Spring roundup: Phillies' Franco homers twice

[March 24, 2018]  Maikel Franco hit two homers and drove in six runs to lead the Philadelphia Phillies to an 8-2 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Friday at Bradenton, Fla.

Franco hit a two-run homer off a 3-0 pitch in the fourth inning and a slugged a grand slam in the fifth. He has five home runs this spring.

"Attacking in a 3-and-0 count, that was pretty impressive," Phillies manager Gabe Kapler said afterward. "It just demonstrates how much confidence he has. He's got the right approach, his mindset is in the right place, things are working out really well for him right now, trending in the right direction."

Starling Marte had a run-scoring single and Bryce Brentz recorded an RBI double for the Pirates.

Other results from Friday's spring training games:

Royals (ss) 9, Giants 6

Madison Bumgarner's pitching hand was fractured when it was hit by a line drive off the bat of Kansas City's Whit Merrifield during the third inning at Scottsdale, Ariz. Bumgarner is likely out six to eight weeks. Cheslor Cuthbert had four hits, including a homer, and three RBIs for the Royals.

Dodgers 10, Royals (ss) 0

Clayton Kershaw tossed 6 2/3 scoreless innings, leaving him with a 0.00 ERA through 21 1/3 Cactus League innings, and Los Angeles blanked Kansas City in Surprise, Ariz. Enrique Hernandez knocked in three runs for the Dodgers. Royals starter Ricky Nolasco yielded eight runs on five hits in 2 2/3 innings.

Red Sox 5, Yankees 0

Ivan De Jesus Jr. and Sam Travis homered as Boston blanked New York at Tampa, Fla. Brett Gardner had two of the Yankees' five hits, and Aaron Judge, leading off a game for the first time in his professional career, recorded a single and struck out twice.

Tigers 11, Braves 3

James McCann drove in five runs with a three-run double and a two-run double as Detroit rolled past Atlanta at Kissimmee, Fla. Freddie Freeman homered and had two RBIs for the Braves.

Orioles 6, Rays (ss) 1

Chris Davis and Trey Mancini each socked two-run homers to help Baltimore knock off Tampa Bay at Sarasota, Fla. Kean Wong had a run-scoring single for the Rays.

Rays (ss) 6, Blue Jays 5

C.J. Cron delivered a two-run single with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning to give Tampa Bay the victory over Toronto at Port Charlotte, Fla. The Blue Jays scored five runs in the top of the ninth on a two-run double by D.J. Davis and three-run homer by Christian Williams to take the lead.

Cardinals 5, Mets 1

Matt Carpenter and Kolten Wong had two hits apiece to help St. Louis defeat New York at Port St. Lucie, Fla. Andres Gimenez had a run-scoring double for the Mets.

 

Astros (ss) 2, Twins 2

Tanner English slugged a two-run homer with one out in the bottom of the ninth to give Minnesota the tie with Houston at Fort Myers, Fla. J.D. Davis hit two solo shots for the Astros.

Cubs 4, Brewers 3

Ian Happ hit a game-opening homer, and four Chicago relievers combined for 3 1/3 scoreless innings in a win over Milwaukee at Mesa, Ariz. Keon Broxton had two hits and two RBIs for the Brewers.

Mariners 5, White Sox 5

Craig Dedelow's three-run homer in the eighth inning led Chicago to a nine-inning tie with Seattle in Glendale, Ariz. Daniel Vogelbach and Kirk Nieuwenhuis went deep for the Mariners.

A's 4, Angels 2

Jake Smolinski had a double, a triple and a homer for Oakland in a win over Los Angeles at Tempe, Ariz. Albert Pujols and Rene Rivera homers for the Angels.

Rockies 8, Reds 2

Kyle Freeland threw six innings of two-run ball as Colorado defeated Cincinnati in Scottsdale, Ariz. Reds starter Homer Bailey yielded three runs in six innings.

Astros (ss) 3, Nationals (ss) 1

Carlos Correa, Brian McCann and Jack Mayfield knocked in runs to guide Houston past Washington in West Palm Beach, Fla. Anthony Rendon drove in the Nationals' lone run.

Nationals (ss) 6, Marlins 3

Jeremy Hellickson allowed one run in four innings during his spring debut as Washington doubled up Miami in Jupiter, Fla. Hellickson recently signed a minor league deal with the Nationals. Starlin Castro had two hits for the Marlins.

Indians 6, Diamondbacks 1

Yonder Alonso hit his seventh homer of the spring as Cleveland beat Arizona in Goodyear, Ariz. Camden Duzenack's home run was one of the Diamondbacks' three hits.

Padres 9, Rangers 7

Hudson Potts hit an inside-the-park home run, and four homers accounted for all of San Diego's runs in a come-from-behind win over Texas at Peoria, Ariz. Joey Gallo homered twice to help the Rangers jump out to a 7-0 lead they couldn't protect.

--Field Level Media

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