The Yankees tied the Blue Jays this afternoon. Another tie? That’s two straight and three in the last five days. Kyle Higashioka had two hits, including a double, while Gleyber Torres, Troy Tulowitzki, Clint Frazier, and Estevan Florial all had one single apiece. Miguel Andujar drove in his team’s only run with a run-scoring ground out to Brandon Drury, the guy he Wally Pipped last year.
Luis Cessa started and allowed two hits in four scoreless innings against what might’ve been Toronto’s Opening Day lineup. He’s been great this spring (13 IP, 7 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 13 K). Cessa told James Wagner that his friend and former MLB pitcher Rodrigo Lopez told him to enjoy the game more, which has helped. Huh. I look forward to Cessa winning the Cy Young this year. Here’s the box score and here are the day’s notes from Tampa:
- Dellin Betances, who said he felt like “crap” following his last Grapefruit League appearance, threw 28 pitches in two simulated innings today. “Still trying to play catch up,” he said. Betances reported to camp a few days late after his wife gave birth to their first child. [Pete Caldera]
- Aaron Hicks (back) responded well to the cortisone shot, but there’s no firm date for his return to game action. “I think we’re gonna take it slow as far as building him back up to make sure his core is rock solid before we put him back into baseball activities. I think (the soreness) is pretty much out of there. We’ll see how the next couple of days unfold,” said Aaron Boone. [Dan Martin]
- Clint Frazier hit the outfield wall chasing a home run the other night and came away with no problems. “That was the first time I collided with a wall since (the concussion), but I didn’t even hit it that hard. It was still a good step for me because I’ve been saying I’m not gonna tone down my aggressiveness and that was the first time to show it,” he said. [Dan Martin]
- Baseball America (subs. req’d) polled scouts on players who impressed them this spring. Domingo German earned a mention. “Seeing that (changeup) to go along with the arm strength and the breaking ball, that kind of opened my eyes … I think now he has a chance to sustain being a bonafide starter,” said one of the scouts.
- Thairo Estrada opened some eyes before being sent to minor league camp, apparently. “He was talked about a lot. The ability to play the middle of the diamond, the hands, the ability to impact the ball — he did a lot of good things this spring … He’s a guy we think can absolutely play in the big leagues,” said Boone. [Bryan Hoch]
- Conor Foley has the day’s minor league camp lineups. Those are just Spring Training workout groups, not regular season assignments. It’s notable Antonio Cabello played today. He had surgery to repair a dislocated shoulder at the end of last season. Glad he’s doing well.
- And finally, Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson will be in camp tomorrow and Saturday. He was in camp for six days last year. Only two days this year? Slacker. [Randy Miller]
The Yankees have a very important Grapefruit League game against the Red Sox tomorrow afternoon. Domingo German will start and that game will be televised live. I’m sure of it this time.