SHOHEI Ohtani belted an opposite-field home run in the fifth inning of his first spring training game with the Los Angeles Dodgers, who went on to a 9-6 win over the visiting Chicago White Sox on Tuesday in Phoenix (Wednesday in Manila).
Ohtani took Dominic Leone to left with a high-arching shot in his third at-bat of his Dodgers debut, cutting the deficit at the time to 4-3. Ohtani, signed in the offseason on a record $700 million deal, also struck out in the first and scored a runner on a double-play grounder in the third.
Drew Avans brought in the go-ahead run with a sacrifice fly in the eighth preceding Chris Okey’s three-run blast off Garrett Schoenle (0-1). Okey finished with four RBIs.
Juan Morillo (1-0) pitched one-third of an inning after Bobby Miller got the start and allowed one run on two hits in two frames.
Paul DeJong had a three-run homer and Colson Montgomery drove in two runs for the White Sox.
In other games, it was the Pirates 13, Braves 4; Red Sox 3, Cardinals 3; Orioles 5, Tigers 2; Tigers 6, Blue Jays 4; Rays 4, Yankees 2; Phillies 3, Twins 3; Nationals 10, Astros 3; and Mets 7, Marlins 1.
Pirates 13, Braves 4
Ke’Bryan Hayes’ game-tying grand slam to center field launched a 13-run uprising for host Pittsburgh to topple Atlanta in Bradenton, Fla.
After Hayes’ long ball in the third inning, Bryan Reynolds hit a two-run shot to center two innings later off Ben Bowden (0-1) to put the Pirates up for good. Abrahan Gutierrez and Jackson Glenn capped a seven-run sixth inning with back-to-back homers.
Jose Hernandez (1-0) pitched a scoreless fifth after the Braves had four RBI singles over the first three innings, with Sean Murphy responsible for two.
Red Sox 3, Cardinals 3
Jeremy Rivas walked to drive in the tying run in the bottom of the ninth for host St. Louis to draw with Boston in Jupiter, Fla.
Noah Song blew the save in the ninth for the Red Sox by issuing three walks with one hit.
Starter Kutter Crawford scattered three hits and a run over two innings, while Nick Sogard brought in all three runs with a two-run homer and a sacrifice fly.
Cardinals starter Sonny Gray struck out two, allowed two walks and yielded two hits over two scoreless innings. Willson Contreras had an RBI double and Luken Baker hit an RBI single. — Field Level Media