DUNEDIN — Carter Cunningham homered in the bottom of the ninth as a Toronto Blue Jays split-squad beat the New York Yankees 6-5 in spring training action Monday.
Cunningham's homer was one of six hits in the game.
The Blue Jays took a 4-0 lead with Bo Bichette's two-run homer in the second inning.
New York's Trent Grisham hit a two-run shot in the third to cut Toronto's lead to cut Toronto's lead to 4-3.
The Yankees took a 5-4 lead on solo homers from Ben Rice in the seventh inning and Brenny Escanio in the eighth before Matt Whatley tied it with a homer in the bottom of the eighth.
Toronto starter Kevin Gausman allowed three earned runs on four hits while striking out three over three innings. Eric Pardinho struck out two in a scoreless ninth to earn the win.
In Clearwater, Fla., Chris Bassitt allowed a run and two hits and struck out four over 5 1/3 innings before another Jays split squad fell 4-2 to the Philadelphia Phillies.
Philadelphia scored two runs with two out in the seventh to take a 3-2 lead and put the game away on Keaton Anthony's solo home run in the eighth.
Toronto reliever Zach Pop was charged with both runs and took the loss.
Ranier Nunez homered in the third inning and Davis Schneider went deep in the fourth to stake Toronto to a 2-0 lead.
Toronto (14-9) next faces the Baltimore Orioles on Tuesday in Sarasota, Fla.
Also Monday, the Blue Jays announced that left-hander Richard Lovelady has been selected to the 40-man roster while right-hander Alek Manoah has been placed on the 60-day injured list.
Lovelady has a 5.14 earned-run average and eight strikeouts over seven innings in seven appearances this spring. He pitched the eighth inning and allowed Escanio's home run in the win over New York.
Manoah, an all-star in 2022, has recently begun throwing from the mound after undergoing Tommy John surgery last summer.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 17, 2025.
The Canadian Press
