Jon Lester, just two weeks from having his parathyroid gland removed due to a medical condition, threw two innings Thursday in his spring debut as a member of the Washington Nationals.
Lester allowed a run on one hit and one walk while striking out two, and the Nationals went on to beat the New York Mets 3-1 in Port St. Lucie, Fla.
"I'd be lying to you if I said I wasn't nervous," Lester said after his outing. "I had the butterflies, which is always good. I've told people before, 'If those butterflies go away, then it's time for me to go home.' So it was nice to feel those again."
Kyle Schwarber, Yadiel Hernandez and Josh Bell hit solo homers for Washington. James McCann had an RBI double for New York.
White Sox 9, Royals 7
Adam Engel doubled, tripled and homered and Andrew Vaughn also went deep as Chicago beat Kansas City in Phoenix. Hunter Dozier hit a three-run double for the Royals.
Cubs 4, Indians 3
Homers from David Bote and Jake Marisnick powered Chicago to a victory over Cleveland in Goodyear, Ariz. Cubs starter Jake Arrieta threw four innings of one-run ball, and Cleveland starter Zach Plesac fired five innings of one-run ball.
Dodgers 7, Diamondbacks 7 (7 innings)
Josh Rojas' seventh-inning RBI single lifted Arizona to a tie against Los Angeles in Scottsdale, Ariz. The Diamondbacks' David Peralta and Asdrubal Carbrera hit fourth-inning homers, and the Dodgers' Cody Bellinger homered in the seventh.
A's 4, Padres 2
Ka'ai Tom went 2-for-4 with a home run as Oakland beat San Diego in Peoria, Ariz. Austin Allen and Vimael Machin added two hits apiece for the A's, who had six pitchers combine on a four-hitter.
Angels 3, Brewers 2
Andrew Heaney allowed just one hit and two walks while fanning eight in five scoreless innings as Los Angeles edged Milwaukee in Tempe, Ariz. The Brewers' Billy McKinney hit the game's only home run.
--Field Level Media