Troy Tulowitzki goes yard in Yankees’ last fake baseball game of the year

Spring training is officially over, and we’re just three days away from meaningful baseball. It’s about time. The Yankees regulars only got two at-bats before they were subbed out tonight, so it was the second-stringers who saw most of the action.

Here are three takeaways from the Bombers’ loss to the Nationals:

1. Heading into the game, Stephen Tarpley owned a 0.00 ERA through 11.1 innings. That ended tonight. The opener gave up a one-out single, followed by a two-run blast off the bat of Anthony Rendon. All said and done, Tarpley had a great spring and I look forward to seeing what he’s got in the bullpen.
2. Miguel Andujar was hit by a pitch during his first at-bat. According to Brendan Kuty, the ball went under his armpit, and the trainers came out to check on him. He stayed in the game, but was subbed out early along with everyone else (which hopefully doesn’t mean anything). It is something to keep an eye on though, especially after all the injuries that have cropped up recently.
3. There were a lot of questions surrounding Troy Tulowitzki’s ability to play baseball after so many injuries and so much time off. The good news is that he definitely showed signs of life over the past six weeks. Tulo has looked fine defensively at shortstop. He hasn’t looked great at the plate, but he managed to run in to a few home runs. He hit his fourth tonight, a solo shot to center field.

Highlight of the Game

The Yankees will open up the season at home against the Orioles on Thursday! In typical Opening Day fashion, the game starts at 1:05 ET. Masahiro Tanaka has been tapped as the starter.