Yankees Shut Out Baltimore In Split Squad Action

Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

The Yankees rode strong pitching to a shut out of the Orioles at George Steinbrenner Field this afternoon. Starting pitcher Michael Pineda struck out five in 2 2/3 innings of work although he struggled with his location at times on a cool afternoon in Tampa. However, the location issues were all out of the zone he was able to avoid any real trouble but otherwise yielded another strong outing.  Velocity wise he hovered at about 88-90 and hitting a high of 92. In the competition for the fifth starter job, he has allowed four hits and one walk and struck out nine in 4 2/3 innings.

The offense jumped on Oriole starter Bud Norris early scoring 3 runs off him in the first two innings and never looked back.  The Bombers received runs batted in from Carlos Beltran, Brett Gardner, Alfonso Soriano and Adonis Garcia as they took advantage of Baltimore pitching.  Zoilo Almonte continued his torrid spring pace with a 2-for-3 day with a run scored a day after sparking a game-tying rally against the Tigers. He is now batting .429 for the spring as he attempts to push Ichiro for the fifth outfielder spot when the team heads to Houston to open season.

Half the Yankees will be flying out tonight on a 6 PM flight to Panama for the two-game “Legends Series” against the Miami Marlins. The remainder will back up David Phelps as he takes the mound against the Twins on Friday at 1:05 p.m. ET. The game can be seen live on MLB.TV.