Lance McCullers Jr. Hurls Houston Past Yanks; Ian Desmond, Nolan Arenado Power Rockies

Players of the Day for Friday, March 16, 2018

Grapefruit League

McCullers Jr.: 4.1IP, 1H, 5K

Two team which figure to be in the hunt for post-season glory matched up Friday in Tampa as the Yankees hosted the Astros in a preseason preview.

Houston, currently the regining world champions of baseball, proved their mettle as Lance McCullers Jr. and a pair of relievers held the powerful New York lineup to two hits in a 2-0 triumph.

McCullers, who was instrumental in Houston's World Series victory over the Dodgers, going 7 2/3 innings for one of their four wins, had the Yankees off-balance, allowing one hit over 4 1/3 innings, fanning five, walking one, for his second win of the Spring without a loss.

Brandon McCurry worked through the sixth inning without allowing a hit, striking out a pair of batsmen. The final three innings were handled by Rogelio Armenteros, who gave up one hit struck out five and walked one.

The Astros scored on solo homers by J.D. Davis and Tyler White, keeping Houston in first place while dropping the Yanks into a tie for fourth place with Boston, 2 1/2 games out.

Cactus League

Desmond: 2 solo shots

In 2017, the NL West was arguably the best division in baseball, with the Dodgers streaking to 104 wins and the Rockies and Diamondbacks - though well behind - qualifying for the post-season as wild cards.

2018 will likely be a three-way struggle between the same teams, and possibly a fourth, if San Francisco rebounds from a poor performance. The Rockies will bring an assortment of heavy hitters into the fray, as evidence by their 18-hit, 18-6 romp over the LA Angels.

Arenado: 3-4, HR, 3 RBI

The assault was led by Ian Desmond, who swatted a pair of solo home runs, and Nolan Arenado, who singled twice and socked a three-run homer in four at-bats.

The Rockies hammered seven Angel pitchers, including starter, Shohei Ohtani, who was pummeled for seven hits and seven runs in just 1 1/3 innings.

The win was only the ninth for the Rockies, against 12 losses, but the Angels are worse. At 9-14, they are better than only Texas (7-13) and Cincinnati (7-14) in the Cactus League.

Desmond joins the Rockies after a year with the Rangers. He was acquired in the off-season. Arenado was a standout for the Rockies in 2017, batting .309 with 37 home runs and 130 RBI.