Tatsuya Imai threw three perfect innings, Jose Altuve hit his first home run of spring training and the Houston Astros defeated the host Miami Marlins 4-1 on Wednesday in Jupiter, Fla.
Imai, the Japanese ace who signed a three-year, $54 million contract with the Astros this winter, stuck out four and needed just 35 pitches (24 strikes) to breeze through Miami’s lineup. Isaac Paredes broke a 0-0 stalemate with a solo shot in the fourth inning before Zach Cole and Altuve went back-to-back in the sixth.
Heriberto Hernandez hit his third homer of the spring for the Marlins’ lone run. Starter Max Meyer fanned six batters in three innings before Janson Junk gave up the first home run and Bradley Blalock allowed the next two.
Braves 5, Rays 3
Matt Olson’s first-inning homer was his third longball of the spring, and Brett Wisely added a home run as Atlanta beat visiting Tampa Bay in North Port, Fla.
Olson finished 2-for-3 and Austin Riley added an RBI double for the Braves. Spencer Strider struck out five in four innings on his way to his second win of spring training.
Ben Williamson drove in all three Rays runs with a 425-foot shot in the sixth inning. He went 2-for-3, but Tampa Bay batted 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position.
Orioles 7, Pirates 2
Taylor Ward and Jose Barrero launched three-run home runs to help Baltimore beat visiting Pittsburgh in Sarasota, Fla.
Orioles starter Kyle Bradish held the Pirates to one hit and one walk in his five innings, and Chris Bassitt took care of the final four innings, yielding two runs but fanning three.
Nicholas Cimillo had a pinch-hit home run in the ninth for the Pirates.
Twins 2, Tigers 1
Kaelen Culpepper hit a walk-off single to left with one out as host Minnesota edged Detroit in Fort Myers, Fla.
The Twins didn’t score until Ildefonso Ruiz’s sacrifice fly tied the game in the eighth. Taj Bradley struck out seven batters, scattered one run and three hits during his five-inning start.
The Tigers mustered just four hits in all, but they led for a good portion of the game thanks to Riley Greene’s fourth-inning double that scored Matt Vierling.
Nationals 3, Cardinals 1
Abimelec Ortiz and Trey Lipscomb put Washington ahead in the eighth inning, and the hosts held on to beat St. Louis in West Palm Beach, Fla.
Ortiz broke a 1-1 tie with an RBI double and Lipscomb followed two batters later with a run-scoring single for the Nationals. Cade Cavalli and four relievers combined to hold the Cardinals to five hits.
Nolan Gorman tied the game for the Cardinals in the sixth with a run-plating single after Daylen Lile put Washington on the board with an RBI double in the first.
