At JetBlue Park in Fort Myers, Boston Red Sox played a double-header on Monday (February 29) with two split-squads.
In the first game, Boston won 6-0 vs. the Eagles, the team of Boston College.
The team collected ten basehits, including one by Xander Bogaerts, who was 1-for-2 and started the game as short stop.
The Aruba-born Bogaerts didn't play in the second game.
On Tuesday (March 1), at Champion Stadium in Lake Buena Vista, the Atlanta Braves and Baltimore Orioles played a 10-inning, 4-4 tie.
In the bottom of the eighth, the Braves trailed 4-2.
With one out, Rio Ruiz hit a ground-rule double and scored on a following single by Ryan Lavarnway.
The latter was then replaced by pinch-runner Ozzie Albies (whose first name has been shortened from Ozhaino), who then advanced to third base when an error was made on a force play-grounder by Chase d'Arnaud.
After next batter Matt Tuiasosopo walked to load the bases, Albies scored the tying run on a sacrifice fly by Reid Brignac.
Albies stayed in the game as short stop.
In the bottom of the tenth inning, he led off with a walk, but was then caught stealing moments later.
At Goodyear Ballpark in Goodyear, also on Tuesday, Cincinnati Reds win 6-5 at Cleveland Indians.
In the top of the sixth inning, Cincinnati led 5-2.
With one out, pinch-hitter Scott Schebler homered to make it 6-2.
With two outs, Calten Daal, whose was called by his first name Carlton in previous seasons, entered the game as pinch-hitter, but he lined out.
Hereafter, the 22-year old Daal took over as short stop.
He got his second at bat in the ninth inning, but then grounded out.
On Wednesday (March 2), six Dutch players got into action.
Ozzie Albies was the starting second baseman for the Atlanta Braves in the game vs. the Baltimore Orioles at Ed Smith Stadium in Sarasota.
The 19-year old talented infielder from Curaçao played the entire game for the Braves and made a great impression.
He went 3-for-5, including a homerun, scored three runs and also batted in three runs.
Albies finished the game as short stop, the position that was formerly played by Andrelton Simmons, but he was traded to Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in November.
Jonathan Schoop started at second base for the Orioles and was 1-for-2, which was a homerun.
He scored once and batted in two runs.
The Braves won the game 11-4, thanks to a 7-run rally in the first inning.
In his first at bat in the top of the first inning, Albies (who batted ninth) singled and brought in two runners to lift the lead to 5-0.
Shortly hereafter, he scored when Mallex Smith hit his second triple in the inning!
Trailing 8-0, the Orioles rallied for four runs in the bottom of the second inning, highlighted by a 2-run homerun by Schoop.
In the fifth inning, Smith added a homerun to his productive afternoon, while Albies hit a lead-off homerun in the seventh inning.
In the ninth inning, Albies hit a lead-off single and went on to score his third run in the game on a 2-out double by Joseph Odom
Albies had switched from second base to short in the bottom of the sixth inning.
Schoop was replaced in the top of the seventh inning.
At George M. Steinbrenner Field in Tampa, Didi Gregorius started as short stop for the New York Yankees against the Detroit Tigers.
The Amsterdam-born Gregorius was 0-for-3, but he batted in a run in the 10-9 victory for the Yankees.
Initially, the Yankees trailed 7-0 in the fourth inning.
The Tigers had scored five runs in the second, including four on a grand slam homerun by Bryan Holaday.
The Yankees then scored three runs in the fourth.
In the fifth, Ben Gamel led off for the Yankees with a walk and moved on a double by Donovan Solano.
Gamel then scored on a grounder by Gregoirus, which brought Solano to third base.
He went on to score the next run on a double by Starlin Castro.
Gregorius was replaced in the top of the sixth inning.
The Yankees again scored twice in the sixth to come alongside and took an 8-7 lead in the seventh.
The Tigers then score two runs in the top of the ninth, but the Yankees anwered with two of its own with the winning run being scored on an missed catch in the outfield with two outs.
Playing at home against Minnesota Twins in Fort Myers, Xander Bogaerts played in his second game for the Red Sox, who lost 7-4.
Bogaerts started at short stop and batted third, but was 0-for-3 today.
Bogaerts left the game in the bottom of the sixth when he was replaced by a pinch-runner.
Calten Daal started as short stop for Cincinnati Reds in the home game against Cleveland Indians at Goodyear Ballpark, which ended in a 4-4 tie after nine innings.
Daal was 0-for-2 and left in the top of the sixth when the entire team was replaced.
At Charlotte Sports Park in Port Charlotte, Spencer Kieboom started as designated hitter for Washington Nationals in the road game at Tampa Bay Rays, which they won 6-2.
Kieboom got two at bats, but unfortunately struckout both times.
In the top of the second, with two outs, Kieboom struckout with the bases loaded.
In the top of the seventh, he was replaced by a pinch-hitter.
At Scottsdale Stadium in Scottsdale, the San Francisco Giants hosted Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in the first Spring Training-game for both teams and won 4-1.
Of course, Hensley Meulens was at this game as Hitting Coach of the Giants.
Andrelton Simmons, who was traded to the Angels by the Atlanta Braves in November, didn't play.
He is expected to play in his first game for the Angels on Thursday against the Oakland A's.
At Surprise Stadium in Suprise, the Texas Rangers played against World Series-champion Kansas City Royals.
Short stop Jurickson Profar is on his way back recovering from a shoulder-injury, which caused him to miss the past two Major League-seasons.
He made his comeback in August last year when he played in some Minor League-games, followed by a season in the Arizona Fall League.
In all those games, Profar played as designated player only.
On Thursday, Profar will be the starting short stop for the Rangers in the game against the Royals.
On Monday, Profar hit a homerun in an intrasquad game.
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First Dutch pros get into action during Major League Spring Training
FORT MYERS / LAKE BUENA VISTA / PORT CHARLOTTE / SARASOTA / TAMPA, Florida / GOODYEAR / SCOTTSDALE / SURPRISE, Arizona (USA) -
With the start of Spring Training, the new Major League-season is fast approaching.
Last Sunday, the first exhibition game was played.
Since then, more followed in the previous days.
And much more will follow in the coming days in the Grapefruit League (Florida) and Cactus League (Arizona).
With that, the professionals with Dutch passports also have seen their first action of Spring Training.
Most of them have played for the Netherlands Kingdom Team in previous years, participating in the World Baseball Classic or Premier12.
