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Strong showing for Brault

From Mirror, wire reports

BRADENTON, Fla. — Steven Brault pitched shutout baseball into the fourth inning, helping the Pittsburgh Pirates to a 3-1 Grapefruit League win over the Detroit Tigers on Tuesday.

The southpaw gave up two hits, struck out four and walked three. He got out of a bases-loaded jam with no outs in the first inning when he issued two of the three walks.

Melky Cabrera singled home one run for the Pirates (11-12-2) while Corey Dickerson went 2-for-4 to improve his spring training average to .480. Teammate Josh Bell added two hits.

Working in relief, Felipe Vazquez faced four batters and struck out three of them. He also reached 101 mph on the radar gun for one of his strikeouts.

Joe Musgrove is scheduled to pitch today for the Pirates against the Twins.

Elsewhere:

n Mike Trout is on the verge of becoming baseball’s first half-billion dollar man. Trout and the Los Angeles Angels are close to finalizing a $432 million, 12-year contract that would shatter the record for the largest deal in North American sports history, a person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press. Trout would set a baseball record for career earnings at about $513 million, surpassing the roughly $448 million Alex Rodriguez took in with Seattle, Texas and the New York Yankees from 1994-2017. Trout’s latest deal would top the new $330 million, 12-year contract between Bryce Harper and the Philadelphia Phillies, and Trout’s $36 million average annual value would surpass pitcher Zack Greinke’s $34.4 million in a six-year deal with Arizona that started in 2016. The contract also would best Mexican boxer Canelo Alvarez’s $356 million deal with sports-streaming service DAZN.

n Detroit Tigers right-hander Michael Fulmer may need Tommy John surgery. The Tigers said Tuesday that surgery to reconstruct the ulnar collateral ligament in the elbow has been recommended following an MRI exam and a second opinion from Dr. James Andrews. Fulmer, who experienced elbow soreness during a recent bullpen session, will seek a third opinion. Detroit manager Ron Gardenhire said there was no timetable for when he would pitch again. Fulmer won AL Rookie of the Year honors in 2016 but has struggled to return to that form. He was 3-12 with a 4.69 ERA last year, his season cut short in mid-September because of knee problems. Fulmer said during the offseason that he’d looked into some mechanical issues that may have caused his knee problems.

n New York Yankees reliever Dellin Betances has inflammation in his right shoulder and will start the regular season on the injured list. New York general manager Brian Cashman said an MRI was done on Betances on Tuesday after the 6-8, 265-pound right-hander continued to lack velocity in his fastball. Betances, who normally reached the upper 90s, has topped at 92 or 93 mph throughout spring training. Betances went 4-6 with a 2.70 ERA in 66 games last season. Left-hander Stephen Tarpley is among those that could take Betances’ spot on the roster. Other Yankee pitchers who will start the year on the DL include CC Sabathia and Luis Severino.

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