Cardinals Fall, Cubs Top White Sox

Cardinals Fall In Grapefruit Finale

(Jupiter, FL) -- The Marlins scored five times in the top of the eighth inning to sink the Cardinals 6-4 in the Grapefruit League finale for St. Louis.  Daniel Descalso was 1-for-3 with an RBI while Jon Jay was 1-for-2 with a run scored in the loss. Michael Wacha allowed one run in five innings with six strikeouts in the no decision. Scott McGregor fell to 0-2.

The St. Louis Cardinals have their final tuneup tonight before the regular season starts. The Cards clash with their Triple-A affiliate, the Memphis Redbirds, in Tennessee.  Gates open at 4:30 p.m., and the first five-thousand fans get a 2014 magnet schedule. Cards batting practice begins at 4:45 with the game scheduled to begin at 6:35. The regular season starts Wednesday in Cincinnati against the Reds.

Cubs Top White Sox

(Mesa, AZ) -- ravis Wood allowed two hits in three innings to pick up the win as the Cubs nipped the White Sox 4-3 in Mesa. Neil Ramirez locked up the save for the Cubs. Ryan Sweeney hit a solo homer in the bottom of the second in the win. Adam Dunn and Alejandro De Aza both went deep in defeat.  Felipe Paulino suffered the loss.

The Chicago Cubs are still in Arizona to close out the exhibition slate. The Cubs take on the Diamondbacks at Chase Field tonight and Saturday afternoon.  Chicago ended it's Mesa run this year with a 4-3 win over the White Sox Thursday. The regular season begins in Pittsburgh on Wednesday.

Infielder Mike Olt and outfielder Ryan Kalish are both on the Cubs' Opening Day roster. Olt has only played 16 games in the majors while with the Rangers in 2012. Kalish missed all of last year with an injury. Meanwhile, infielder Ryan Roberts and outfielder Chris Coghlan missed the cut. Roberts was granted his release, and Coghlan was sent to Triple-A Iowa.

White Sox Head East

(Birmingham, AL) -- The Chicago White Sox are done with exhibition games in Arizona. The team is in Alabama tonight facing their Double-A affiliate, the Birmingham Barons. The Sox closed Cactus League play Thursday with a 4-3 setback to the Cubs in Mesa. The White Sox start the regular season Wednesday at home against the Twins.

With Gordon Beckham likely headed to the disabled list, the White Sox are turning to rookie Marcus Semien at second base. Semien will start Wednesday against the Twins. He hit .261 with two home runs in 69 at-bats last year with Chicago. He had a .284 average with 19 homers and 24 steals in 137 minor league games in 2013. This spring, Semien posted a .333 average, one home run and seven RBI in 25 games.

Milwaukee has the "Racing Sausages," Washington DC has the "Racing Presidents" and this year the White Sox will debut the "Racing Broadcasters." The team debuted the four characters yesterday during a media tour of U.S. Cellular Field. The characters resemble broadcasters Steve Stone, Darrin Jackson, Ed Farmer and Hawk Harrelson. The four will race between innings of White Sox home games this year.

Thursday, March 27 Scoreboard

MLB Grapefruit League

Washington Nationals 4, New York Mets 0

Detroit Tigers 9, Atlanta Braves 3

Miami Marlins 6, St. Louis Cardinals 4

New York Yankees 4, Pittsburgh Pirates 2

Toronto Blue Jays 3, Philadelphia Phillies 0

Boston Red Sox 4, Minnesota Twins 1

Tampa Bay Rays 4, Baltimore Orioles 3

MLB Cactus League

Cincinnati Reds (ss) 9, Arizona Diamondbacks (ss) 1

Chicago Cubs 4, Chicago White Sox 3

Cincinnati Reds (ss) 8, Milwaukee Brewers 2

Cleveland Indians 3, Arizona Diamondbacks (ss) 2

Los Angeles Angels 7, Los Angeles Dodgers 5

Oakland Athletics 4, San Francisco Giants 0

Friday, March 28 Schedule (All Times Central)

MLB Grapefruit League

12:05 p.m. - Boston Red Sox vs. Minnesota Twins  (at Fort Myers, FL)

12:05 p.m. - Tampa Bay Rays vs. Detroit Tigers  (at Lakeland, FL)

6:05 p.m. - Miami Marlins vs. New York Yankees  (at Tampa, FL)

6:05 p.m. - New York Mets vs. Toronto Blue Jays  (at Montreal, Quebec)

6:05 p.m. - Pittsburgh Pirates at Philadelphia Phillies

7:05 p.m. - Houston Astros vs. Texas Rangers  (at San Antonio, TX)

MLB Cactus League

7:05 p.m. - Houston Astros vs. Texas Rangers  (at San Antonio, TX)

7:10 p.m. - Kansas City Royals at Milwaukee Brewers

8:10 p.m. - Cleveland Indians vs. San Diego Padres  (at Fowler Park)

8:40 p.m. - Chicago Cubs at Arizona Diamondbacks

9:05 p.m. - Colorado Rockies vs. Seattle Mariners  (at Peoria, AZ)

9:10 p.m. - Los Angeles Angels at Los Angeles Dodgers

9:15 p.m. - Oakland Athletics at San Francisco Giants