Sports Fanatics Palace: February 2014

Friday, February 28, 2014

Morales goes 2 innings, Rockies down D-Backs

Final

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Franklin Morales pitched two shutout innings in his bid to return to the Colorado staff and the Rockies beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 11-0 on Friday.
"Score 11 runs and give up two hits," summarized Rockies manager Walt Weiss. "That's a good formula."The 28-year-old Morales both started and relieved for the Rockies from 2007-11. He was traded to Boston during his final season in Colorado.The left-hander gave up a double to Matt Tuiasosopo, walked two and struck out one. He threw 36 pitches, including 21 strikes."His pitch count was high, but his velocity was good," Weiss said. "For the first time out, I thought he did a nice job."Morales said he's "the same power pitcher" as when he pitched for the Rockies previously. But now, "I have more location.""I'm very excited because they gave me this opportunity. I'm going to show what I have," he said.Patrick Corbin, projected as the D-Backs' No. 1 starter, pitched four innings, giving up two runs and four hits.Corbin blanked the Rockies for two innings but then gave up a two-run homer to pinch-hitter Ryan Casteel in the third.Weiss said the Rockies have considerably more depth than last year, when they got off to a good start but then faded badly."I think we're set up better for what a six- or seven-month season throws at you," he said.Last year "when we got beyond that first tier, we were young and inexperienced. We're a little deeper as we sit here today," he said.STARTING TIMEBecause they open the season early, on March 22-23 in Australia, Corbin and the other Arizona pitchers are on an advanced track."I feel I am where I need to be," Corbin said. "I feel pretty good with the four innings. I wasn't tired at all. I'm going to work on my pitch count and get ready for my next start and the opening series in Sydney."CATCHING UPArizona catcher Miguel Montero, whose upcoming season is a key for the team, is set to catch Saturday and Sunday."He's on a pretty accelerated schedule," manager Kirk Gibson said. "We'll make sure he's ready for Australia."Montero dipped to just .230 with 11 homers and 42 RBIs in 116 games last year. His 162-game averages are .267 with 18 homers and 79 RBIs."He's fine; it's a new year," Gibson said. "He's healthy. ... He's confident in himself. We expect a good bounce-back year."SWINGING AWAYRockies outfielder Corey Dickerson doubled, singled and drove in two runs."He's one of those guys who can hit underwater," Weiss said. "He's aggressive in the box. He's always going to hit."Dickerson said he trained with a track coach in the winter and is faster and strong than ever."Working hard in the offseason is paying off a little bit early on in camp," he said.CONNECTINGRockies outfielder, Jason Pridie hit a solo homer. He'd also homered the previous day in an intrasquad game."It's all about making that impression," Pridie said. Better to do that early in spring, too, considering the club seems to have a crowded outfield and the rotation tends to shrink later on.""I know we have some great outfielders," he said. "I want to keep showing my talents and hope my name keeps coming up when they're talking about things."Said Weiss: "There will be some difficult decisions."

Orioles' Tillman sharp in victory over Rays

Final

Orioles 4

(1-0, 1-0 away)

Rays 2

(0-1, 0-1 home)

1:05 PM ET, February 28, 2014

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
BAL	3	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	4	9	0
TB	0	0	0	1	0	0	1	0	0	2	7	0

Associated Press

PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. -- Chris Tillman pitched two scoreless inning in an impressive spring training debut, helping the Baltimore Orioles open their exhibition schedule with a 4-2 victory over Erik Bedard and the Tampa Bay Rays on Friday.
Bedard spent the first five years of his career with the Orioles and is competing to win the fifth starter's spot in his first season with the Rays. He yielded a three first-inning runs, although that doesn't necessarily mean he took a step back in his bid to rebound from a pair of disappointing seasons with the Pittsburgh Pirates and Houston Astros.The left-hander, who turns 35 on Wednesday, was 11-26 with a 4.76 ERA over the last two seasons, including 4-12 with a 4.59 ERA in 26 starts and six relief appearances for the Astros last year.As a veteran of 10 seasons, Bedard understands spring training numbers don't always reflect how a pitcher is performing. He understands the competition for the job."It puts a little more pressure," Bedard said. "In the past I've had very bad springs, and I've have decent ones. You just go out there and throw strikes and do the best you can. Sometimes the results in spring don't mean you're not doing good."Tillman, a first-time All-Star a year ago, allowed one hit, walked none and struck out three. Steve Clevenger had a RBI single and Alex Gonzalez finished Baltimore's big inning against Bedard with a two-run single."Tilly was sharp. Sometimes last year he was kind of searching for arm strength early, even in the season, but he was pretty sharp today," Orioles manager Buck Showalter said. "He has a different presence about him. He's not that much more heavier, but you see some definition, the way he carries himself and everything."Jerry Sands and Justin Christian drove in runs for the Rays.STARTING TIMEOrioles: Tillman went 11-3 with a 3.95 ERA before the All-Star break last summer and finished 16-7 with a 3.71 ERA in 33 starts. He threw 25 pitches in his spring training debut, primarily working on fastball command. He fanned David DeJesus, James Loney and reigning AL rookie of the year Wil Myers, but stressed it's just a start."I think this early in spring it doesn't really matter who you face. It's just going out there and getting the feel again," Tillman said. "We face our own hitters the first two weeks, and it isn't the same feel. So it was good to get the juices flowing again."Rays: Bedard also threw 25 pitches, but allowed three runs, three hits, walked two, struck out one and also had a wild pitch in one inning. Manager Joe Maddon stressed it's too early to read anything into the outing. "It's a process-oriented situation. I really liked a lot of what our pitchers did today. ... Bedard gave up a couple of runs, but I thought he made some good pitches," Maddon said.TRAINER'S ROOMRays 2B Ben Zobrist remains sidelined with a sore back. Madden said he's feeling better and is expected to take part in team drills and return to the lineup early next week. INF Alexi Casilla (hamstring), 1B Chris Marrero (oblique) and OF Quintin Berry (back) did not make the trip for the Orioles.LOTS OF FUN?The American flag, as well as the game ball, were delivered to Charlotte Sports Park by the U.S. Special Operations Command parachute team, which ended a free-fall demonstration by landing on the field. Maddon was impressed, but said he had no interest in taking up skydiving."I don't even like jumping off diving boards," the Rays manager said.

Trout grand slam, 5 RBIs as Angels beat Cubs 15-3

Final

Cubs 3

(0-2, 0-1 away)

Angels 15

(1-0, 1-0 home)

3:05 PM ET, February 28, 2014

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
CHC	0	0	0	1	0	0	2	0	0	3	6	0
LAA	0	4	0	9	0	0	0	2	-	15	15	0

Associated Press

TEMPE, Ariz. -- Mike Trout wasted little time in showing off his million-dollar swing.
The young star hit a grand slam onto the berm by the left-field foul pole and drove in five runs Friday in the Los Angeles Angels' 15-3 win over the Chicago Cubs.Trout struck out in the first and hit an RBI single that capped a four-run second against Cubs starter Chris Rusin. He hit the grand slam against James McDonald in a nine-run fourth."I think it was out before he got out of the batter's box," Angels manager Mike Scioscia said.Trout agreed Wednesday to a $1 million deal, a record for a one-year major league contract for a player not yet eligible for arbitration who wasn't coming to the big leagues from Japan or Cuba or wasn't required to have a larger amount because of the maximum-cut rule.Jered Weaver allowed one hit in three innings, Darwin Barney's infield single in the first, against a Cubs team that featured mostly backups and players bound for the minors.Chris Iannetta homered and drove in three runs for the Angels. Barney homered against Brian Moran in the fourthJ. B. Shuck played left field in place of injured Josh Hamilton and went 2 for 3 with a triple with three RBIs. Hamilton strained a left calf muscle Tuesday and is expected to be sidelined for at least two weeks."We were on pitches that you usually don't expect the team to on this early in the spring," Scioscia said.STARTING TIMEAngels: Weaver told reporters that he did more stretching than he has in the past as he headed into the season, his ninth with the team."It's the first day of school and it's exciting to get back out there," said Weaver, 11-8 with a 3.27 ERA in 24 starts in an injury-plagued 2013. The three-time All-Star was hit in the left elbow by a line drive off the bat of Texas' Mitch Moreland on April 7 last season and missed seven weeks. "I wanted to throw strikes and work on mechanics and keep pitches in the strike zone."Cubs: Chris Rusin, a rotation candidate because right-hander Jake Arrieta is not expected to be ready by opening day, was hit hard. He gave up five hits and four runs in two innings with one walk and two strikeouts."I felt my mechanics were a little bit off in the second," Rusin said. "Other than that, I was pleased with my first outing."Rusin went 2-6 with a 3.93 ERA in 13 games (all starts) with the Cubs in 2013. He had a 2.64 ERA in his fist eight starts and then a 6.55 ERA over his final five starts. He threw 22 1/3 consecutive scoreless innings on the road in one stretch, the longest run for a Cubs left-hander on the road in franchise history.TRAINER'S ROOMCubs manager Rick Renteria said Arrieta has lengthened his distance and is feeling better. Arreita, who has been slowed with tightness in his throwing shoulder this spring, is slated to be in the Cubs' starting rotation this season. He is expected to join the team sometime in April.PROSPECT WATCHThe Cubs' highlight Friday was provided by Kris Bryant, the No. 2 overall pick of last June's draft, hit a long homer over the wall in center field in his first spring at bat, in the seventh inning.