TT Bowens, who was signed by Baltimore as an undrafted free agent, clubbed a three-run homer in the top of the ninth inning to give the visiting Orioles a 5-2 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Sunday afternoon in Bradenton, Fla.
Bowens attended Central Connecticut State University and was not selected in the 2020 draft, which was trimmed to five rounds due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He started playing pro ball in 2021, and his first hit of spring training was an important one on Sunday.
Colton Cowser had a solo home run for Baltimore, which trailed 2-1 following Abrahan Gutierrez’s RBI single in the seventh.
Pittsburgh’s Connor Joe opened the scoring in the bottom of the first with a run-scoring base hit. Ke’Bryan Hayes finished with two hits for the Pirates.
Bowens’ heroics made a winner of southpaw Cade Povich (1-0), who allowed one run on four hits in two innings. Povich struck out three and didn’t walk anyone.
Red Sox 3, Blue Jays 1
Host Boston was kept off the scoreboard for five innings, but it still managed to rally past Toronto in Fort Myers, Fla.
Masataka Yoshida broke the stalemate with a run-scoring single in the sixth, and Nathan Hickey and Dalton Guthrie added RBI singles in the eighth as the Red Sox won for the seventh time in 10 spring-training games.
Alejandro Kirk ripped a solo shot for the Blue Jays. Andrew Bash (1-1), who allowed the singles by Hickey and Guthrie, was tagged with the loss.
Twins 4, Rays 4
Manuel Margot had a sixth-inning sacrifice fly against his former team to prevent host Minnesota from falling to Tampa Bay in Fort Myers.
Margot was with the Rays from 2020-23. Max Kepler’s two-run blast and Royce Lewis’ RBI single allowed the Twins to take a 3-0 lead before Tampa Bay stormed back with a four-run sixth.
Eight Minnesota pitchers combined for 10 strikeouts.
Braves 3, Phillies 2
Orlando Arcia smacked a go-ahead two-run home run in the sixth inning to allow Atlanta to edge visiting Philadelphia in North Port, Fla.
Alec Bohm’s RBI single helped the Phillies grab a 2-0 lead, but Forrest Wall halved the Braves’ deficit with a run-scoring base hit of his own in the home half of the fourth.
Chris Sale got the start for Atlanta, giving up three hits in 2 2/3 innings of shutout ball. He walked two and fanned five.
Tigers 7, Yankees 2
Jace Jung ignited a four-run eighth with an RBI single, helping visiting Detroit cruise past New York in Tampa, Fla.
TJ Hopkins and Buddy Kennedy both walked with the bases loaded and Dillon Dingler had a sacrifice fly to complete the Tigers’ late uprising. Righty Casey Mize (1-0) brought home the win with two innings of shutout relief.
Juan Soto had his third homer of spring training for the Yankees, who went just 1-for-11 with runners in scoring position. Nestor Cortes started for New York, logging four innings. He surrendered one run on one hit, walking one and striking out three.
Astros 5, Mets 2 (6 innings)
Jake Meyers and Corey Julks each went 2-for-3 and Yainer Diaz hit a two-run homer as Houston dispatched host New York in a rain-shortened game in Port St. Lucie, Fla.
Astros right-hander Jose Urquidy (1-0) scattered three hits across three scoreless innings. He struck out two without issuing a walk.
Zack Short and Ben Gamel had RBI doubles in the fifth for the Mets. Adrian Houser (0-1) gave up three runs on four hits in 1 2/3 innings to take the loss.
