Yankees and Dutchies in Spring Training, April 2

Normally I start these reports with the New York Yankees, but today I’d like to make an exception.

The Atlanta Braves won a close one vs Baltimore. Andrelton Simmons went 1 for 3 with an RBI and a K.  Andrelton hit a single in the fifth on which Christian Bethancourt scored. Andrelton was thrown out at second when he tried to stretch the single into a double. The Orioles’ Jonathan Schoop went 0 for 4 with a strikeout and three runners left on base. Now I am coming to the point why I wanted to start with the Braves first. Prospect Ozhaino Albies entered the game in the bottom of the seventh as pinch runner for Freddie Freeman. Ozhaino did not get any at bats but he replaced Andrelton Simmons as shortstop. The fact that he is still called up at this time of Spring Training indicates that the Braves are very high on him. The switch-hitting Curacao native posted a .364/.446/.444 record with a homer, three triples, seven doubles and 22 steals in 57 games between the two levels (Gulf Coast League and Appalachian League) during his first season as a pro. And he walked more than he struck out. The other five players at the age of seventeen in the Appalachian League hit .235 at best; Ozhaino hit .356.

Then the Yankees. They sent out split squads to take on the Tigers in Lakeland and the Pirates at George Steinbrenner Field in Tampa. In the game at Lakeland, Didi Gregorius went 0 for 3 with a strikeout. Despite trailing by three runs after the third inning, the Yankees showed some flexibility by scoring a run in the fifth and in the seventh. The Yankees weren’t exactly outhit by the stud lineup of the Tigers (5-5) but eventually the Tigers were just a bit more effective.
In Tampa the Yankees took on the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Yankees  won 6-2. Michael Pineda blew away the Pittsburgh lineup by fanning six in 5.1 innings, in which he allowed one run on six hits. If he can stay off the pine tar 😉 , Pineda may become a very important chip in the Yankees’ rotation.
Even though Dellin Betances kept the Bucs from scoring he gave up two walks and struck out one in just one inning.

The Boston Red Sox had a mega inning in the sixth when they plated seven runs. Xander Bogaerts scored the first of that string of seven after he had hit his sole base hit out of three at bats. That one inning made the difference between the Sox and the Twins as the Twins scored five runs in total and the Red Sox scored only one more in the eighth inning.