Astros Edge Cardinals, Cubs Drop Another One

After a handful of spring training games, the St. Louis Cardinals like what they see at the top of their batting order. Matt Carpenter, Jason Heyward and Matt Holliday all produced hits Tuesday in a 7-6 loss to the Houston Astros. Heyward, the right fielder acquired in a trade from Atlanta, "fits in that second spot pretty well," manager Mike Matheny said,

Heyward batted first and fifth last season with the Braves. His best season came in 2012 when he hit 27 home runs, mostly from the No. 3 spot. According to Matheny, Heyward hitting second "gives us two three-hole hitters; one just gets up there before the other one."

Carpenter singled off starter Brett Oberholtzer and scored a run. Heyward drove in a run with a third-inning single, and Holliday doubled in the fifth. Oberholtzer gave up two runs in three innings, and criticized himself for getting "too much of the plate" on a leadoff double by Tony Cruz.

Indians 10, Cubs 6

The new-look Chicago Cubs are trying to build a team that soon will win a lot of games. In the meantime, maybe just one victory would be nice. Jorge Soler, Javier Baez and Kris Bryant hit consecutive home runs for the Cubs and yet they still became the only winless team in the majors this spring, falling to the Cleveland Indians 10-6 Tuesday.

"If we started like this during the season, we'd probably start to press," starting pitcher Travis Wood said. "It's spring and these things will happen. It is better it happens now."

The Cubs, full of expectations this season under first-year manager Joe Maddon, dropped to 0-6. Milwaukee posted its first exhibition win earlier in the day. Soler, Baez and Bryant connected in the fourth inning off Trevor Bauer. Baez got his first hit of the spring. Baez was 0 for 9 before connecting.

White Sox 6, Royals 2

Jeremy Guthrie, the starting and losing pitcher in Game 7 of the World Series, got off to rough spring debut Tuesday and the Kansas City Royals lost to the Chicago White Sox 6-2. Micah Johnson went 4 for 4, scored two runs and drove in one as the White Sox handed the Royals their first loss this spring after six wins. Guthrie yielded three runs on four hits and a hit batter in the first inning, but retired the last four batters he faced.

"This one was a little more relaxed," Guthrie said than his final World Series start. "The crowd wasn't too scary here, not too much pressure."

Guthrie had a modest goal for his debut.

Tuesday, March 10 Scoreboard

Baltimore 3, NY Yankees 1

Boston 5, Tampa Bay 1

Atlanta 3, NY Mets 2

Houston 7, St. Louis 6

Detroit 6, at Philadelphia 0

Miami 2, Washington 1

Pittsburgh 4, at Tampa Bay 3

Minnesota 5, at Toronto 3

Cleveland 10, Chicago Cubs 6

Chicago White Sox 6, at Kansas City 2

Milwaukee 5, Cincinnati 3

Oakland 6, Arizona 5

LA Dodgers 2, Colorado 2

San Diego 10, San Francisco 5

LA Angels 5, Texas 4

Colorado 9, Seattle 3

Wednesday, March 11 Schedule (All Times Central)

Toronto at Baltimore, 12:05 p.m.

Tampa Bay at Minnesota, 12:05 p.m.

Boston at NY Yankees, 12:05 p.m.

St. Louis at Atlanta, 12:05 p.m.

Detroit at Washington, 12:05 p.m.

Pittsburgh at Philadelphia, 12:05 p.m.

NY Mets at Miami, 12:05 p.m.

Texas at Chicago White Sox, 3:05 p.m.

San Diego at Kansas City, 3:05 p.m

Cleveland at Oakland, 3:05 p.m.

Colorado at Seattle, 3:05 p.m.

LA Dodgers at Chicago Cubs, 3:05 p.m.

Kansas City at Cincinnati, 3:05 p.m.

Milwaukee at San Francisco, 3:05 p.m.

LA Angels at Arizona, 3:10 p.m.