Bird hits 4th HR, Pineda fires 5 perfect frames
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TAMPA, Fla. -- Greg Bird hit his fourth home run of the spring and Michael Pineda struck out eight over five perfect innings as the Yankees earned a 3-1 win over the Phillies on Wednesday night at George M. Steinbrenner Field.
Pineda was dominant as he completed his third spring start, retiring 15 straight batters. Leaning heavily on his fastball and slider while mixing in a changeup, the right-hander struck out five straight Phils through one stretch, throwing 37 of 53 pitches for strikes.
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"I'm happy tonight," Pineda said. "I had great command and all my pitches are working really good. That's what I'm looking for."
Phillies starter Clay Buchholz permitted two runs (one earned) and five hits over five innings. Bird connected for a solo second-inning shot to right field and Gary Sánchez knocked a third-inning RBI single facing Buchholz, who walked two and struck out one.
"I've had the opportunity to play with [Bird] for a long time in the Minor Leagues, and I'm seeing the same exact player that I've always seen," Sanchez said. "I'm not surprised at all. He's a really good player."
Freddy Galvis led off the seventh with a single for the Phillies' lone hit of the game and they got on the board when Pedro Florimón scored on Maikel Franco's groundout.
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"We couldn't mount any offense," Phillies manager Pete Mackanin said. "I'm glad Freddy got that hit. Pineda was tough. Pineda and [Aroldis Chapman] set the tone the whole night."
Up next for Phillies: Listen live on Gameday Audio as the Phils make their second trip to Sarasota, Fla., this week, when they play the Orioles at 6:05 p.m. ET on Thursday at Ed Smith Stadium. Right-hander Vince Velasquez (1-0, 1.69 ERA) will make the start on the mound, while first baseman Brock Stassi gets another start. He is fighting for a bench job. Phillies prospect Roman Quinn, who is expected to open the season with Triple-A Lehigh Valley, will start in center field.
Up next for Yankees: Listen live on Gameday Audio as right-hander Luis Cessa (0-0, 3.00) will make his second start of the spring as the Yankees visit the Blue Jays on Thursday at 1:07 p.m. ET in Dunedin, Fla. Right-hander James Kaprielian, the Yanks' top-rated pitching prospect by MLBPipeline.com, is scheduled to make his spring debut.
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