Braves Extend Run-Buster with Thrashing of Rays

NORTH PORT, FL - MARCH 14: Drake Baldwin #30 of the Atlanta Braves makes contact during the spring training game between the Boston Red Sox and the Atlanta Braves on March 14, 2026 at CoolToday Park in North Port, FL. (Photo by Jeff Robinson/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images Well, the Atlanta Braves Grapefruit League Offensive Barrage keeps on truckin’, as the Braves are now 16-5 after a blowout 11-2 win over the Rays. They basically bonked Nick Martinez for four innings, and then bonked some Rays relievers/roster hopefuls for more runs later.

The bonking started early — Mike Yastrzemski doubled to lead off the second, scored on an Ozzie Albies single, and then there was an Eli White single, a sac fly, a Mauricio Dubon single, and a Drake Baldwin “triple” on a diving catch in center gone awry. Two innings later, White pulled a two-run homer into the left-field seats. After Martinez departed, it was time to bonk Kevin Kelly, with another Yastrzemski double and a few run-scoring outs.

Drake Baldwin hit a three-run homer off Yoendrys Gomez in the eighth (why was he still playing in the eighth? ). On the pitching end, Chris Sale had another pretty normal tuneup.

He lasted six innings and had “just” a 3/0 K/BB ratio. Around his final inning of work, he was mostly just pumping fastballs in, but then Nick Fortes homered on one of those fastballs, and Sale went back to less lackadaisical secondaries until leaving the game. Raisel Iglesias was victimized by a bunch of bloops but got two outs via strikeout before being forced out due to, I guess, pitch count.