Spring training roundup: Rays’ Steven Matz finishes strong spring vs. Phillies

Southpaw Steven Matz put a punctuation mark on his excellent spring training by tossing five scoreless innings Monday as the Tampa Bay Rays blanked the Philadelphia Phillies, 7-0, in Clearwater, Fla.

Matz, 34, who is transitioning back to the starting rotation after spending the last two seasons in the bullpen, pitched 11 scoreless innings for his new team this spring and is scheduled to start the Rays’ third game of the season. He gave up four hits and one walk while striking out four Phillies.

Yandy Diaz went 4-for-4 and drove in three runs with a sixth-inning double. Jake Fraley and Ben Williamson added home runs for Tampa Bay.

Phillies southpaw Jesus Luzardo, who finalized a five-year, $135 million contract extension earlier this month, shut down Tampa Bay through five innings, but allowed Fraley’s home run to lead off the sixth. He gave up two earned runs, permitted nine Rays to reach base (seven hits, two walks) and fanned six in five innings.

Orioles 2, Nationals 0

Leody Tavares cracked a pinch-hit, two-run home run in the top of the seventh as Baltimore blanked host Washington.

The former Texas Rangers outfielder signed a one-year, $2 million contract with the Orioles in November 2025, but is not assured of making the club. Another Baltimore newcomer, starter Shane Baz blanked the Nationals on three hits (no walks) through five innings.

Nine Washington hurlers threw one inning apiece, including former Oriole Cionel Perez, who fanned two of three batters in the eighth. The Nationals managed only three singles off four Baltimore pitchers.

Braves 5, Pirates 2

Matt Olson hit two of the team’s four solo home runs as Atlanta blasted past Pittsburgh in Bradenton, Fla.

Olson, who has six homers this spring, connected in the first and sixth innings. Eli White went deep in the second inning and Mike Yastrzemski left the yard in the sixth, directly preceding Olson’s second long ball. Prospect Didier Fuentes allowed one earned run over 4 2/3 innings. Fuentes, 20, has been added to the Braves’ Opening Day roster as a bullpen arm, but reports indicate he will be sent back to Triple-A Gwinnett a few weeks into the season to be stretched out as a starter.

Nick Gonzalez and Nick Yorke contributed RBI doubles for the Pirates.

Twins 9, Red Sox 6

David Banuelos hit a two-run, eighth inning home run off premier closer Aroldis Chapman and Minnesota bested Boston in Fort Myers, Fla.

Trevor Larnach also homered for the Twins and added an RBI groundout. Orlando Arcia went 3-for-4 with a pair of RBIs. Starter Bailey Ober allowed 13 Red Sox baserunners (10 hits, three walks) and four earned runs in 4 1/3 innings.

Ceddanne Rafaela had three hits in four trips for the Red Sox, including his third homer of the spring, a solo blast which tied the game at 6 in the bottom of the seventh. Wilyer Abreu added a solo shot for Boston. Starter Johan Oviedo permitted six earned runs in 3 1/3 innings.

Athletics 10, White Sox 9

Drew Swift recorded five RBIs, highlighted by a fourth-inning grand slam, as the host Athletics overcame a seven-run deficit to defeat Chicago in Mesa, Ariz.

Joey Meneses, Henry Bolte and Michael Stefanic also drove in runs for the A’s, with Swift and Stefanic each recording three hits. Starter Luis Morales allowed only one hit over his 2 2/3 innings, a three-run double by Lenyn Sosa.

Sosa, who’s coming off the most productive season of his career, notched four RBIs. Darren Baker’s one-run single in the ninth inning pulled the White Sox within one, but they would get no closer. Anthony Kay had a start to forget for Chicago, surrendering four walks, seven hits and seven runs.

Cubs 15, Yankees 6

Chicago had five multi-hit batters and three home runs as it dismantled New York in Mesa, Ariz.

The Cubs accumulated 18 hits on the day as Michael Conforto and Nico Hoerner recorded three each, while Michael Busch, Alex Bregman and Matt Shaw all went yard. Shota Imanaga pitched five innings, his longest start of the spring, allowing seven hits, two runs and striking out five batters.

The Yankees had 13 hits of their own, highlighted by Spencer Jones’ pair of home runs. Carlos Lagrange was pulled from his start after just 2 2/3 innings, after he allowed nine hits and eight runs.

Padres 10, Mariners 3

A Romeo Sanabria grand slam highlighted an eight-run eighth inning as San Diego topped Seattle in Peoria, Ariz.

Sanabria and Kale Fountain homered for the Padres, who trailed 3-2 entering the eighth before putting the game out of reach. German Marquez pitched 4 2/3 innings in relief, allowing one run on four hits while striking out eight.

Julio Rodriguez, Randy Arozarena and Brady O’Brien drove in runs for Seattle, who outhit the Padres despite the loss. Starter Luis Castillo went five innings with five strikeouts and surrendered just one run.

Brewers 9, Reds 1

Brice Turang, William Contreras and Andrew Vaughn all hit solo home runs as host Milwaukee cruised past Cincinnati.

David Hamilton (2-for-2) opened the scoring with a two-run RBI double in the second and Garrett Mitchell drove in three runs. Seven of the Brewers’ 12 hits went for extra bases and nine hurlers held the Reds to four hits.

Cincinnati starter Brady Singer — expected to occupy the No. 3 slot in the Reds’ rotation — allowed six runs (five earned) in four innings. He gave up six hits, walked one and fanned three. Ke’Bryan Hayes drove in the lone run with a third-inning single.

Rangers 3, Royals 2

Brandon Nimmo hit a two-run homer and Mackenzie Gore threw four innings of scoreless ball as Texas edged Kansas City in Arlington, Texas.

Nimmo, who was acquired from the Mets in exchange for Marcus Semien in November 2025, went deep off Royals starter Michael Wacha in the second inning. Jake Burger went 2-for-3 with an RBI single in the seventh, plating Nimmo. Gore, who came over from the Nationals for five prospects in January, allowed only three hits, no walks and struck out three.

Wacha went five innings, allowing two runs, four hits and three walks, while fanning five. Salvadore Perez (2-for-3) delivered one Kansas City run with a seventh inning solo homer and journeyman Brandon Drury contributed a two-out, ninth inning RBI single.

Rockies 6, Tigers 5

Troy Johnston hit a two-run homer and T.J. Rumfield added a solo shot as host Colorado edged Detroit in Scottsdale, Ariz.

Johnston, Rumfield, Jordan Beck and Brenton Doyle each had two of the Rockies’ 14 hits. Chase Dollander fanned four while throwing 3 2/3 innings of one-run ball.

Gleyber Torres singled, doubled and drove in three runs for the Tigers. Jack Flaherty was tagged for four runs in 4 2/3 innings, though he struck out six.

Guardians 7, Diamondbacks 0

Slade Cecconi and Joey Cantillo each fired four innings of one-hit ball and Chase DeLauter homered twice as Cleveland shut out Arizona in Phoenix.

Cecconi fanned two as the starter, and Cade Smith and Hunter Stanley combined for a hitless fifth inning. Cantillo then took over and fanned six without issuing a walk the rest of the way.

Jose Ramirez also went deep for the Guardians. Diamondbacks starter Merrill Kelly yielded five runs on four hits in two-plus innings.

Angels 7, Dodgers 7

Down 6-0 in the fourth inning, the host Los Angeles Dodgers fought back for a tie against the Los Angeles Angels, scoring the final three runs in the eighth inning.

Teoscar Hernandez homered and Dalton Rushing knocked in three runs for the Dodgers. Roki Sasaki walked six and permitted five runs while throwing two innings, though he didn’t allow a hit.

Josh Lowe collected two hits and three RBIs for the Angels, and Jorge Soler knocked in two runs. Reid Detmers delivered three shutout innings.

–Field Level Media