Shouldering the load: Bird goes deep twice

FORT MYERS, Fla. -- Greg Bird walloped two homers to lead the split-squad Yankees to a 5-4 victory over the Red Sox in Tuesday afternoon's rivalry matchup at JetBlue Park.
Pablo Sandoval continued to look strong in his comeback from left shoulder surgery, ripping two hits for the Red Sox, including an RBI double to left-center. Sam Travis, the Red Sox's No. 4 prospect, belted a solo homer off the bench.
"I'm starting to get my swing going" said Sandoval. "Keep working -- that's the best thing that I know how to do. It's exciting, first game against the Yankees."

Bird, one of several young players the Bombers are counting on this season, smashed a two-run shot to right in the first and added a solo blast to left-center in the sixth.
"Very good-looking swing," said Red Sox manager John Farrell. "A changeup up from [Kyle] Kendrick that he hits out of the ballpark, and he stays on a fastball from a lefty the other way. He burst on to the scene a couple of years ago and the injury kept him out most of last year, but he's a good-looking hitter."
The Yankees had No. 14 prospect Chance Adams and No. 6 prospect Justus Sheffield on display out of the bullpen. Adams fired two scoreless innings. Sheffield worked around the homer by Travis and struck out two in 1 2/3 innings.
The rivals meet one more time in Spring Training on March 21 at Tampa.
WHAT'S NEXT
Yankees: New York is under the lights for the first time this spring on Wednesday, hosting the Braves in a 6:35 p.m. ET contest at George M. Steinbrenner Field. Right-hander Bryan Mitchell is set to make his second Grapefruit League start, with left-hander Jaime García going for Atlanta. Catch all the action on MLB.TV and Gameday Audio.
Red Sox:Andrew Benintendi and Mookie Betts highlight the list of Red Sox players making the trip to Sarasota for Wednesday's 1:05 p.m. game, which will air on Gameday Audio, against the Orioles. Blake Swihart will be behind the plate, and top prospects Rafael Devers and Travis will also be on the trip. Lefty Henry Owens gets the start with Joe Kelly, Matt Barnes and Tyler Thornburg all scheduled to pitch out of the bullpen.
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