Around the bases

Colon, Koch shut down D'backs in exhibition debuts

Bartolo Colon yielded a run and two hits with a walk and three strikeouts over three innings for the win. AP

TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) -- Bartolo Colon and Mark Buehrle each pitched three strong innings to lead the Chicago White Sox over an Arizona Diamondbacks split squad 3-2 Sunday.

Byung-Hyun Kim, hoping to move from closer to starter this season, started for the Diamondbacks and gave up three runs and four hits in two innings.

New White Sox closer Billy Koch struck out two in the ninth inning for his first save of the spring.

Colon allowed one earned run on two hits, with two walks and three strikeouts. He threw 41 pitches, 27 for strikes, to help the White Sox to their first win in three games against Arizona this spring.

"I was trying to get strikes first," Colon said. "I wasn't afraid to get hit."

Colon won 20 games last season while pitching for Cleveland and Montreal, becoming the second pitcher in major league history to post 10 wins in each league during the same season.

He was acquired in a three-team trade that also involved the New York Yankees in January.

Kim gave up triples to Joe Borchard and Jorge Nunez, with an RBI single in between by catcher Sandy Alomar Jr., in the second inning to put the White Sox up 3-0.

Paul Konerko hit an RBI double in the first.

Kim said through interpreter Ben Hwang that he was nervous before the start and "felt like a rookie again," and that it was hard to find his control.

In other games in Arizona, Seattle routed San Diego 13-2; Texas outslugged Milwaukee 14-8; Oakland beat San Francisco 10-5; a Colorado split squad edged Anaheim 8-7; and Kansas City defeated the Chicago Cubs 9-2. A night game between a Colorado split squad and an Arizona split squad was rained out.

In Florida, it was Atlanta 4, Montreal 3; Minnesota 6, Boston 5; St. Louis 9, Florida 8; Toronto 8, Philadelphia 6; Cleveland 6, Detroit 4; Cincinnati 8, Pittsburgh 3; Baltimore 15, the New York Mets 6; and the New York Yankees 5, Tampa Bay 4.

Braves 4, Expos 3

At Kissimmee, Fla., Mike Hampton pitched out of trouble to get through two scoreless innings in his Atlanta debut.

Reds 8, Pirates 3

At Bradenton, Fla., Adam Dunn drove in two runs and Jimmy Haynes pitched two solid innings in his first outing of the spring for Cincinnati.

Astros 10, Dodgers 5

At Vero Beach, Fla., Morgan Ensberg's three-run homer capped a six-run eighth inning for Houston.

Kazuhisa Ishii, facing batters for the first time since Brian Hunter hit a liner that fractured his skull Sept. 8, allowed one hit in two scoreless innings for Los Angeles.

Cardinals 9, Marlins 8

At Jupiter, Fla., Ivan Rodriguez homered and drove in three runs for Florida. Eduardo Perez homered and drove in four runs for the Cardinals, and Edgar Renteria added a two-run shot.

Blue Jays 8, Phillies 6

At Dunedin, Fla., Cory Lidle pitched two perfect innings and Toronto roughed up a wild Randy Wolf.

Jim Thome went 0-for-5 and stranded eight runners, four in scoring position. He never hit the ball out of the infield.

Twins 6, Red Sox 5

At Fort Myers, Fla., Jacque Jones went 3-for-3 with a three-run homer to help Minnesota overcome a three-run homer by Manny Ramirez.

Brad Radke pitched two hitless innings in his first spring start for the Twins.

Indians 6, Tigers 4

At Winter Haven, Fla., Ben Broussard hit a two-run homer and Wendell Magee had a three-run double for Cleveland.

Indians starter C.C. Sabathia allowed four hits and three runs in two innings.

Orioles 15, Mets 6

At Port St. Lucie, Fla., Jerry Hairston homered and scored three times as Baltimore piled up 20 hits.

Mike Bacsik, one of four pitchers competing for the fifth spot in New York's rotation, struggled through his second poor outing of the spring. The left-hander allowed seven runs and eight hits in 1 2/3 innings.

Yankees 5, Devil Rays 4

At Tampa, Fla., Mariano Rivera worked a scoreless ninth inning in his spring debut and was the winning pitcher for New York.

Aubrey Huff hit a two-run homer off Yankees starter Mike Mussina, who allowed four hits in two innings.

Mariners 13, Padres 2

At Peoria, Ariz., Bret Boone homered, and Freddy Garcia pitched two innings in his first start of the spring for Seattle.

Closer Kazuhiro Sasaki worked his first inning of the spring after undergoing elbow surgery in October. The Mariners will be without injured starting catcher Dan Wilson for at least two weeks.

Royals 9, Cubs 2

At Mesa, Ariz., Carlos Beltran hit a two-run triple for Kansas City. Sammy Sosa missed his second straight game for the Cubs with a tight right quadriceps muscle. He said he would return to the lineup in "a couple of days."

White Sox 3, Diamondbacks (ss) 2

At Tucson, Ariz., Bartolo Colon and Mark Buehrle each pitched three strong innings for Chicago.

Byung-Hyun Kim, hoping to move from closer to starter this season, started for Arizona and gave up three runs and four hits in two innings.

New White Sox closer Billy Koch struck out two in the ninth inning for his first save of the spring.

Rangers 14, Brewers 8

At Surprise, Ariz., Chan Ho Park gave up five runs on six hits in two innings in his first spring start for Texas.

Rangers outfielder Ruben Sierra hit a three-run homer.

Athletics 10, Giants 5

At Phoenix, Barry Bonds hit his second home run of the spring, but Scott Hatteberg had a three-run homer for Oakland.

Rockies (ss) 8, Angels 7

At Tempe, Ariz., Scott Elarton, pitching for the first time since shoulder surgery last spring, got Colorado off to a good start with two hitless innings.

Darin Erstad, who had surgery on his right wrist during the offseason, made his spring debut for the Angels. He grounded out his only time up, and left after two innings because of soreness in his wrist.

 

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