Tigers ace Justin Verlander made his long-awaited Grapefruit League debut on Tuesday against a Blue Jays split-squad and came away with positive results.
Spring training roundup: Justin Verlander debuts, David Price notches 8 strikeouts
A couple of high-profile aces looked sharp in Florida on Tuesday.
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Verlander, who underwent offseason surgery to repair a core muscle, lasted 3⠔ innings and did not allow a run while striking out a pair of batters and allowing only one hit. The 31-year-old right-hander also issued two walks, but he did so after getting through the first inning on 11 pitches -- all strikes -- while using only three of the four offerings in his repertoire, according to Tony Paul of The Detroit News.
Don Kelly gave Verlander and the Tigers a 2-0 lead in the second inning with a two-run homer, but Dan Johnson's two-run shot in the seventh inning evened things up. The Blue Jays took the lead in the top of the 10th on a solo shot off the bat of Brad Glenn and held on to win, 3-2.
Price’s strikeout game on point
David Price struck out eight batters in five innings in the Rays' 7-1 victory over the Twins in more Grapefruit League action .
In his second start of the spring, Price surrendered only one run on three hits and a walk against a Twins lineup that included mostly big-leaguers. The only damage against the 28-year-old southpaw came in the form of a home run by Jason Kubel in the second inning.
Jeremy Moore hit a two-run homer for the Rays. Twins starter Ricky Nolasco allowed a pair of runs in four innings of work.
Posey's big day lifts Giants
Buster Posey went 3-for-3 with a homer and four RBI in the Giants' 8-5 victory over the Reds in Cactus League play.
San Francisco's star catcher already had a line-drive single under his belt when he blasted this game-tying three-run homer in the third off of hard-throwing Tony Cingrani:
Posey added a run-scoring double an inning later before coming out of the game midway through the fifth. Giants starter Tim Hudson was credited with the win despite allowing four runs on five hits and two walks in 3â ” innings.
More spring training scores
Marlins 5, Red Sox (ss) 4
Indians 7, Diamondbacks 1
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