Major league baseball notes

ROYALS-RANGERS

Moustakas drives in 3

SURPRISE, Ariz. - James Shields pitched a perfect inning and Mike Moustakas drove in three runs Friday as the Kansas City Royals defeated the Texas Rangers 11-1.

Shields, who can become a free agent after this season, needed only 10 pitches to get three ground outs.

Moustakas, who hit .233 with 42 RBI last year, hit a two-run double in the second inning off Alexi Ogando and a RBI single in the third against Jose Contreras, who at 42 is trying to earn a job with the Rangers.

Billy Butler was 3 for 3 with an RBI for the Royals, who had 16 hits, and Alex Gordon was 2 for 3 with a double and RBI.

METS-NATIONALS

Pair perfect through 4

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. - Ike Davis hit a long two-run home run, and prospects Rafael Montero and Jacob DeGrom combined to throw four perfect innings as the New York Mets lost to the Washington Nationals 5-4 Friday in the first spring training game for both teams.

Davis, competing with Lucas Duda for New York’s first-base job, hit a two-out home run off Christian Garcia in a four-run fifth. The drive landed on the sidewalk behind the grass berm in right field and bounced out of the ballpark.

Trying to become the Mets’ fifth starter, Montero struck out two in two innings - he retired Ryan Zimmerman and Adam LaRoche with back-to-back three-pitch strikeouts. DeGrom struck out four in two innings.

Nationals starter Taylor Jordan allowed 1 hit in 2 scoreless innings and struck out 2.

Juan Lagares went 2 for 3 with a double for the Mets. Wilson Ramos doubled for the Nationals.

ORIOLES-RAYS

Tillman, Bedard debut

PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. - Chris Tillman pitched two scoreless innings in an impressive spring debut Friday, helping the Baltimore Orioles open their Grapefruit League schedule with a 4-2 victory over Erik Bedard and the Tampa Bay Rays.

Bedard spent the first five years of his career with the Orioles and is competing to win the fifth starter’s spot in his first season with the Rays. The left-hander, also pitching in his spring debut, yielded three first-inning runs.

Tillman, a first-time All-Star in 2013, allowed one hit, struck out three and walked none. Steve Clevenger had a RBI single and Alex Gonzalez finished Baltimore’s big inning against Bedard with a tworun single.

Jerry Sands and Justin Christian drove in runs for the Rays.

MARLINS-CARDINALS Fernandez fans 2

JUPITER, Fla. - Jose Fernandez struck out two in two scoreless innings Friday, and the Miami Marlins beat the St. Louis Cardinals 5-4 in the spring training opener for both teams.

Fernandez, the 2013 NL Rookie of the Year, pitched around his own error and was helped by a diving catch by right fielder Giancarlo Stanton that took a hit from Allen Craig. Fernandez allowed a single by Yadier Molina and an infield hit by Shane Robinson.

Cardinals starter Carlos Martinez went three innings and allowed two runs, both coming when Garrett Jones hit a home run in his first at bat with the Marlins.

Matt Adams and Peter Bourjos had RBI singles for St. Louis, and Patrick Wisdom hit a two-run home run in the ninth.

PHILLIES-TIGERS Rollins goes deep

CLEARWATER, Fla. - Jimmy Rollins hit a three-run home run in his second plate appearance of an eight-run third inning Friday, leading the Philadelphia Phillies to a 10-6 win over a Detroit Tigers split-squad.

Batting second in Manager Ryne Sandberg’s lineup, Rollins led off the third with his second walk of the game. Rollins, 35, hit a career-low six home runs last year, including only two in 64 games after the All-Star break.

Domonic Brown and Carlos Ruiz each had RBI singles for the Phillies while Darin Ruf had two RBI.

TIGERS-YANKEES Cy Young winner sharp

LAKELAND, Fla. - Max Scherzer allowed a second-inning home run by Yankees newcomer Brian Mc-Cann, but the Detroit right-hander was otherwise sharp in his first start of the spring Friday, yielding only that one hit in the Tigers’ 7-4 loss to the New York Yankees.

Scherzer, the American League’s Cy Young Award winner, struck out two without a walk. Three of New York’s top free agent signings from the off season - McCann, Carlos Beltran and Jacoby Ellsbury - made the trip to Lakeland to face Detroit’s split squad. McCann’s drive to right leading off the second was the only hit by that group.

Gary Sanchez, Jose Pirela and Yangervis Solarte also hit home runs for the Yankees.

Sports, Pages 23 on 03/01/2014

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