Joey Votto went 4-for-5 with his third home run of the spring and scored the winning run in the ninth inning of a back-and-forth game Monday night as the Reds rallied for a 9-8 win over the Brewers.

Outfielder Yasiel Puig returned to the starting lineup on Monday night and Yasmani Grandal resumed throwing, but Howie Kendrick remained in the trainer’s room as the Dodgers issued their latest injury report.

Jean Segura’s leadoff home run ignited the Arizona Diamondbacks’ offense Monday night as they pulled away for a 7-3 Cactus League victory over the San Francisco Giants.

Opening Day is less than a week away, meaning many pitchers will be making their final spring tuneups in the coming days. On Tuesday, several of the game’s top hurlers will do just that with marquee names taking the hill.

Justin Turner hit a game-tying grand slam in the fifth inning and Charlie Culberson singled with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning to give the Dodgers a 5-4 victory over the Rangers on Monday night at Camelback Ranch.

Sometimes teams’ biggest strengths are obvious. Heading into 2015, anyone looking around the Major Leagues might have reasonably predicted that Clayton Kershaw would put together another brilliant season for the Dodgers, or that Mike Trout would continue his elite offensive production in Anaheim, or that the Cubs’ Kris Bryant would headline the National League’s rookie crop.

According to the old adage, pitchers are ahead of hitters in Spring Training. Well, that wasn’t the case on Monday, as a cavalcade of stars — including Mike Trout — produced a barrage of homers that included the back-to-back and even back-to-back-to-back variety.

Joey Votto rarely lets outsiders delve into matters concerning his hitting approach. His thoughts inside the batters’ box are his alone. Therefore, what the Reds’ first baseman was doing in the box in the sixth inning vs. the Dodgers on Sunday will remain a mystery.

Whose jersey will rank No. 1 come November?

So your team has a really depressing record in the Cactus or Grapefruit league? Don’t lose heart. Don’t lose sleep, either. The correlation between exhibition and regular-season records is shaky at best. Sometimes, it is, in fact, inverted.

The Astros sent Dan Straily to the Padres on Monday in exchange for catcher Erik Kratz in a deal that satisfies the Astros’ desire to add a catcher following the injury to Max Stassi.

Tyler White’s spot on the Opening Day roster was paved Monday when the club announced first-base candidates Jon Singleton and A.J. Reed were among eight players who were being cut from Major League camp.

When Julio Teheran takes the mound to face the Nationals on April 4 at Turner Field, he will experience the honor of making his third consecutive Opening Day start when he is still just 25 years old.

Astros right fielder George Springer accounted for two of the five home runs the Astros hit before Houston needed a three-run eighth to claim a 12-9 win over the Braves on Monday night.

Dab ya later.

Mike Trout and Albert Pujols hit back-to-back home runs, Jason Heyward smoked a ball about 460 feet and the Cubs and Angels settled for an 8-8 tie on Monday at Tempe Diablo Stadium.

Vince Velasquez entered Spring Training the favorite to be the Phillies’ fifth starter and they awarded him the job on Monday, when they announced they had optioned left-hander Adam Morgan to Triple-A Lehigh Valley.