Conor Jackson Helps Orioles to 6-6 Tie with Blue Jays; Jeff Francis Thorws Four Strong Innings as Colorado Wins

Players of the Day for Tuesday, March 5, 2013

Grapefruit League

Conor Jackson

The Yankee-Red Sox rivalry may be the stuff of legend, but the two teams to watch in the AL East this season may be Baltimore and Toronto.

Those two squared off in exhibition action Tuesday afternoon, the result a 6-6, 10-inning tie which, fittingly, settled nothing.

Conor Jackson continued his hot hitting, going 3-for-3, with a single, double and a solo homer.

Jackson, acquired by the Orioles after spending last season in the minors, is making his case for staying in the majors, batting .421 with three long balls and six RBI in just 19 at-bats. The O's are giving him an extended look in an attempt to bolster their outfield. Adam Jones and Nick markakis have center and right fields locked down, but left field is still a wide open competition.

Along with Jackson, Lew Ford and Chris Dickerson are among the top candidates for the position.

Cactus League

Francis: 4IP, 0R, 1H

The Colorado Rockies are hoping to make 2013 a season in which the memories of 2012 are forgotten, and, to do so, they'll need much better pitching than what surfaced last season. The Rockies had the highest ERA in the majors: a whopping 5.22 mark.

A step in the right direction was provided by starter Jeff Francis, who threw four shutout innings, allowing just one hit and no walks while striking out four in Colorado's 6-3 win over the still-searching Cubs.

Francis, 17-9 in 2007 for the Rockies, hasn't had a winning season since. Last year's mark of 6-7 included a 5.58 ERA in 24 starts. He threw just 113 innings, allowing opponents a .316 batting average, so Tuesday's win - his first of the Spring - was a refreshing change. A lefty hurler, Francis could be key to Colorado's mound turn-around.

The Cubs fell to 5-7, while the Rockies improved to 6-5.

NLCS: Rockies Trim Webb, Take Game 1

Colorado 5 Arizona 1 - Brad Hawpe has made a career out of getting to Brandon Webb and last night he went 2-for-2 off the Arizona starter, with a key 2-run, bases-loaded single in the third inning that put Colorado ahead 4-1 and on their way to taking a 1-0 lead in the NL Championship Series. Heading into the game, Hawpe (right) was 9-for-15 with 3 homers and 11 RBI against Webb in 2007. Once the Rockies had their lead, starter Jeff Francis bore down, allowing just 2 hits from the 3rd to the 6th inning. Francis, who worked into the 7th inning, allowed only a first-inning run on an Eric Byrnes double. In the 7th, Francis ran into trouble after giving up a leadoff double by Chris Snyder and then plunking Justin Upton, but escaped when the Rockies' infield turned its third double-play of the night. After allowing a bunt single to pinch hitter Jeff Cirillo, Francis was lifted for reliever Matt Herges, who loaded the bases with a walk to Chris Young, but got Stephen Drew to fly out, ending the threat. The controversial 7th inning double play prompted fans to hurl objects onto the field, resulting in a stoppage of play when Rockies' manager, Clint Hurdle, pulled his players from the field. Upton upended Kaz Matsui by sliding outside the basepath, and was called out for interference, resulting in the batter - Augie Ojeda - being retired as well. Brian Fuentes and Manny Corpas worked scoreless 8th and 9th innings for Colorado. Webb lasted 6 innings, allowing four earned runs on seven hits. Colorado added a run in the 7th off reliever Juan Cruz on a walk to catcher Yorvit Torrealba, a wild pitch, a sacrifice and an error by Diamondbacks' first baseman Conor Jackson. Game two of the series is Friday at 10:00 at Arizona. Ubaldo Jiminez takes the mound for the Rockies against Arizona's Doug Davis.

Pitching Dominates Game 1 Wins

Josh Beckett, Brandon Webb and Jeff Francis turned in stellar performances in opening-game wins for Boston, Arizona and Colorado. The Yankees-Indians series opens this afternoon in Cleveland. Boston 4 LA Angels 0 - Josh Beckett (right) blanked the Angels on 4 hits in a complete game shutout (something he failed to do in the regular season), staking the Red Sox a 1-0 lead in the best-of-five Divisional Playoff series. Beckett, phenomenal in the post-season, hurled his second straight playoff shutout, running his post-season scoreless streak to 18 innings. Beckett's last post-season appearance was in 2003, when he pitched the final game of the World Series, when he shut out the NY Yankees and won the series MVP award. Following a leadoff single by Chone Figgins, Beckett retired 19 straight batters and finished allowing just four hits, two by Vladimir Guerrero. Beckett struck out 8 and didn't issue any walks, throwing just 108 pitches,83 of them for strikes. Kevin Youkilis hit a solo homer in the first to stake Beckett to an early lead, and David Ortiz supplied a two-run blast in the 3rd inning off LA starter John Lackey. The series continues at Fenway on Thursday with Daisuke Matsuzaka on the mound for Boston against the Angels' Kelvim Escobar.

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Colorado 4 Philadelphia 2 - Jeff Francis wasn't worried that the Phillies led the league in scoring through the regular season as he earned a hard-fought win in the opener of the divisional series. Francis worked six full innings, allowing just 4 hits and two runs on back-to-back solo homers in the fifth inning by Aaron Rowand and Pat Burrell. The Rockies had gotten to Philly's ace, Cole Hamels, for three runs in the third and Matt Holliday added insurance with a solo shot of his own in the 8th inning. Colorado's bullpen was also brilliant. LaTroy Hawkins, Brian Fuentes and Manny Corpas each pitched an inning of hitless ball to finish off the potent Phillies. The series resumes Thursday at 3:00 pm in Philadelphia. Arizona 3 Chicago Cubs 1 - Pitching and defense are what got the Diamondbacks to the NL West title and the same strategy worked like a charm as their ace, Brandon Webb (right) allowed just one run on four hits over seven strong innings. Webb was locked into a duel with Chicago starter, Carlos Zambrano, who was lifted for a pinch-hitter after just 6 innings and 85 pitches by manager Lou Piniella. That approach didn't exactly pan out for Sweet Lou, as reliever Carlos Marmol surrendered a home run to the first batter he faced, Mark Reynolds, leading off the 7th inning. After that, Marmol walked Chris Snyder, gave up a double to Augie Ojeda and Conor Jackson - pinch-hitting for Webb - got the insurance run home with a sac fly. Arizona's Brandon Lyon set the Cubs down in order in the 8th, and Jose Valverde, who led the majors with 47 saves, slammed the door with a hitless ninth inning. Webb struck out 9, including getting slugger Derrek Lee three times on strikes. This divisional series resumes Thursday in Phoenix at 10:00 ET. Doug Davis heads to the hill for Arizona against the Cubs' Ted Lilly.