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Braves' Toussaint rebounds with no-hit start

No. 50 overall prospect fans four over three scoreless frames
Braves prospect Touki Toussaint struck out 163 batters over 136 1/3 Minor League innings in 2018. (Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
March 6, 2019

After yielding seven earned runs over three innings in his first two spring outings, Braves right-hander Touki Toussaint took a big step forward against the Tigers on Wednesday afternoon.The 22-year-old struck out four over three scoreless innings for his first win to help a split-squad Atlanta roster beat Detroit, 8-2,

After yielding seven earned runs over three innings in his first two spring outings, Braves right-hander Touki Toussaint took a big step forward against the Tigers on Wednesday afternoon.
The 22-year-old struck out four over three scoreless innings for his first win to help a split-squad Atlanta roster beat Detroit, 8-2, at Champion Stadium. Toussaint, the Braves' No. 6 prospect, did not allow a hit and held the Tigers to just a walk while facing nine batters.
Tigers No. 29 prospect Dustin Peterson went 2-for-3 with an RBI in the loss, while Isaac Paredes (No. 4) and Christin Stewart (No. 8) added singles. Matt Hall, Detroit's No. 28 prospect, pitched a scoreless inning of relief.

In other spring action:


Cardinals 9, Yankees 5
Cardinals No. 18 prospect Connor Jones struck out one and walked a pair in a scoreless inning of relief to help St. Louis top New York in Tampa. Jonathan Loaisiga, the Yankees' No. 2 prospect, started for the Bombers and was charged with four runs on three hits and a pair of walks over 2 1/3 innings. The 24-year-old right-hander from Nicaragua struck out five. Box score

Pirates 6, Red Sox 1
Pittsburgh's young infielders came through for the second straight day in a win over the Red Sox in Fort Myers. Third baseman Ke'Bryan Hayes, the Bucs' No. 2 prospect, had an RBI double, second baseman Kevin Kramer (No. 6) singled and drove in a run, shortstop Cole Tucker (No. 5) went 1-for-2 and first baseman Will Craig (No. 15) contributed a sacrifice fly. No. 8 prospect Bryan Reynolds also singled, walked twice and scored a run for the Pirates. For the Red Sox, No. 23 prospect Colten Brewer fanned two batters in a perfect fourth inning. Box score
Blue Jays 9, Phillies 7
Key Blue Jays prospects had big days at the plate Wednesday as Toronto outlasted the host Phillies in Clearwater. No. 9 prospect Anthony Alford went 2-for-3 with a two-run homer and slugger Cavan Biggio (No. 10) hit a solo shot off Philadelphia starter Vince Velasquez. Catcher Danny Jansen (No. 3) got the start and went 2-for-2, designated hitter Rowdy Tellez (No. 21) went 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI and top prospect Vladimir Guerrero Jr. was 1-for-4 with a single. Phillies outfielder Mickey Moniak, the top pick in the 2016 Draft, continued his solid spring by going 1-for-2 with a double to raise his Grapefruit League average to .286. Box score
Orioles 9, Rays 6
Orioles top prospect Yusniel Díaz ripped a bases-clearing double in the seventh inning to give Baltimore a lead that held up. The 22-year-old outfielder -- acquired in last year's Manny Machado trade and the 64th-ranked prospect in baseball -- is now batting .385 in Spring Training. Cody Carroll (No. 21) needed just six pitches to strike out the first two batters he faced in a scoreless eighth. Box score
Braves (ss) 4, Marlins (ss) 0
A day after Braves No. 2 prospect Kyle Wright dominated the Yankees, fellow right-hander Bryse Wilson (No. 7) tossed three scoreless frames in Atlanta's win over Miami. Wilson struck out one, walked none and allowed a lone hit. Kyle Muller -- the club's 13th-ranked prospect -- added two more scoreless innings, allowing one hit and striking out two, and Greyson Jenista (No. 15) opened the scoring with an RBI single in the third inning. Marlins No. 4 prospect Nick Neidert got the start and escaped from a bases-loaded jam before a 1-2-3 second ended his outing. Jeff Brigham (No. 26) struck out the side in the ninth. Box score
Astros 11, Marlins (ss) 5
In his bid to win the fifth spot in the Astros rotation, No. 11 prospect Framber Valdez turned in a solid outing. The left-hander allowed one earned run on three hits and a walk while fanning two in three relief innings. The 25-year-old has allowed three earned runs in 6 1/3 innings over three appearances this spring. He's struck out two but walked four in that span. No. 14 Garrett Stubbs hit a solo home run in his only at-bat of the afternoon, while No. 23 Abraham Toro went 1-for-3 with a double, two RBIs and a walk. Marlins No. 7 prospect Isan Díaz struck out in all three of his at-bats in the loss, and No. 23 Robert Dugger gave up two earned runs on three hits and two walks in an inning of relief. No. 15 Brian Miller was the lone bright spot, doubling in his only trip to the plate. Box score
Offseason MiLB include
Cubs 4, Royals 1
Royals No. 11 prospect Josh Staumont struck out one and allowed one hit over one scoreless inning out of the bullpen. Box score
Brewers 5, D-backs 4 
Milwaukee No. 8 Lucas Erceg slapped a go-ahead, opposite-field single in the eighth inning. Brewers 16th-ranked prospect Adrian Houser pitched a perfect ninth to earn the save. D-backs No. 14 Yoan López surrendered one earned run on three hits in one inning, while 30th-ranked Kevin Ginkel fanned two during his lone frame of relief. Box score
Angels 6, Rockies 5
Leonardo Rivas' RBI single to left in the eighth tied the game at three. The Angels No. 27 prospect also scored a run and walked. Rockies 10th-ranked prospect Sam Hilliard ripped a two-run double to right during the eighth, and No. 7 Tyler Nevin singled. Colorado No. 17 Ben Bowden whiffed three and walked one during his one inning on the mound. Box score
Rangers 12, Giants 5 
Rangers No. 16 prospect Eli White walked with the bases loaded in the seventh to plate 25th-ranked Jose Trevino, who also reached on a walk earlier in the inning. No. 26 Yohander Méndez allowed three runs -- two earned -- on four hits, including a pair homers. Giants No. 28 Ryan Howard singled, doubled and is now 4-for-10 this spring. Righty Ray Black (No. 14) gave up one earned run -- three total -- with a strikeout while recording two outs. Travis Bergen, the Giants' 30th-ranked prospect, pitched a scoreless ninth, despite allowing a hit and a walk, with two punchouts to preserve his scoreless spring (four appearances). Box score
Reds 6, Padres 4
Fernando Tatis Jr., MLB.com's No. 2 overall prospect, wasted no time getting things started for the Padres, leading off the game with a line drive triple to left field and scoring on an error by second baseman Scooter Gennett. Tatis got another hit in his next at-bat but struck out in his final two trips, bringing his Cactus League average to .318. Padres No. 11 prospect Josh Naylor also collected a pair of hits and scored a run. Jacob Nix, the Friars' 19th-ranked prospect, yielded three runs on three hits and three walks with a strikeout over two innings. Box score
A's 7, Mariners 4
Sheldon Neuse hit only three triples all of last season but got a big day started with a second-inning three-bagger to left, driving home Josh Phegley with the game's first run. The ninth-ranked A's prospect scored on Cliff Pennington's single and added a ground-rule double in the third. A's No. 17 prospect Kevin Merrell beat out an infield single in his lone at-bat in the ninth inning. Mariners No. 11 prospect Braden Bishop connected on his second spring homer, a three-run shot to left-center in the fourth, seventh-ranked Kyle Lewis doubled to center in the seventh and No. 12 Shed Long chipped in a ninth-inning single. Mariners No. 17 prospect Matt Festa walked one and struck out one in a scoreless frame. Box score 
Indians 6, Dodgers 1
Indians No. 19 prospect Oscar Mercado widened the gap with a seventh-inning solo homer to left and sparked a two-run ninth with a leadoff single up the middle, scoring on a groundout by Tim Federowicz after stealing his first base of the spring. Indians No. 11 prospect Yu Chang added an RBI double in the eighth to boost his Cactus League average to .353. Dodgers No. 13 prospect Edwin Ríos doubled and struck out in two at-bats. Box score