Shane Green Gives Tigers Three hitless Innings in Win over Braves; Salvador Perez Homers as Royals Improve to 10-1

Players of the Day for Friday, March 13, 2015

Grapefruit League

Greene: Perfect

The Detroit Tigers are gearing up for another run at the AL Central title, which they won last season by a game over Kansas City, and who is likely to be their main rival in the division for 2015 (see below).

Detorit bats rang out 13 hits in a 12-2 victory over 3-7 Atlanta Friday, but the best story came from the mound, where Shane Greene blanked the Braves over the first three innings, fanning two without allowing a hit or a walk.

In his second start of the Spring season, Green improved dramatically, after allowing six hits and three runs in two innings in his first appearance.

The Tigers acquired Green from the Yankees in the off-season. Pressed into duty when the Yankee staff was besieged with injuries last year, Greene went 5-4 with a 3.78 ERA in 14 starts. He's expected to make the Tigers' opening day rotation as the fifth starter after David Price, Justin Verlander, Anibal Sanchez, and Alfredo Simon.

Cactus League

Perez Shows Power

It's beginning to sound like a broken record, but the Kansas City Royals are the hottest story coming out of Spring Training in Arizona.

KC improved to 10-1 in the Cactus League, dispatching one of their nearest rivals, the 7-4 Oakland A's, by an 8-4 score.

Salvador Perez was behind the plate once again, as he will be most of the 2015 season, but what he did while standing aside it in the batter's box was significant. After the A's had taken a 2-0 lead in the top of the first, Perez responded with a three-run homer after Eric Hosmer had already singled in a run. The Royals added single runs in the second and fifth innings, and added a pair in the sixth. Knasas City's bullpen blanked the A's from the fourth inning onward.

Perez singled in his only other at-bat, finishing 2-for-2 on the day.

Kansas City holds a three-game edge over the Dodgers (5-2) and A's in Cactus League standings.