Cactus roundup: Crawford homers, plays field

Cactus roundup: Crawford homers, plays field

Published Mar. 24, 2013 7:01 p.m. ET

ATHLETICS 7, DODGERS 4

PHOENIX (AP) --
Carl Crawford hit his first home run for Los Angeles and played left field for the second time since elbow surgery in the Dodgers' 7-4 loss to the Oakland Athletics on Sunday.

Crawford, recovering from ligament-replacement surgery on Aug. 23, didn't make his spring training debut until March 17 and played left field for the first time on Saturday. He hit a solo home run in the third off A.J. Griffin, who gave up four runs and five hits in 4 2/3 innings and struck out eight.

Jed Lowrie and Derek Norris homered off Josh Beckett, who gave up seven runs, six hits and three walks over four innings. Acquired from the Boston Red Sox on Aug. 25 along with Crawford and Adrian Gonzalez, Beckett has a 5.40 ERA in four spring training starts.

Andre Ethier also homered off Griffin.

RANGERS 7, REDS 2

SURPRISE, Ariz. (AP) --
Reds pitcher Bronson Arroyo left his start after getting hit on his pitching hand by David Murphy's line drive Sunday in Cincinnati's 7-2 loss to the Texas Rangers.

Preliminary X-rays detected no break. Arroyo allowed three runs and nine hits in 5 1/3 innings before being led off the field by a trainer.

Lance Berkman homered and drove in three runs for Texas, while Alexi Ogando pitched six scoreless innings.

Craig Gentry tripled in the first and scored on Berkman's sacrifice fly. Berkman's fourth-inning homer landed in the Rangers' bullpen beyond the right-field fence with Gentry aboard.

Ogando, set to be a starter this season after spending last year in the bullpen, limited the Reds to three hits. He walked one and struck out five, throwing 56 strikes in 82 pitches.     

BREWERS 7, ROCKIES 5

PHOENIX (AP) --
Ryan Braun hit an RBI double and young shortstop Jean Segura had two hits to help a Milwaukee Brewers split squad beat the Colorado Rockies 7-5 on Sunday.

Ben McMahan hit a two-run single and Nick Shaw had an RBI single during the Brewers' five-run sixth inning against reliever Matt Belisle.

Colorado starter Juan Nicasio went five innings, allowing two runs on seven hits with two walks and four strikeouts. Nicasio also had a pair of singles.

Milwaukee right-hander Mark Rogers returned to the mound after a 12-day break and gave up two runs on two hits and two walks in three innings. He struck out two.

Rogers, who had originally been competing for a spot in the rotation, has struggled with his command and velocity throughout the spring and is now a long shot for the bullpen.

GIANTS 5, ANGELS 4

TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) --
Barry Zito pitched five effective innings and Buster Posey hit a go-ahead single in the ninth to lift the San Francisco Giants over the Los Angeles Angels 5-4 on Sunday.

Zito allowed one run and six hits in his sixth start this spring.

Fellow left-hander Jason Vargas was even better for the Angels in his fifth Cactus League start. Vargas was charged with one run and five hits while striking out five and walking two in six-plus innings.

Los Angeles scored off Zito in the fourth. Albert Pujols opened with a double off the wall in left-center and scored from third two outs later on Howie Kendrick's single.

The Angels' big bats broke out in the seventh against Scott Proctor. Peter Bourjos opened with a triple and scored on Mike Trout's double. Josh Hamilton doubled in Trout and Luis Rodriguez.

PADRES 6, BREWERS 4

PEORIA, Ariz. (AP) --
Yonder Alonso hit his fifth home run in his last nine games, helping the San Diego Padres defeat a Milwaukee Brewers' split squad 6-4 Sunday.

Alonso was 2 for 4 and drove in three runs, raising his spring training total to 12 RBIs to go along with a .236 average (13 for 55).

Brewers starter Wily Peralta allowed six runs and 10 hits in 5 1/3 innings. San Diego's Eric Stults gave up four runs on seven hits in six innings with four strikeouts and no walks.

Padres closer Huston Street pitched a perfect seventh inning, his seventh straight scoreless outing.

ROYALS 8, WHITE SOX 2

GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) --
Jeremy Guthrie struck out eight and walked none over six crisp innings, and Alex Gordon hit his fifth home run of spring training to lead the Kansas City Royals past the Chicago White Sox 8-2 on Sunday.

Guthrie gave up an RBI single to Jeff Keppinger in the first and a home run to Alejandro De Aza in the fifth.

The Royals (20-7-1) own baseball's best record this spring. They reached 20 spring training wins for the third time in their history.

Gordon Beckham went 1 for 3 for Chicago to raise his batting average to .295. The second baseman has eight hits in his last 18 at-bats.

Keppinger has seven hits in his last nine at-bats, upping his average to .472.

CUBS 4, INDIANS 3

GOODYEAR, Arizona (AP) --
Ubaldo Jimenez allowed three runs in seven innings of the Cleveland Indians' 4-3 loss to the Chicago Cubs on Sunday.

He gave up three hits, including back-to-back doubles to Anthony Rizzo and Alfonso Soriano in fourth inning. He struck out three and walked one.

Chris Rusin shut down the Indians in 5 1/3 innings. The left-hander allowed singles by Mike Aviles and Nick Swisher. He walked three and struck out three.

Michael Bowden pitched a scoreless 1 2/3 innings for Chicago. Casey Coleman gave up two runs in two-thirds of an inning and Jensen Lewis allowed a run in the ninth.

Aviles hit a two-run single off Coleman in the eighth.

DIAMONDBACKS 8, MARINERS 4

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (AP) --
After skipping an outing because of a dead arm, Arizona Diamondbacks starter Wade Miley allowed four runs and six hits over 3 1/3 innings Sunday in an 8-4 win over the Seattle Mariners.

Franklin Gutierrez homered leading off the game, and Kendrys Morales put Seattle ahead 4-1 with a three-run homer in the third. The Mariners have hit a league-high 50 homers in spring training.

Seattle starter Joe Saunders was hit hard, allowing eight runs, seven hits and four walks in five inning. He has an 11.57 ERA.

Paul Goldschmidt hit a two-run single in the third and a two-run homer in the fifth.

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