The New York Yankees' bullpen were terrific down the stretch to deliver a 6-5 win in the first game of their series against heated rivals the Boston Red Sox.
Played at Boston's Fenway Park, the Yankees threatened to blow the Red Sox away in the third inning when Josh Donaldson crushed a 429-foot grand slam to sntach a 4-0 lead. Aaron Hicks then followed it up with his own solo home run from the very next pitch.
But the Red Sox showed fight in the bottom of the third inning, with Rafael Devers connecting on his fifth career home run against Yankees ace Gerrit Cole, and his 18th blast of the season, with a two-run, 434-foot shot to center-field.
The Yankees were able to add one more insurance run in the fifth inning through a Jose Trevino double, but the Red Sox answered straight back in the bottom of the frame once again.
After a double to Franchy Cordero and a walk to Kevin Plawecki, Devers came through again, this time with a 425-foot homer to straight center-field to score three runs, making it six career homers off Cole and 19 for the season.
The rest of the game featured spectacular pitching out of both bullpens, with the Yankees trio of Wandy Peralta, Michael King and Clay Holmes combining to allow no hits and one walk from the final three frames, while Red Sox arms Matt Strahm, John Schreiber, Ryan Brasier and Austin Davis combined to allow one hit and no walks in the last four innings.
Cole was credited with the win, despite it not being his best performance, finishing with six complete innings for five earned runs, with all five runs coming off the bat of Devers.
The Yankees also got the job done without the help of AL MVP favourite Aaron Judge, who missed with a lower-back complaint, as well as Anthony Rizzo, who is fifth in the league in home runs (22), eight behind Judge's league-lead (30).
Ohtani and Trout struggle as Rutchsman goes deep
Superstar Los Angeles Angels duo Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout finished a combined zero-for-seven from the plate as their side went down 4-1 on the road against the Baltimore Orioles.
The loss is the Angels' fifth from their past six games as another potential AL MVP season from Ohtani appears likely to end without a playoff berth unless things turn around drastically, now fourth in their division and 17 games behind the Houston Astros.
Baltimore was buoyed by top prospect Adley Rutchsman hitting his first career home run at Camden Yards – which the Orioles fans will be hoping was the first of many.
Rookie Strider shines in Braves loss
Atlanta Braves rookie starting pitcher Spencer Strider continues to make his case for NL Rookie of the Year after striking out a career-high 12 batters in his side's 3-2 extra-inning loss to the St Louis Cardinals.
Incredibly, the first nine outs Strider recorded were all strikeouts, and he would make it through six complete innings, allowing no runs from two hits and two walks in 100 pitches. It was the first time in Braves history that a pitcher has recorded each of his first nine outs via strikeout.
The scores were tied at 1-1 after nine innings, and after each side brought home a run in the 10th, the Cardinals were able to score another in the 11th off a Dylan Carlson infield-single, with Packy Naughton collecting the save.
Carlson finished three-for-three at the plate after being brought in as a pinch-hitter in the seventh inning.
Rays 'optimistic' on Franco status for Opening Day after MRI on quad injury
The Tampa Bay Rays are "optimistic" emerging shortstop Wander Franco will be available for their Opening Day game with the Detroit Tigers on Thursday despite a quad injury concern.
Franco, 22, underwent an MRI on Sunday which Rays manager Kevin Cash said returned "favourable" results.
Despite the good results, Cash said Franco would not play in Tampa Bay's spring training game against the New York Yankees on Monday but was hopeful of their season opener against the Tigers.
"We've got three days to treat him," Cash told the Tampa Bay Times. "I don't think anything's been decided.
"We're optimistic that if we can get this thing treated the right way, we should be in a spot where he's good to go.
"Three days off in a row for him. Maybe get him out there that last day and take [batting practice] and see how he feels, but I'm pretty optimistic."
Franco had been scratched from the lineup for Saturday's spring training game against the Boston Red Sox due to right quadriceps soreness, although the Rays called that precautionary.
The 22-year-old has been a revelation for the Rays since debuting in 2021, including tying Frank Robinson (1956) for the longest on-base streak (43 games) in AL/NL history by a player 20 years old or younger.
Franco finished third in AL Rookie of the Year voting in 2021, before hitting .277 with six home runs and 33 RBIs in 2022.
Top Yankees prospect Volpe 'so excited' after being named starting shortstop for Opening Day
The New York Yankees have announced top prospect Anthony Volpe will start at shortstop on Opening Day against the San Francisco Giants on Thursday.
The 21-year-old had been invited to spring training as a non-roster player and has won the initial battle with Oswald Peraza for the starting shortstop role.
Volpe batted .314/.417/.647 with three home runs and 10 extra-base hits in 17 games during spring.
"He's earned the right to take that spot, and we're excited for him and excited for us," Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said of Volpe.
"He just dominated all sides of the ball during February and March, and that bodes well, obviously, for him as we move forward."
Yankees manager Aaron Boone delivered the news on Sunday, with the franchise releasing the video on social media.
"My heart was beating pretty hard," Volpe said. "Incredible. I'm just so excited. It's hard for me to even put into words."
Volpe will become the youngest Yankees shortstop since Derek Jeter debuted at 20 in 1995. He enjoyed a standout 2022 in the minors that ended at Triple-A, having been selected by the Yankees with the 30th overall pick in the 2019 MLB Draft.
The Yankees topped the American League East last season with a 99-63 record before being swept by the Houston Astros in the AL Championship Series.
The team re-signed Aaron Judge, Anthony Rizzo and Gleyber Torres in the offseason, while pitcher Carlos Rodon signed after opting out of his Giants contract.
Yankees pitcher Severino set to miss start of the season
New York Yankees pitcher Luis Severino is set to miss the start of the MLB season due to a low-grade right lat strain.
Yankees manager Aaron Boone on Saturday revealed Severino will not throw for at least five days.
The two-time All-Star was due to start Yankees' second game of the season against the San Francisco Giants next Saturday, but looks likely to instead be on the injured list.
Clarke Schmidt is expected to get a start in the absence of Severino, with Gerrit Cole the man to open up in the first game of the season versus the Giants on Thursday.
Severino missed over two months with the same injury last season.
The 29-year-old has an ERA of 9.00 this spring, having allowed 15 runs in as many innings.
The Yankees are also without Carlos Rodon (forearm strain) and Frankie Montas (shoulder surgery) heading into the new season.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
