Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Paul Skenes walks on the mound after giving up a solo home run by Tampa Bay Rays Amed Rosario, background, in the fourth inning of a spring training baseball game in Port Charlotte, Fla., Monday, March 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
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From Mirror, wire reports
PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. — Home runs from Henry Davis, Jack Suwinski and Canaan Smith-Njigba helped the Pittsburgh Pirates beat Tampa Bay, 7-3, on Monday in Grapefruit League action.
Davis’ two-run homer in the third was his third this spring. He is 6-for-15 this spring with eight RBIs in his first six games. Suwinski smacked a solo shot in the first inning while Smith-Njigba’s two-run shot in the second.
Luis Ortiz started for the Pirates (4-6), facing 11 batters getting three strikeouts. He was chargted with an unearned run in the third. Paul Skenes worked two innings in relief and threw 25 of his 32 pitches for strikes. He gave up one run, an Amed Rosario homer. Bubba Chandler also worked an inning in relief and retired the side in order in the seventh.
Spring notes: The Pirates have hit 18 homers this spring, the most in the Grapefruit League so far. …The Bucs host Toronto today at 1:05. Jared Jones will start for Pittsburgh against Jose Berrios. … The Pirates assigned Andres Alvarez (inf.) and pitchers Chandler, Anthony Solometo and Thomas Harrington to minor league camp. Southpaw pitcher Jackson Wolf was optioned to Double-A Altoona. There are now 59 active players remaining in big league camp.
Phils keeping Wheeler
PHILADELPHIA — Zack Wheeler turns 34 in May and just celebrated with his wife the birth of the couple’s third child.
He has more games to win for the Philadelphia Phillies and a World Series title to chase for Citizens Bank Park. But Wheeler doesn’t want to pitch deep into his 30s — “old, old,” as the ace right-hander put it — so he told his agent he wanted a new contract to be short and he wanted one with the Phillies.
Wheeler and the Phillies agreed Monday on a $126 million, three-year deal for 2025-27 that has the fourth-highest average salary in baseball history at $42 million.
The Phillies’ ace gets $23.5 million in 2024, the final season of a $118 million, five-year agreement that is among the best free agent contracts in Phillies history.
Wheeler’s average salary trails only Los Angeles Dodgers two-way star Shohei Ohtani ($70 million), Texas pitcher Max Scherzer ($43.33 million) and Houston pitcher Justin Verlander ($43.33 million).
Cards pitcher hurting
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Cy Young runner-up Sonny Gray left his spring training start for the St. Louis Cardinals against the Washington Nationals with tightness in his right hamstring after getting two outs in the second inning.
The three-time All-Star had struck out two in two scoreless innings in his second spring training appearance. Gray allowed one hit and struck out one while throwing 20 pitches. Gray, a 34-year-old right-hander, signed a $75 million, three-year contract with St. Louis in the offseason.
Elsewhere:
n Josh Donaldson says he’s retiring after a 13-year career in which he made three All-Star Games and won an MVP award. The 38-year-old Donaldson announced his plans on Monday. He is a free agent after splitting last season between the New York Yankees and Milwaukee Brewers. Donaldson was one of the game’s top third basemen from 2013-17 while starring for the Oakland Athletics and Toronto Blue Jays.