Good afternoon from McKechnie Field.
- The Pirates will face the Baltimore Orioles under the lights tonight at 7:05 P.M. Lefty Erik Bedard will get the start for the Bucs against right-hander Tommy Hunter.
- Bedard is making his fourth Grapefruit League start of the spring tonight. He allowed four runs on five hits with three walks and three strikeouts over 3.2 innings against the New York Yankees his last trip to the mound on Tuesday.
- Following Bedard in relief are Juan Cruz, Tony Watson and Jason Grilli.
- Pirates lineup vs. O’s:
Alex Presley 7
Jose Tabata 9
Andrew McCutchen 8
Neil Walker 4
Garrett Jones 3
Rod Barajas 2
Pedro Alvarez 5
Clint Barmes 6
Erik Bedard 1
- Alvarez is returning to the lineup for the first time since Thursday when he was removed from the game with knee discomfort.
- Orioles lineup vs. Pirates: Reimold 7, Hardy 6, Markakis 9, Jones 8, Weiters 2, Reynolds 5, Betemit 3, Paulino DH, Andino 4
- The Pirates will face the Philadelphia Phillies tomorrow at 1:05 in Clearwater. Chris Resop will start the game and be followed by Joel Hanrahan, Daniel Moskos and Ryota Igarashi.
- Right-hander Jeff Karstens will start in a Minor Leauge game at Pirate City tomorrow.
- The Pirates began the day with the highest batting average (.289) among all National Leauge teams and the best mark among teams in the Grapefruit League.
- Hot Buccos: Juan Cruz has been scored upon just once in his irst six appearances (7.0 innings); Matt Hague has 10 hits (three home runs) in his last 21 at-bats and leads the team with four home runs; Joel Hanrahan has struck out a team-leading 11 batters in his first 6.0 innings; Garrett Jones leads the team with 12 RBI; Jose Tabata has seven hits in his last 15 at-bats.
