Pittsburgh’s Paul Skenes was the marquee pitcher entering Saturday’s spring game between the host Pirates and Baltimore Orioles in Bradenton, Fla., but Zach Eflin wound up in the bigger spotlight.
Eflin and six relievers combined on a no-hitter as Baltimore beat Pittsburgh 4-0 with the teams’ regular-season opener less than a week away.
Eflin pitched the first three innings, striking out four and walking one. Riley Cooper ended the no-hitter by striking out Matt Gorski. Cooper threw one inning, fanning two and walking none. Relievers Gregory Soto, Yennier Cano, Cionel Perez, Bryan Baker and Roansy Contreras also worked a hitless inning for Baltimore. Soto gave up the Orioles’ other two walks, and Perez (1-0) was the winning pitcher, striking out two.
Livan Soto led the Orioles’ offense, going 2-for-4. He had one RBI in Baltimore’s three-run seventh.
Skenes, the National League Rookie of the Year last season, gave up no runs and one hit over 3 1/3 innings. He struck out four and walked one. Skenes has been named the starter for the Pirates’ opener on Thursday at Miami, while Eflin is scheduled to start on the same day for the Orioles at the Toronto Blue Jays.
Blue Jays 2, Twins 1
Max Scherzer won his first game of the spring, pitching four shutout innings to help visiting Toronto edge Minnesota in Fort Myers, Fla.
Scherzer (1-0), signed by the Blue Jays as a free agent in February, gave up two hits, walked one and struck out four. The 40-year-old, who is entering his 18th major league season, lowered his spring ERA to 1.38.
Alan Roden had two hits and an RBI for Toronto, while Byron Buxton homered for Minnesota.
Phillies 8, Yankees 7
Aaron Judge hit his first home run of the spring, but host New York fell to Philadelphia in Tampa, Fla.
Judge, the 2024 American League MVP with 58 homers, 144 RBIs and a .322 batting average, launched a two-run homer in the third inning off the Phillies’ Jesus Luzardo. Judge is hitting only .138 with five RBIs in 29 at-bats this spring,
Robert Moore hit a three-run homer to highlight the Phillies’ eight-run ninth inning. The blast came off loser Leonardo Pestana (0-1), the sixth Yankees reliever.
Braves 0, Tigers 0
Behind a combined six pitchers, Atlanta and host Detroit played to a scoreless tie in Lakeland, Fla.
Reynaldo Lopez started for the Braves, surrendering five hits over six innings as his spring ERA dropped to 2.08. He struck out two and walked none. Bryce Elder threw the final three innings (one hit, three strikeouts, no walks).
Jack Flaherty pitched the first six innings for the Tigers. He gave up three hits, struck out five and walked none. Three relievers finished.
Rays 14, Red Sox 2
Kenny Piper and Taylor Walls drove in four runs apiece to lead host Tampa Bay past Boston in Port Charlotte, Fla.
Walls had a three-run homer in the fifth as the Rays built an 11-0 lead, and Piper hit a three-run triple in the second.
Wilyer Abreu and Kristian Campbell hit solo home runs for the Red Sox.
Nationals 5, Mets 5
Each team had eight hits as Washington and host New York tied in the matchup in Port St. Lucie, Fla.
Jacob Young had two hits and two RBIs for the Nationals, and Francisco Lindor and four others drove in a run apiece for the Mets. New York’s Hayden Senger hit a solo home run.
Left-hander MacKenzie Gore gave up three runs on four hits and two walks in three innings for the Nationals. He struck out four. Mets starter Tylor Megill lasted 5 1/3 innings, surrendering three runs on six hits and two walks. He fanned five.
Cardinals 8, Marlins (ss) 2
Willson Contreras’ two-run homer highlighted a four-run first inning that carried visiting St. Louis past a Miami split squad in Jupiter, Fla.
Jordan Walker drove in three runs for the Cardinals, and starter Matthew Liberatore (1-0) got the win after giving up one run and two hits over four innings.
Valente Bellozo (0-2) was the losing pitcher. He surrendered four runs and five hits over five innings to raise his spring ERA to 9.45.
