MLB

Jovani Morán, Yacksel Rios, Fernando Cruz and Edwin Díaz finished the 10-strikeout masterpiece, which included just one unearned run. Puerto Rico’s big blow was delivered by the recently retired Martín Maldonado, who had a three-run double on a grounder down the third base line in the second. Puerto Rico is 3-0 ahead of his its Pool B finale against Canada on Tuesday, and since either Canada or Cuba will finish with two losses, Puerto Rico has clinched a spot. Canada needs to beat Puerto Rico and then Cuba on Wednesday in order to advance.

Thanks to Jarren Duran’s two homers, Mexico hung tough after the U.S. scored all of its runs on its two homers in the third inning, but it couldn’t pull off the late comeback. Mexico is still in good position to advance at 2-1. If Team USA beats Italy on Tuesday, Mexico can clinch its spot by defeating Italy on Wednesday. If Italy pulls off the upset against Team USA and then Mexico defeats Italy, it would trigger a tiebreaker between the three 3-1 teams.

Skenes, who topped out at 99.7 mph with his fastball, made it look pretty easy against a solid Mexico lineup tonight, getting 15 whiffs on 31 swings and allowing zero hard-hit balls. He’ll likely pitch again Sunday if Team USA can advance to the semifinals.

Two homers off a lefty from a player who totaled three of those all of last year. Duran was 7-for-12 with three homers in Red Sox camp and is now 5-for-10 with three homers in WBC play. The Red Sox had him available in trade talks all winter, but it might prove fortunate for them that no one met their asking price.

Both players were always seen as longshots to crack a crowded Opening Day roster, so there’s no real surprise here. Encarnacion-Strand, who was the Reds’ Opening Day first baseman in each of the past two seasons, will have to prove his health and produce at the Triple-A level before earning another shot in Cincinnati.

Acosta signed a one-year deal back in December. It sounds like the 27-year-old hurler will continue to function as extra pitching depth at the Triple-A level for the time being. The move frees up a spot on the Padres’ 40-man roster, though it’s unclear if they already have a move in mind or want to explore something externally.

The 25-year-old backstop tagged Yankees’ starter Max Fried for his 386-foot (104.0 mph EV) solo shot to open the fifth inning. He also drew a walk in the eighth inning and scored on a two-run double off the bat of Shawn Ross. Rodríguez is enjoying a nice spring, hitting .250 (5-for-20) with a pair of homers, five RBI and a stolen base. If he works his way back into the Pirates’ catching mix, he could wind up being an interesting deep league option for fantasy purposes.

The 30-year-old right-hander didn’t walk or strike out a batter in the contest. He struggled to keep the ball in the yard, serving up a long solo homer to Giancarlo Stanton in the second inning and another to Paul Dejong in the third. Urquidy got just one swing and miss on 36 pitches on the night, posting an uninspiring CSW of 22 percent. Despite his struggles this spring, he would appear to be locked into a spot in the Pirates’ Opening Day rotation, though he can probably be ignored for fantasy purposes.

Stanton did his damage off of Jose Urquidy leading off the second inning, clobbering an 0-1 cutter for a 424-foot (109.5 mph EV) solo shot to open the scoring in the ballgame. The 36-year-old slugger also singled in the contest, finishing the night 2-for-3. For the spring, he’s hitting .250 (2-for-8) through his first three games.

Fried allowed just two hits on the night and didn’t walk a batter. The 32-year-old southpaw actually navigated the first four innings unscathed, then returned to start the fifth and served up a solo homer to Endy Rodriguez. Fried got six whiffs on 67 pitches on the evening, posting a CSW of 28 percent. Expect him to make at least one additional start in Grapefruit League play before the regular season kicks off.