BRADENTON Tyson Ross Jersey , Fla. (AP) — Erik Gonzalez and Kevin Newman are competing to start at shortstop for Pittsburgh, the one open position in the Pirates’ everyday lineup.The job opened when Jordy Mercer left after seven seasons and signed with the Detroit Tigers.Gonzalez was acquired from Cleveland on Nov. 14. Newman made his major league debut with the Pirates last August and retains his rookie status.Gonzalez spent the last three years as a utility infielder, stuck behind such stalwarts as shortstop Francisco Lindor, third baseman Jose Ramirez and second baseman Jason Kipnis.“I was starting to lose my passion for baseball,” Gonzalez said. “I was talking to my agent to try to move to another team. I just want the chance to play.”He will have a chance to prove himself during the exhibition season, which begins Saturday. The Pirates feel they may have unearthed a potential impact player in Gonzalez.“We’ve had people that’ve seen this man play defense and said, ‘This guy can be dynamic,'” manager Clint Hurdle said. “‘OK’ wasn’t a word that came out of anybody’s mouth. ‘Above average. Dynamic. Very good. More range than anybody you’ve had at short.'”Whether Gonzalez will hit enough to be a regular is the question. In 162 career games, he has a .263 batting average and five home runs.“It’s hard when you only play once a week to keep your timing,” he said. “I did the best I could to stay ready. I worked hard every day before games.“I do think I learned a lot about hitting from my teammates. I talked to Lindor a lot, talked to Ramirez, talked to (Edwin) Encarnacion. They are all great hitters, and they helped me.”Newman struggled in his initial trip to the big leagues Allen Craig Jersey , hitting .209 in 31 games. However, he was the Pirates’ first-round draft pick in 2015 and was once considered among the top 100 prospects in baseball.The Pirates feel Newman is a better player that what he showed last year. General manager Neal Huntington pointed out that Newman lost 10 pounds during the season and was not at his best physically once he reached the major leagues.Newman, though, has come back stronger this spring. He was one of the few Pirates with a chance to make the opening-day roster to attend the team’s minicamp in January, and he also showed up to spring training more a week before the full squad was scheduled to report.“Getting an opportunity is all you could ever ask for,” Newman said. “I’m really excited about it. Every day, I worked as hard as I could, got as toned as I could, got as prepared as I could to come in ready to fight for a spot.”NOTES: The Pirates held their first full-squad workout Monday. The full contingent of 61 players was on hand. … Right-hander Rookie Davis was signed to a minor league contract and given an invitation to major league camp. He made his big league debut with the Cincinnati Reds in 2017 but spent last season in the minors while rehabbing from hip surgery. … Former Pirates players who are guest instructors in camp include Steve Blass, John Candelaria, Bill Mazeroski, Omar Moreno, Manny Sanguillen and Rennie Stennett. NEW YORK (AP) — Giancarlo Stanton hit the hardest homer ever measured by Major League Baseball’s Statcast system http://www.padresfanproshop.com/authentic-brad-hand-jersey , Neil Walker hit two more home runs and the New York Yankees beat the Texas Rangers 7-3 on Thursday night.Stanton’s 28th homer was measured at 121.7 mph, the fastest long ball tracked by Statcast since the system was introduced in 2015. Miguel Andujar and Aaron Hicks also went deep, helping the Yankees win their fourth straight since a five-game skid that included a four-game sweep at AL East-leading Boston.J.A. Happ (12-6) pitched six effective innings in his return from hand, foot and mouth disease. Happ was acquired from Toronto last month and has won both his starts with New York. He allowed three runs, four hits, a walk and struck out nine Thursday.Rookie Ariel Jurado (2-2) got Stanton to hit into a double play in the first inning, then intentionally walked Didi Gregorius before Hicks homered to make it 2-0.All-Star closer Aroldis Chapman walked two in the ninth before getting a fielder’s choice from pinch-hitter Isiah Kiner-Falefa and striking out Choo and Odor.BLUE JAYS 8, RED SOX 5TORONTO (AP) — Mookie Betts homered for Boston in the ninth inning to complete his first career cycle, and Toronto held on to beat the Red Sox.Betts is the 21st Red Sox player to hit for the cycle and the first in the major leagues this season. He singled and scored in the first inning, tripled in the second and doubled in the fourth against starter Ryan Borucki (2-2). After walking in the sixth, Betts hit his 27th homer in the ninth off Ken Giles.The AL MVP candidate was 4 for 4 to raise his average to .347 with 59 RBIs and a 1.102 OPS.Boston (81-35) lost for the first time in seven games but still has the best record in baseball.Randal Grichuk hit a tiebreaking two-run homer in the fifth inning and Teoscar Hernandez added a solo shot to help Toronto avoid a three-game sweep. Red Sox slugger J.D. Martinez hit his major league-leading 35th home run, a solo drive in the fifth. Rick Porcello (14-5) was the winner.DODGERS 8, ROCKIES 5DENVER (AP) — Chris Taylor and Brian Dozier homered off closer Wade Davis in the ninth inning and Los Angeles exploited Colorado’s shaky bullpen to beat the Rockies.Taylor lined the first pitch he saw from Davis (1-6) — a knuckle-curve — into the left-center bleachers to make it 6-5. Two batters later Tony Gwynn Jersey , Dozier followed with a two-run shot to cap off another late-inning, flip-flopping game at Coors Field.Caleb Ferguson (3-1) threw 1 2/3 innings for the win, and Scott Alexander got his second save.The Rockies bullpen surrendered five homers and seven runs as the Dodgers pulled into a first-place tie with idle Arizona in the NL West. It was Los Angeles’ sixth straight win at Coors Field.Chris Iannetta gave the Rockies a 5-3 lead with a three-run homer in the seventh. It didn’t last, as Cody Bellinger connected on a two-run shot off reliever Seunghwan Oh to tie it with two outs in the eighth. Rockies eliever Scott Oberg allowed solo homers to pinch-hitters Joc Pederson and Max Muncy in the seventh to give the Dodgers a 3-1 lead.MARINERS 8, ASTROS 6HOUSTON (AP) — Mitch Haniger homered while Seattle jumped on Justin Verlander for six runs in two innings, and the Mariners beat Houston.Haniger, Denard Span and Jean Segura combined for 10 hits and seven RBIs with a homer each off Verlander. Verlander (11-7) was ejected for arguing a balk call after setting a season high for runs allowed and missing a chance for his 200th career victory.James Paxton (10-5) continued his success against the Astros, yielding seven hits and four runs in 5 2/3 innings to improve to 4-0 against them this season. Edwin Diaz allowed a home run to Tyler White with two outs in the ninth before striking out Josh Reddick for his 43rd save.Haniger had a season-high four hits with two RBIs, Span had three RBIs and finished a double shy of the cycle, and Segura added three hits and drove in two runs.INDIANS 5, MINNESOTA 4CLEVELAND (AP) — Michael Brantley’s ninth-inning single gave Cleveland its second straight walk-off victory over Minnesota.Brantley grounded a 2-1 pitch off Addison Reed (1-6) past the diving Miguel Sano at first base to score Greg Allen. Francisco Lindor’s three-run homer in the ninth inning Wednesday gave Cleveland a 5-2 victory. Brantley’s hit set off another celebration as he was mobbed by his teammates.Allen started the rally with a single off Reed and stole second with Lindor batting. Lindor’s groundout to first moved Allen to third.Andrew Miller (2-3) struck out a batter in the ninth. The left-hander made his fourth appearance since missing two months because of an inflamed right knee.Minnesota rallied from a 4-0 deficit against reigning AL Cy Young Award winner Corey Kluber. Jake Cave’s fifth-inning sacrifice fly scored a run before Jorge Polanco hit first home run of the season — a three-run shot in the sixth — to tie the game. Polanco missed the first 80 games of the season because of a suspension for violating baseball’s drug program.PADRES 8, BREWERS 4MILWAUKEE (AP) — Hunter Renfroe hit a go-ahead grand slam in the ninth inning, his fourth straight game with a home run Dave Winfield Jersey , and San Diego rallied to beat Milwaukee.Down 4-2 entering the ninth, San Diego came back against relievers Corey Knebel and Joakim Soria.Knebel (2-3) walked the bases loaded and allowed a run-scoring infield single to Travis Jankowski before Soria entered to try to escape the jam. Soria retired Eric Hosmer before Renfroe hammered a 1-2 pitch deep into the left-field bleachers for his grand slam. Renfroe became the first Padres player to hit home runs and have multiple RBI games in four consecutive games.Franmil Reyes added a solo homer to right off Jacob Barnes to cap the Padres’ six-run rally. Kirby Yates (4-0) pitched a scoreless eighth for the victory and Craig Stammen closed it with a scoreless ninth.NATIONALS 6, BRAVES 3WASHINGTON (AP) — Gio Gonzalez pitched seven strong innings for his first victory since May 28 to help Washington split a four-game series with Atlanta.Gonzalez (7-8) snapped a personal seven-game losing streak and had gone 11 consecutive starts without a victory. He allowed three hits and one walk while striking out three. Nick Markakis’ solo homer to lead off the second was the lone run he allowed.Ronald Acuna Jr. homered for Atlanta. Wes Parsons (0-1) was the loser.Washington outfielder Bryce Harper was scratched from the lineup with right knee soreness. Atlanta reliever Dan Winkler hit Harper just below the right knee in the seventh inning Wednesday night.RAYS 5, ORIOLES 4ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Jake Bauers drove in two of his three runs with a go-ahead two-run single in the seventh inning and Tampa Bay beat Baltimore.Bauers’ decisive hit off Cody Carroll (0-1) came in the Rays’ franchise record-tying sixth consecutive one-run game. Baltimore took a 4-3 lead earlier in the seventh when Renato Nunez hit a solo homer off Yonny Chirinos (1-4). Sergio Romo worked the ninth to get his 14th save.PIRATES 10, GIANTS 5SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — David Freese hit his 100th career home run, Elias Diaz and Josh Bell went deep on consecutive pitches and the Pirates beat the Giants.Ivan Nova (7-6) allowed two runs in six innings to continue a stellar stretch on the road for Pittsburgh’s starters. Adam Frazier added three singles and two RBIs, his fourth multi-hit game in the last six.The Pirates have won three straight overall and improved to 8-2 in their last 10 at AT&T Park.Joe Panik and Steven Duggar drove in two runs apiece for San Francisco.Diaz and Bell homered off starter Andrew Suarez (4-8) in the second.