Pirates  5,  Rays  4
The Pirates won on a walk-off error in the bottom of the 9th inning this afternoon in Bradenton.  Pittsburgh had been leading 4-3 going into the top of the 9th, but a solo homer by Rays' John Jaso tied the score, and made reliever Chris Leroux the victim of a Blown Save.  In the bottom of the inning, 2B Josh Rodriguez walked with one out.  A ground out moved Rodriguez to second.  CF Pedro Ciriaco grounded to third for what should have been the final out of the game, but Rays 3B Daniel Mayora made a wild throw to first, and the ball got away,  Ciriaco had been off and running, and he rounded third and scored on the error to give the Pirates the win.
The Rays had scored in the 2nd inning on a solo homer, and also began the 5th inning with a solo homer, both off Pirates' starter Paul Maholm.  After the homer in the 5th, Maholm gave up another run on a double an an RBI single.  Joel Hanrahan pitched two hitless and scoreless innings, working around a fielding error by 1B Lyle Overbay in the 7th.  Leroux was credited with the win.

The Pirates tied the score at 1-1 with a run in the bottom of the 3rd.  2B Neil Walker tripled to the wall in center field, then scored on CF Andrew McCutchen's ground out.  When the Rays took a 3-1 lead in the top of the 5th,  LF Jose Tabata got the Pirates a run closer with a solo homer in the bottom of the inning.  The Pirates took a 4-3 lead in the 6th, when McCutchen led off with a walk.  RF Matt Diaz grounded into a force out, replacing McCutchen at first.  Diaz moved to third base on 3B Pedro Alvarez's line drive double, and both Diaz and Alvarez both scored on C Ryan Doumit's single lined into center field.  

Steve Pearce was officially informed that he will begin the season on the Pirates' 25-man active roster.  John Bowker, who had a pinch-hit single in the 7th inning today, is still on the bubble, and his fate will probably be decided by what the Pirates do about their catchers -- two or three catchers on the active roster?


The Indianapolis Indians had a day off today.  They have 6 more spring training games, with their last next Saturday.

Other news:  Former Pirate Nyjer Morgan was traded from the Washington Nationals to the Milwaukee Brewers today. 

Continuing to look at the Pirates' minor league pitchers, moving upward in the organization:

Hunter Strickland  --   R/R,  6' 5",  200 lb
Strickland was the Red Sox' 18th round pick in the 2007 draft, and he was traded to the Pirates in July 2009 in the deal involving Andy LaRoche.  He joined the West Virginia team, and made 8 starts over the rest of the season (43 innings), going 4-2 with a 3.77 ERA for the Power.  Strickland returned to West Virginia to begin the 2010 season, where he made another 8 starts for another 43 innings.  His results were not as good -- an 0-4 record and a 5.86 ERA, with 58 hits and 28 earned runs.  Both his walk rate (8, 1.7 walks/ 9 innings) and his strikeout rate (15, 3.1 K/ 9 innings) were low.  In mid-May, Bradenton needed a pitcher, and Strickland was promoted.  He made two strong relief appearances, combining for 7.2 scoreless innings, allowing 4 hits and one walk, with 5 strikeouts.  Then he made two starts, and got blasted -- 8 runs (4 earned) on 8 hits and 2 walks in 2.1 innings, and 3 runs on 4 hits and 3 walks in 4 innings.  At that point, Strickland was having tightness in his right forearm (or maybe it had been there already, and that was why he had been struggling), and he went on the DL, missing the remainder of the season.  Strickland should be ready to go for 2011, and at age 22, he should be back in Bradenton, where he will need to get back on track.


Phillip Irwin  --  R/R,  6' 3",   220 lb 
Irwin was the Pirates' 21st round pick in the 2009 draft.  He pitched well for State College in his pro debut in 2009, with a 2.12 ERA despite a 1-2 record in 29.2 innings for the Spikes.  Irwin was assigned to West Virginia to begin the 2010 season.  He had a solid month of April, making one relief appearance and 3 starts.  In 15 innings, he allowed 3 earned runs (1.80 ERA) on 11 hits and struck out 13 batters for the month.  Then Irwin went onto the DL for a month (injury not specified).  When he returned, he made two relief pitches, for 3 combined scoreless innings), then got back into the starting rotation.  He had an up-and-down rest of the season, finishing with a 6-3 record and a 3.35 ERA.  In a total of 113 innings, he allowed 99 hits and 42 earned runs with just 20 walks and 111 strikeouts.  Irwin said that his tougher starts allowed him to remain focused and kept him motivated during the season.  He was rewarded with a promotion to Bradenton for their brief playoff run, and got into one game.  He threw 1.2 innings and allowed 3 runs on 3 hits, with 2 strikeouts.  Irwin enjoyed his time in Bradenton, and said that he had fun and learned from some of the more experienced players.  The 24-year-old should get a return to Bradenton for the 2011 season, where he says his goal is to "stay healthy and focused".  

 

Moving on up the chain, looking at the Pirates' pitching prospects.  There are a big pile of pitchers who seem to "belong" at A level West Virginia this season, and there is just not going to be enough room for everyone.  Some will have to go to State College, some might spend some time in extended spring training, some might get a bump up to A+ Bradenton, and some might even be released.  Today we'll look at some pitchers who could begin the season in Bradenton.

Quinton Miller  --  R/R,  6' 1",  185 lb
Miller was chosen by the Pirates in the 20th round of the 2008 draft.  He made two solid starts at State College, then 12 more starts for West Virginia in 2009.  He finished the season with a combined 2-4 record and a 4.41 ERA.  He had 28 walks in 63.1 innings, and 44 strikeouts.  Miller was promoted to West Virginia to begin 2010.  His threw 5 scoreless innings in his first start, but his second start was halted after one inning, due to what turned out to be biceps tendonitis.  After more than 2 months on the DL, he made one appearance (2 scoreless innings) for the GCL Pirates and started 4 games for State College.  He returned to West Virginia at the end of July and made 8 more starts, but struggled.  In his first start back, Miller didn't get through the first inning, allowing 7 runs on 6 hits.  His next outing was better, with 5 scoreless innings and 4 hits.  Then another tough outing, when he gave up 4 runs in 5.2 innings. Then back to another good outing -- 2 unearned runs on 4 hits in 7 innings.  Miller continued on alternating tougher and better outings.   He finished the season with a 3-6 record and a 5.13 ERA in West Virginia.  In 47.1 innings, he gave up 59 hits and 15 walks and 30 strikeouts.  The 21-year-old Miller has been healthy in spring training and needs to stay healthy for 2011.  He should be ready for Bradenton, where he should keep working on his changeup and slider, and keep the walks down.

Brett Lorin --   R/R, 6' 7",  245 lb
Lorin came to the Pirates in July 2009, in the Jack Wilson/Ian Snell trade.  He had been pitching at the A level for Seattle, and stepped into the starting rotation at A West Virginia, where he earned a 1.57 ERA and 3-1 record in 7 starts (34.1 innings) for the Power.  He was ready for a promotion to Bradenton to begin 2010, but a hip injury kept him from starting the season on time.  Lorin was ready for 3 rehab starts for the GCL Pirates by early July (1 run on 2 hits in 7 innings).  He returned to West Virginia at the end of July, and first made three relief appearances for the Power.  In 5 innings of relief, he allowed 3 hits and 1 run, while striking out 7.  The rest of Lorin's outings were starts, and he had a little more trouble.  He had two starts (August 5th and Sept 6th) when he did not allow any runs, in a combined 9 innings, but in all the rest of his starts, he gave up at least 2 earned runs.  For those 9 starts, Lorin earned a 1-3 record and a5.70 ERA, with 47 hits and 23 earned runs in 36.1 innings.  He walked 9 and struck out 25 batters.  Lorin will turn 24 this week.  He could begin the 2010 season in West Virginia, or move up to Bradenton.  

Yankees  4,  Pirates  2
Reliever Mike Crotta, who had not given up a run up 'til today, surrendered his first spring training run this afternoon in Tampa.  Crotta came on to pitch the final inning, with the Yankees already ahead 3-2.  He gave up a single, a sacrifice bunt, and another single, for the Yankees' final run of the game.  Crotta is still in the running for a bullpen spot with the Pirates.  
The Yankees got onto the scoreboard first, with a 2-run homer by Alex Rodriguez in the bottom of the 1st inning off starter Kevin Correia.  Correia sailed through the next two innings, then gave up another run in the 4th on a walk and two singles.  He gave up only one more hit in the next two innings, finishing his afternoon with 6 innings, 5 hits, 3 runs, 2 walks, and 5 strikeouts.  Jose Veras pitched a scoreless 7th inning. 
The Pirates scored one run in the 2nd inning, when 3B Pedro Alvarez led off with a walk and C Jason Jaramillo doubled him in.  LF Jose Tabata smacked a triple in the 5th inning, and scored on 2B Neil Walker's sacrifice fly, for the Pirates' second run.  The Pirates posted 10 hits in the game, but did not score again  -- 8 runners were left on base.  Manager Clint Hurdle indicated that today's lineup is what he expects to be his regular starting lineup, and today most of those position players were in for the entire game.  SS Ronny Cedeno came out of the game in a double-switch in the bottom of the 8th, and Josh Rodriguez entered the game.  Rodriguez lined a single in the top of the 9th, but was left on base.  

The Pirates have two more games in Florida (at McKechnie Field against the Rays on Sunday, and in Ft. Myers against the Twins on Monday.  Then they will play two games in Philadelphia on Tuesday and Wednesday, before heading to Chicago to begin the regular season next Friday.  


The Pirates reassigned four more players to minor league camp this morning:  P Brian Burres,  C Dusty Brown, INF Andy Marte, and INF Corey Wimberly.   Moving Marte to minor league camp is encouraging for Steve Pearce, who is now nearly assured a bench spot on the major league team.  


S/W-B Yankees  6,  Indy Indians  5
The Indians faced New York Yankees' pitcher CC Sabathia this afternoon in a AAA spring training game against the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees in Tampa this afternoon.  They hit 5 singles off Sabathia in three innings, but could not bring any of those base runners around to score.  James McDonald came from the Pirates' big league camp to make a start for the Indians.  He gave up one run on 4 hits in his 3 innings.  The Indians scored a run in the 6th inning on Alex Presley's sacrifice fly.  Josh Fields, who went 2-for-3 in the game, doubled in a run in the 7th, then Jim Negrych followed with a 2-run homer.  The Indians were leading 5-2 going into the bottom of the 8th.  The Yankees tied the score in the bottom of the frame with 3 runs on a pair of doubles.  Then in the bottom of the 9th, the Yankees scored with a 2-out single to take the win.

Sketchy reports from two other games:
On Thursday, the Indians lost to the Las Vegas 51's by a score of 5-3, despite home runs by Chase d'Arnaud and Alex Presley.
On Friday, the Indians and the S/W-B Yankees played to a 1-1 tie.  Rudy Owens pitched 4 innings for the Indians, and struck out 6 batters.