East: Baltimore second baseman Delino DeShields found out Friday he won’t need surgery to repair a fractured bone in his left thumb. He will need a splint and will miss about six weeks. . . . Hideki Irabu allowed just two hits in three shutout innings during New York’s 8-6 loss to Toronto in Dunedin, Fla. Irabu threw just 26 of 48 pitches for strikes and fell behind 10 of 12 batters. The Blue Jays’ Darrin Fletcher slugged a grand slam in a six-run fourth. . . . Cleveland’s new infield combination of Omar Vizquel and Roberto Alomar executed its first double play, but Jermaine Dye singled, doubled and homered to lead Kansas City over an Indians split squad 9-3 in Winter Haven, Fla. . . . Creighton Gubanich hit a three-run double in the fifth inning as Boston defeated Boston College 4-3 in a seven-inning exhibition in Ft. Myers, Fla.
West: Mo Vaughn went 2 for 3 with a run scored and two RBIs as Anaheim opened its spring schedule with a 17-4 loss to Oakland in Tempe, Ariz. Scott Spiezio and A.J. Hinch each had three hits in the A’s 18-hit attack. Spiezio had two doubles and three RBIs. Hinch had an RBI triple and double.
Central: Terry Steinbach’s first exhibition-season homer in two years, a two-run shot, helped Minnesota beat a Cincinnati split squad 6-2 in Ft. Myers, Fla. Dan Serafini, one of several young pitchers competing for two openings in the Twins’ starting rotation, pitched two scoreless innings to gain the victory. Aaron Boone, hitting cleanup in the Reds’ lineup after getting just two homers and 28 RBIs in 1998, was 3 for 4.
