two walks.
MLB Spring Training Recap: March 3
Winner: Garrett Richards, San Diego Padres pitcher
Coming off the latest in a series of disabling injuries Garrett Richards made his MLB spring training debut Tuesday against the Milwaukee Brewers.
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Four years ago, before all those injuries set in, Richards was a first-rate pitcher. On Tuesday, Richards looked like his old self.
He worked two innings and retired six of the seven batters he faced, two on strikeouts. Afterward, he proclaimed himself free from pain, and added, “It’s nice to be healthy.”
Loser: Dakota Meeks, Chicago Cubs pitcher
If you’re Dakota Meeks, it’s probably impossible to have a bad day, even given the drubbing he took Tuesday at the hands of the Colorado Rockies.
After all, the Cubs minor leaguer – who isn’t even counted as a top 30 prospect in the team’s so-so minor league system – at least got a look.
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He probably would have hoped to show up better than he did against the Rockies. Entering in the ninth inning of a game the Cubs led 10-5, Beeks did retire the first batter he faced. But he followed that up with a hit batter, a base on balls, two singles, and a double. By the time Meeks left, Colorado had tied the game 10-10. It ended one batter later in an 11-10 Rockies win.