The Atlanta Braves overcame some early wildness by starting pitcher Derek Lowe, and came back twice to beat the Venezuelan World Baseball Classic team. Lowe didn't allow any hits in three innings of work, but gave up a run thanks to some wildness and walks. This was in stark contrast to his first outing of the spring, in which he gave up five hits in two innings, but didn't issue a walk.
Meanwhile in Arizona, Braves starter Jorge Campillo tossed three strong innings for Mexico's WBC team against the Rockies. Campillo gave up two runs on three hits while striking out three.
While Ken Kawakami didn't get to face the Yankees' formidable lineup yesterday, instead facing their C-squad, Braves pitching prospect Scott Diamond got to face Swisher, Tex, Matsui, and Nady, in the Yanks lineup and didn't give up a hit in two innings of work. Diamond was pretty proud of his biggest strikeout:
The powers that be with the Braves will no doubt be especially pleased with how he handled Mark Teixeira, who was traded from Atlanta to the Angels last July. The slugging first baseman, who signed a US$180 million contract with the Yankees as a free agent, struck out against the lefty, who also got Angel Berroa looking.
"I think the (Braves) are going to be happy with the way it came out and how I handled Tex," said Diamond.
Former Braves starter Damian Moss took the loss for Austrailia while giving up six runs in four innings against the Brewers.
In the Team USA exhibition game against the Phillies, both Brian McCann and Chipper Jones homered as the US out paced the World Champs.