FORT MYERS, Fla. — Greg Bird hit two homers and drove in three runs Tuesday as a split-squad New York Yankees team beat the Boston Red Sox, 5-4.
After giving up a two-run shot to Bird, Kyle Kendrick retired eight of his final nine batters in his Red Sox debut.
Pablo Sandoval had two hits with an RBI double for Boston and is batting .333 this spring.
Sandoval drove in Boston’s first run with a double in the second inning and scored on Deven Marrero’s single.
Sam Travis, the Red Sox’s No. 4 prospect, tied the game at 3 with a home run in the sixth inning.
After the Yankees took a 5-3 lead, Boston got its final run on an RBI double from Matt Dominguez that scored Rusney Castillo in the eighth.
The Yankees and Red Sox meet one more time this spring on March 21 at Tampa, Florida.
YANKEES: Masahiro Tanaka struck out two over two hitless innings during his initial exhibition start in a split-squad 9-5 win over the Detroit Tigers at Tampa, Florida.
Tanaka struck out Steven Moya during a perfect second. He reached 92 mph in a 25-pitch outing that included 16 strikes.
Tanaka is 39-16 with a 3.12 ERA over 75 starts in three seasons with the Yankees. He was limited to 44 starts over his first two seasons due to injuries.
Tanaka’s $155 million, seven-year contract allows him to terminate the deal after this season, give up a $23 million annual salary from 2018-20 and become a free agent.
METS: David Wright and the Mets hoped for a healthy start to spring training. No such luck.
Wright was told not to throw for two weeks after an examination in New York showed an impingement in his right shoulder. The third baseman will be re-evaluated after two weeks.
The 34-year-old team captain is a seven-time All-Star, but he’s been limited to 75 regular-season games during the past two years.
“He’s having real trouble getting his arm extended on the throws,” Manager Terry Collins said at the Mets’ camp in Port St. Lucie, Florida. “He just said, ‘Look, I’ve got to do something to get rid of the pain.’ It’s certainly going to be difficult to say he’s going to be ready opening day.”
The Mets, coming off an injury-plagued year and aiming for their third straight playoff appearance, start the season April 3 at home against Atlanta.
Former All-Star shortstop Jose Reyes made 50 starts at third base last year in Wright’s absence.
“Nobody told me anything, but I’m ready,” Reyes said.
“It’s very sad news to hear about Wright, what he’s been through the last two years, 21/2 years,” he said.
Wright was on the disabled list from April 15 to Aug. 24, 2015, when he strained his right hamstring and then developed spinal stenosis.
Last season, Wright was batting .226 with seven homers, 14 RBI and 55 strikeouts in 137 at-bats through May 27 when he was sidelined by neck pain.
He had season-ending surgery June 16 to repair a herniated disk.
“Doctors feel that it is in some ways related to the neck surgery and the fact that the muscles haven’t essentially re-engaged, re-stimulated,” GM Sandy Alderson said.
PADRES: Tony Gwynn Jr. will join the team’s broadcast team as an analyst for FOX Sport San Diego’s pregame and postgame shows on television as well as an analyst during select radio broadcasts on the club’s new flagship station, FM 94.9.
Gwynn Jr. returns to San Diego after being part of the Los Angeles Dodgers’ postgame radio show last season.
NATIONALS: Setup man Joe Blanton and Washington agreed to a $4 million, one-year contract, according to a person with knowledge of the deal.
Blanton, 36, was a free agent after pitching for the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2016, when he went 7-2 with a 2.48 ERA and 80 strikeouts in 80 innings across 75 regular-season appearances.
He then went 1-0 and allowed only one hit in five scoreless innings in four games for LA during an NL Division Series victory over Washington.
Formerly a starter in the majors, Blanton has become a reliever and adds to the Nationals’ crop of bullpen arms.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
