Blanton sharp in Phillies’ victory

CLEARWATER, Fla. — Joe Blanton used a mix of fastballs and changeups to shut down the Detroit Tigers, leading the Philadelphia Phillies to a 4-0 victory Thursday.

Blanton has focused solely on the fastball-changeup combination in his first two spring starts before he incorporates breaking pitches into his repertoire. So far the results have been promising: Blanton held the Tigers to three singles in four innings of work.

Detroit ace Justin Verlander also pitched four innings, yielding two runs and six hits.

Red Sox 8, Mets 2

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — John Lackey is off to a nice start with the Red Sox, throwing three shutout innings in Boston’s victory over Jason Bay and New York.

Lackey allowed three hits in his second spring outing and has yet to allow a run since he finalized an $82.5 million, five-year contract with the Red Sox in December.

Bay, playing in his first game against his former team, went 0 for 2 before leaving during the delay.

The Mets again were without speedy shortstop Jose Reyes, who has been told to rest and refrain from athletic activity for two to eight weeks until his thyroid levels normalize. The diagnosis puts him in doubt for opening day.

Rays (ss) 16, Pirates 15

BRADENTON, Fla. — Tampa Bay catcher Dioner Navarro was struck by a pickoff throw in the third inning and departed with an injured left thumb.

Navarro was hit when Jack Taschner threw over. It was diagnosed as a contusion, and Navarro returned to the Rays’ complex in Port Charlotte for further evaluation.

Winds were gusting up to 35 mph toward left field at the start of the game, and both teams took advantage.Tampa Bay catcher Dioner Navarro was struck by a pickoff throw in the third inning and departed with an injured left thumb.

Carl Crawford and Pat Burrell homered in the fifth inning for Tampa Bay, which has won nine straight. Justin Ruggiano and Angel Chavez hit consecutive drives during the split-squad’s seven-run seventh.

Rays (ss) 4, Blue Jays 1

PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. — Andy Sonnanstine pitched four scoreless innings to lead a Tampa Bay split-squad to the victory.

Sonnanstine rebounded from a poor outing in his spring debut, allowing one hit and one walk while striking out three.

Evan Longoria and Jason Bartlett had RBI singles, and John Jaso homered in Tampa Bay’s three-run fifth.

Cardinals 5, Marlins 3

JUPITER, Fla. — Florida got another strong start from ace Josh Johnson but a bad ending from its closer.

Nunez, who saved 26 games last season, allowed four hits before leaving with two outs and runners at second and third. He was charged with five runs, three earned.

Johnson, the Marlins’ opening-day starter, struck out the side in the first, mixing in a changeup with a fastball that hit 94 mph. He finished with four strikeouts over three scoreless innings.

Indians 5, White Sox 5, 10 innings

GLENDALE, Ariz. — Brian Horwitz hit a run-scoring single in the ninth inning for Cleveland, and the Indians and White Sox called off their exhibition game with the score tied at 5 after 10 innings.

C.J. Retherford hit a two-run homer during a three-run eighth that put Chicago ahead 5-4.

Cubs 8, Padres 7

PEORIA, Ariz. — Carlos Silva threw three scoreless innings after making an adjustment during a bullpen session, helping the Cubs beat San Diego.

Silva, acquired from Seattle for Milton Bradley and cash in December, allowed four hits, walked one and struck out none.

Starlin Castro, one of Chicago’s top prospects, had two hits and scored three times. The shortstop hit his first homer of the spring in the fifth.

Mariners 6, Giants 2

A leadoff double to Ichiro Suzuki followed by a walk. A flyout, then a strikeout on a double steal. And a two-run single by — surprise — old San Francisco teammate Ryan Garko. Eric Byrnes eventually grounded out.

Lincecum, the two-time reigning NL Cy Young Award winner, doesn’t quite look like himself yet at spring training and struggled through 2 2-3 innings.

Diamondbacks 4, Angels 1

TUCSON, Ariz. — With the uncertain status of Brandon Webb, newcomer Edwin Jackson’s performance thus far this spring must be comforting for the Arizona Diamondbacks.

The right-hander, acquired in a trade with the Detroit Tigers in the offseason, blanked the Angels on one hit through three innings in Arizona’s victory.

Dodgers 6, Royals 4

SURPRISE, Ariz. — Russ Ortiz pitched three scoreless innings, and Andre Ethier and Casey Blake homered as Los Angeles beat Kansas City.

Ortiz, a veteran right-hander who is a non-roster invitee, gave up two singles, struck out three and walked none. He has worked five scoreless innings and yielded four hits in his bid to make the Dodgers’ rotation.

Ethier hit a three-run homer in the third off Gil Meche, while Blake homered in the fifth off rookie left-hander Edgar Osuna.

Scott Podsednik had two hits, including a two-run homer in the third, and stole a base for the Royals.

Reds 3, Brewers (ss) 1

GOODYEAR, Ariz. — Joey Votto homered for his first hit of spring training, leading Cincinnati to a victory over a Milwaukee split-squad.

Votto hit a solo shot off left-hander Chris Capuano, who is trying to resume his career after reconstructive elbow surgery. Votto was 0 for 9 before he homered in the sixth inning.

Capuano gave up a pair of runs, three hits and two walks in 2 1-3 innings, including an RBI triple by Chris Dickerson. The 31-year-old Capuano missed the last two seasons because of elbow problems.

Reds right-hander Johnny Cueto pitched three scoreless innings, a big improvement over his first spring outing.

Athletics 7, Brewers (ss) 3

PHOENIX — Milwaukee’s biggest offseason acquisition is on his way to a nice spring with his new team.

Randy Wolf struck out four in three scoreless innings, but Gabe Gross hit a two-run triple against his former team in the seventh and Michael Taylor added a three-run homer in the eighth to power Oakland to a win over a Brewers split-squad.

Wolf agreed to a $29.75 million, three-year deal during December’s winter meetings and has not allowed a run in five innings this spring. But the left-hander’s outing was far from perfect. He gave up two singles to Mark Ellis and leadoff walks to begin the second and third innings.

Rangers 16, Rockies 3

TUCSON, Ariz. — Aaron Cook was hit hard in his second spring start, allowing nine hits and nine runs, five earned, in 2 2-3 innings, and Colorado were pounded by Texas.

Cook hit Ian Kinsler with a 1-2 pitch during a four-run first when he gave three hits, including a two-run homer to first baseman Chris Davis, who went 4 for 4 with 3 RBI. Michael Young was 3 for 3 and Taylor Teagarden knocked in three runs for the Rangers, who had 23 hits.

Cook was hoping to throw 40 pitches or less but ended up throwing 73, leaving after a double by Young during a five-run second inning for Texas. Four of those runs were unearned due to a throwing error by third baseman Ian Stewart on an attempted force play.

Astros-Nationals postponed

VIERA, Fla. — Thursday’s scheduled exhibition game between the Houston Astros and Washington Nationals has been canceled because of rain.

The game, which was to pit Nationals left-hander John Lannan against Houston right-hander Roy Oswalt, was called at 12:22 p.m. EST after two hours of heavy rain swept through central Florida.

Brevard County, home to the Nationals’ spring camp, is under a tornado watch until 6 p.m.

Washington RHP Livan Hernandez threw a simulated game Wednesday and is scheduled to make his spring training debut Sunday. Hernandez, signed to a minor league contract earlier this month, will pitch in relief of the scheduled starter, RHP Stephen Strasburg.