Tampa Bay Rays and Oakland Athletics win – MLB Spring Training Update
Tampa Bay Rays defeated Pittsburgh Pirates 4-3 at the Charlotte Sports Park in Port Charlotte, Florida on Sunday, March 11 in their Grapefruit League Clash of the 2012 Major League Baseball Spring Training Sessions. Both teams displayed some high quality baseball skills as the momentum shifted one way and the other.
The game was played on an extremely competitive note. The Pirates put up a brave fight to stay in the contest but they were unable to handle the pressure at crucial moments, which eventually decided the outcome of the game.
Rays will be very pleased with the result of the clash. Adopting a very aggressive strategy right from the start of the game, they put their opponents under immense pressure. Executing their game plan to perfection, the Rays emerged victorious 4-3 in a nail biting encounter. Jeff Niemann and Kevin Correia looked in outstanding form as they both pitched with great control and accuracy to help the Twins improve their win-loss record to 3-6.
Making the difference, Niemann made 20 out of 27 of his pitches for strikes. The starter has looked in decent touch since the start of spring training and he will be looking to maintain his excellent form to win the available spot on Twins’ pitching rotation. The 31-year-old Correia also displayed some top class pitching skills as he allowed just two hits and walked one. It will be interesting to see if he can put up similar performances in the upcoming games. For Pirates, Pedro Alvarez hit his second home run of the spring season and Jake Fox had a solo shot in the ninth inning.
In a Cactus League game between Oakland Athletics and Kansas City Royals, the Athletics secured a thrilling 10-8 win at the Phoenix Municipal Stadium in Phoenix, Arizona. The Royals showed great determination and mental strength to stay in hunt but the Athletics proved to be too strong at the end as they improved their win-loss record to 7-3. Yoenis Cespedes, the Cuban Star produced match winning performance for the Athletics. The Royals will be looking to bounce back strongly in their next spring training game.
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