Guardians' Luis L. Ortiz: Fades after three good innings

Ortiz allowed four runs on four hits and three walks while striking out four over 3.2 innings in Thursday's spring start against the Rockies.

Ortiz made his fourth Cactus League start and through three innings appeared to have rebounded from a rocky third outing, but then the fourth inning came. The right-hander walked two and ceded a three-run home run to Jacob Stallings, the second homer Ortiz allowed on the day. Like the rest of his spring, one needs to squint to take the positives out of Thursday's outing. He reached 73 pitches and his fastball velo remained up. His spring ERA stands at 12.66, which is rough even by Cactus League standards, but as the club's major offseason pitching acquisition, Ortiz is expected to open the regular season as part of the rotation.