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A's Luzardo strings up more spring zeros

No. 2 prospect tosses 2 2/3 scoreless frames, strikes out Trout
Jesus Luzardo was taken by the A's in the third round of the 2016 Draft out of Stoneman Douglas High School. (Chris Carlson/AP)
March 24, 2018

Jesus Luzardo continued building his impressive spring resume.The A's No. 2 prospect allowed three hits and a walk while striking out three over 2 2/3 scoreless innings on Friday in a 4-2 Cactus League win over the Los Angeles Angels at Tempe Diablo Stadium.

Jesus Luzardo continued building his impressive spring resume.
The A's No. 2 prospect allowed three hits and a walk while striking out three over 2 2/3 scoreless innings on Friday in a 4-2 Cactus League win over the Los Angeles Angels at Tempe Diablo Stadium.

"He was really good," A's manager Bob Melvin told MLB.com. "This lineup's going to get your attention. I don't care who you are, but at [20] years old, throwing breaking balls in off counts, up to 97 [mph] that I saw on the radar gun, very poised, it was very impressive to go out and start against this team and look the way he did."
Luzardo (2-0) remained unscored upon and unbeaten in three spring appearances, including two starts. He has yielded six hits while walking one and fanning six over six scoreless frames.
The left-hander worked around a single by Ian Kinsler and a walk to Justin Upton in the first inning, getting Albert Pujols to hit into a double play. After overcoming back-to-back two-out singles by Andrelton Simmons and Jefry Marte in the second, Luzardo finished his outing by striking out Mike Trout for the second out of the third.

"Definitely just a confidence-booster and I'll take that into the season, and it kind of helps me think that I don't need to do anything more than what I already am, just kind of keep doing my own thing," Luzardo told MLB.com.
Third-ranked Oakland prospect Franklin Barreto chipped in a single, while No. 11 Sheldon Neuse went 1-for-4.
Astros 2, Twins 2 (Box)
J.D. Davis  has enough power to work his way into the Major League discussion with the defending World Series champs this year. On Friday, he put that particular tool on full display.
The Astros' No. 9 prospect homered twice as Houston tied the Twins, 2-2, in Fort Myers. It was Davis' first multi-homer performance of the spring and his second straight multi-hit game after going 2-for-3 on Thursday against the Marlins.
With the two blasts, Davis moved past Kyle Tucker for the team lead with five Grapefruit League homers. The 24-year-old slugger has a .365/.393/.712 line with three doubles and nine RBIs in 20 spring games. He started at first base Friday but has seen time at his more natural position of third base as well as left field during his time in Florida. The Astros have an opening at first with Yuli Gurriel, who underwent surgery on his left hamate bone last month, set to miss the start of the season due to a suspension for an inappropriate gesture during last year's World Series.

Davis hit .282/.345/.527 with 26 homers and 23 doubles in 103 games between Double-A Corpus Christi and Triple-A Fresno last season. He made his Major League debut on Aug. 5 and produced a .226/.279/.484 line with four homers in 24 games with the big club. He's blocked at third base by Alex Bregman and likely will need to find a new position if he's going to get consistent playing time in Houston in the coming months.
No. 12 prospect Rogelio Armenteros tossed three hitless innings as the Astros starter, striking out four and walking one. Twins No. 19 prospect Mitch Garver went 0-for-2 with a strikeout.
Red Sox 5, Yankees 0 (Box)
No. 5 prospect Sam Travis continued his hot spring with another home run. The right-handed slugger delivered his sixth long ball and finished 1-for-4 in Boston's win. He's tied with six other players atop the Spring Training home run leaderboard, three more than any other Red Sox player.
Phillies 8, Pirates 2 (Box)
No. 7 Phillies prospect Jorge Alfaro doubled, walked and drove in two runs a road win over the Pirates. Second-ranked Scott Kingery collected a single in two at-bats and saw time in center field, right and third base. Bucs No. 7 prospect Kevin Newman doubled on a 2-for-4 day at the bottom of the lineup, while No. 6 prospect Kevin Kramer went 1-for-4 with three strikeouts.
Rays 6, Blue Jays 5 (Box)
No. 16 Blue Jays prospect Riley Adams scored a run and 18th-ranked Ryan Noda went 1-for-2 with a run scored as Toronto tallied five times in the ninth inning but relinquished the lead in the bottom half. Adams, a catcher, was making his Spring Training debut, while Noda collected his first hit in four games.
Cardinals 5, Mets 1 (Box)
Cardinals No. 23 prospect Yairo Muñoz went 1-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored to support starter Dakota Hudson's five solid innings in St. Louis' win over the Mets in Port St. Lucie. Hudson, the Cards' No. 6 prospect, struck out four and held the Mets to a run on four hits and a walk en route to his first Spring Training win. Munoz has 10 RBIs this spring and is batting .365. Mets top prospect Andrés Giménez went 2-for-3 with a double and an RBI, while 30th-ranked Jacob Rhame allowed three runs -- two earned -- on three hits while recording two outs in relief.
Tigers 11, Braves 3 (Box)
Ninth-ranked Tigers prospect Daz Cameron hit an RBI double and scored a run, while No. 17 Victor Reyes singled and scored in three at-bats. Braves No. 15 prospect A.J. Minter struck out one in a perfect inning.
Dodgers 10, Royals 0 (Box)
Dodgers No. 6 prospect DJ Peters clubbed a solo homer in the ninth for the Dodgers' final run. He went 2-for-3 with two RBIs and two runs scored and is hitting .429 with three homers and six RBIs in 21 Cactus League at-bats.
Mariners 5, White Sox 5 (Box)
Mariners No. 11 prospect Daniel Vogelbach cracked a sixth-inning solo shot for his sixth homer. The blast put the 25-year-old, who's hitting .388 in 49 Cactus League at-bats, in a seven-way tie for most long balls this spring. Sixteenth-ranked Mike Ford reached base three times and scored a run, while Mariners No. 10 prospect Wyatt Mills surrendered three runs on two hits and a walk in one inning. White Sox No. 27 prospect Tyler Johnson tossed a perfect inning in his spring debut.
Cubs 4, Brewers 2 (Box)
Brewers No. 3 prospect Brandon Woodruff gave up four runs on six hits and a walk in five innings, pushing his Cactus League ERA to 7.11.
Astros (ss) 3, Nationals (ss) 1 (Box)
Myles Straw, the Astros' No. 21 prospect, improved to 4-for-14 this spring with a single and a walk. No. 17 prospect Drew Ferguson recorded his second Grapefruit League hit. Nationals No. 12 prospect Andrew Stevenson singled and struck out.
Nationals 6, Marlins 3 (Box)
Juan Soto, Washington's No. 2 prospect, went 2-for-3 with a two-run homer and three RBIs. Eleventh-ranked Blake Perkins singled twice and scored a run.
Padres 9, Rangers 7 (Box)
Padres 17th-ranked prospect Hudson Potts lined a three-run inside-the-park homer in the seventh inning when he hit a pitch from converted outfielder Anthony Gose off the center field wall. Leody Taveras, Texas' top-ranked prospect, was the culprit on the play, overrunning the ball and having trouble getting it into the infield as Potts scored standing up. The 19-year-old outfielder is 4-for-8 in Cactus League play. Padres No. 15 prospect Tirso Ornelas added a single and scored a run.