Tired of ads? Subscribers enjoy a distraction-free reading experience.
Click here to subscribe today or Login.

Pittsburgh Pirates’ Jim Negrych, left, slides past the tag from Philadelphia Phillies’ Paul Hoover in the eighth inning of an exhibition game Saturday in Philadelphia. Negrych scored on an RBI from teammate Steve Pearce. Philadelphia won its exhibition-season finale, 4-3

AP photo

PHILADELPHIA — Jayson Werth homered and J.A. Happ worked three solid innings to lead the Philadelphia Phillies to a 4-3 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Werth hit his third home run of spring training on Saturday, leading off the fourth inning against Hayden Penn. Chase Utley added two singles and drove in a run for the Phillies, who took both of the weekend’s exhibition games at Citizens Bank Park.
Happ allowed one run and five hits, completing a spring training in which he posted a 3.79 ERA in 21 1-3 innings. He is slated to be the Phillies’ No. 4 starter this season.
The defending NL champions will open the regular season Monday against the Nationals in a game in which President Barack Obama will throw out the first pitch.
The Pirates return to PNC Park to open their season Monday against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Orioles 11, Mets 0
SARASOTA, Fla. — Rookie Brian Matusz pitched four sharp innings and Miguel Tejada hit a grand slam to lead Baltimore over New York in the spring training wrapup for both teams.
Matusz gave up three hits, walked none and struck out two. He finished the exhibition season with a 2.59 ERA, striking out 21 and walking three in 24 1-3 innings.
White Sox 12, Braves 4
ATLANTA — Omar Vizquel drove in three runs with four hits, and John Danks gave up one run in five innings to help Chicago beat Atlanta Braves.
The 42-year-old Vizquel, entering his 22nd season, stole a base and scored three runs.
Royals 10, Rangers 7
FRISCO, Texas — Rick Ankiel had an RBI double and scored on Mitch Maier’s triple to start a five-run seventh inning against Chris Ray.
Texas finished 10-19-1 to match the team record for losses in the spring, many of them like Saturday when the go-ahead runs came after most of the regulars had already exited the game. Kansas City was 14-13-4.
Twins 8, Cardinals 3
MINNEAPOLIS — Joe Mauer helped keep the early home run derby at Target Field going.
Mauer and Michael Cuddyer went deep for Minnesota in a victory over St. Louis that wrapped up spring training for both teams.
Blue Jays 13, Astros 6
HOUSTON — Brandon Morrow pitched five solid innings in his return to the mound after being sidelined by a balky shoulder.
Morrow allowed one run and five hits in his first spring appearance since March 14. He missed his start on March 19 after experiencing right shoulder soreness while warming up, and threw in a simulated game on Monday.
Cubs 6, Diamondbacks 0
PHOENIX — Randy Wells threw four scoreless innings to improve to 4-0 in the spring.
Wells, 12-10 with a 3.05 ERA as a rookie, gave up three hits. A 38th-round pick in 2002, Wells worked in the minors for six seasons before his breakthrough last year. He is No. 3 in the Cubs’ rotation and is scheduled to start Thursday at Atlanta.
Brewers 13, Tigers 12
MILWAUKEE — Rick Porcello finished another strong spring with a flourish.
But the Tigers blew a three-run lead in the ninth and Milwaukee’s Corey Hart scored the winner on an ugly error.
Milwaukee starts its season against the Rockies at Miller Park on Monday, while Detroit travels to Kansas City.
Red Sox 6, Nationals 1
WASHINGTON — Tim Wakefield threw four scoreless innings in his final tuneup and Daisuke Matsuzaka allowed one run over four innings in his longest outing of the spring.
Wakefield allowed three singles, struck out two and walked none, throwing 35 of 45 pitches for strikes. The 43-year-old knuckleballer is scheduled to make his season debut April 9 in Kansas City.
Rockies 10, Mariners 4
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Jorge De La Rosa pitched five scoreless innings and four Rockies homered.
De La Rosa allowed five hits, struck out five and walked two at Isotopes Park to improve to 3-1 in the spring and drop his ERA to 1.50 in 30 innings.
Rays 9, Bulls 6
DURHAM, N.C. — Kelly Shoppach hit a grand slam to lead the Rays over their Triple-A affiliate Durham Bulls.
Tampa Bay finished with the best record this spring (20-8) and will start the season Tuesday at Tropicana Field against the Baltimore Orioles.
Pitcher Jeff Niemann got in four innings of work, but did not get the decision. He was roughed up for five runs and six hits in four innings by the Bulls. He gave up a two-run homer to third baseman Dan Johnson in the first inning, and allowed three more runs in the fourth. He struck out four and walked two.
Reds 10, Indians 10, tie
GOODYEAR, Ariz. — Chris Perez gave up three runs in the bottom of the ninth inning and the Cincinnati Reds rallied for a tie.
Perez, the Indians’ closer while Kerry Wood is on the disabled list with a sore back, allowed a two-run homer to Dennis Phipps, walked a batter, then gave up a tying triple to Alex Buchholz.
Cleveland second baseman Luis Valbuena left in the fourth after being hit in the right hand by a pitch from Homer Bailey.
Angels 6, Dodgers 4
LOS ANGELES — Kendry Morales hit a go-ahead grand slam off Chad Billingsley in the final spring game for both Southern California teams.
Joel Pineiro allowed four runs and seven hits over four innings for the Angels. The right-hander, who signed a two-year, $16 million contract in January as a free agent, was 4-0 with a 4.38 ERA in six starts this spring.
Billingsley threw 75 pitches in just 2 2-3 innings, allowing six runs and six hits. He finished the spring with a 4.67 ERA in five starts.
Giants 10, Athletics 6
OAKLAND, Calif. — Pablo Sandoval hit a three-run home run and scored twice, Jonathan Sanchez gave up one hit over four innings in his third straight strong outing.
John Bowker and Eugenio Velez also homered for the Giants, who have 23 wins this spring, tops in the majors.
Sanchez, who pitched a no-hitter last July, was dominant while retiring 12 of the 14 batters he faced. The Giants’ left-hander struck out two and walked one, allowing only a second-inning single to Eric Chavez.
Grasshoppers 8, Marlins 7, 10 innings
GREENSBORO, N.C. — Jorge Cantu’s two-run homer and RBI single weren’t enough.
Jose Torres homered to tie the score in the ninth and slid into first to beat out a two-out RBI single in the 10th, leading the Greensboro Grasshoppers over their parent club in front of a near sellout at the minor-league ballpark.
Kyle Skipworth, whom the Marlins took sixth overall in 2008, had a two-run homer in the second for the South Atlantic League team, which added two runs in the third on Scott Cousins’ single and Kyle Jensen’s double.