Yankees and Dutchies in Spring Training: Thursday March 5

Finally the Yankees got their first win of the ST season. In Bradenton, the ST home of the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Apparently the MLB players are having a slow start. Brett Gardner and Jacoby Ellsbury didn’t get a hit once again (gives some hope for the upcoming season 😉 ). One of the few Major Leaguers that performed well was Garrett Jones. The back up first baseman hit 2 for2 with a double, an RBI and a walk.  Yankees prospect Rob Refsnyder did well at bat too. He collected two hits out of three at bats. The only pitcher that gave up more than two hits was Cesar Vargas, who gave up four hits and the sole run that Pittsburgh scored. Eventually the Yankees prevailed 2-1.

The Dutchies had some mixed results.

Roger Bernadina didn’t get a basehit but made two nice defensive plays in left field. He caught a fly ball and a line drive in the first inning. In the same game Jair Jurrjens entered the game in relief. He pitched two innings and allowed only one run and struck out one.

The Orioles beat the other birds in the American League, called the Blue Jays. Jonathan Schoop contributed to that 5-0 win with a two run homerun that brough Mike Yastrzemski home as well. Schoop made a couple of 4-3 outs and struck out twice.

Xander Bogaerts was in the lead off spot on the Red Sox’ roster. Already trailing 4-0, Bogaerts put Boston on the board with a solo shot towards center field. He drew a walk and was driven in on a grand slam homerun by Dustin Pedroia in the fourth. He also drew a walk.

Then some nice news about Carlton Daal. The infielder from Curacao was called up to the MLB Spring Training Camp by the Reds. Last season, Daal played for the single A Dayton Dragons. At bat he was tremendous with a batting average of .296 (hovered above .300 most of the season) but his defensive skills were not as good as he led the Midwest League in errors at shortstop with 39. I don’t expect him to make the Opening Day roster, but it is a great opportunity for this 21-year old kid to prepare himself for the upcoming season with the big guys. Daal played with the Reds vs the Indians and was brought into the game in the sixth inning. Two innings later he grounded out 6-4 in his sole at bat.