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Tag: Jeff Clement

More Hits, But Pirates Lose

Tigers 8, �Pirates 5 � (box)

The Pirates found their bats again today, but still could not overcome the Tigers in Wednesday's Grapefruit League action. �The Pirates posted 12 hits, and scored all their runs in one inning, a 5-run 4th. �Starter Zach Duke got into trouble in the 2nd inning, when he gave up back-to-back singles, then got a strikeout, then gave up two more back-to-back singles. �The fourth single brought in two runs. �A fly out was next, then another RBI single and a 2-RBI double, and the Tigers had a 5-0 lead.

The Pirates' 4th inning began with LF Lastings Milledge reaching base on a fielding error. �1B Jeff Clement continued his hot hitting with a single into right field. �3B Andy LaRoche brought in both Milledge and Clement with a triple into center field. �Zach Duke contributed an RBI double, plating LaRoche. �SS Bobby Crosby walked, and 2B Aki Iwamura singled into left to load the bases. �CF Andrew McCutchen lifted a sacrifice fly, scoring Duke from third. �After a pop out, C Ryan Doumit singled in Crosby before a ground out ended the inning. �The 5-run rally tied the score, but it didn't stay tied for long.

The Tigers led off the bottom of the 4th with a solo home run, followed by a single and a walk. �A double play erased the walk, but left a runner on third base. �Johnny Damon singled to bring in that run, and an RBI double by Magglio Ordonez scored Damon. �Another single had Ordonez heading for the plate, but an excellent throw in from Milledge in left field to Doumit at home was in time to tag out Ordonez as he tried to score.

Duke took the loss, as he allowed 8 runs on 9 hits over 3.2 innings. �Corey Hamman finished up the 4th inning for Duke, though he allowed 2 hits. �Brendan Donnelly and Jack Taschner each pitched a scoreless inning, and Jeff Sues pitched 2 scoreless innings.

Also in the game: �3B Jose De Los Santos, LF Austin McClune, RF Steve Pearce, and CF John Raynor.

The Indianapolis Indians were scheduled to play a AAA game against the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees in Bradenton this afternoon -- no word about the results.

Four Home Runs Power Pirates

Pirates 13, �Astros 1 �(box)

After several games in which the Pirates struggle to find hits, today they busted out with 15 of them, beating the Houston Astros 13-1 in Grapefruit League play.

CF Andrew McCutchen got things started with a 2-run homer in the 1st inning, and another run came in on an RBI single by 1B Jeff Clement. McCutchen tripled in the 2nd inning, and RF Garrett Jones' homer brought him in, to give the Pirates a 5-0 lead. �In the 3rd inning, it was 3B Andy LaRoche's turn to send one over the fences, following another single by Clement. �When starter Paul Maholm (batting 8th, in the Pirates' new plan) also singled, and 9th slot hitter SS Bobby Crosby also got on base,�2B Aki Iwamura brought both of them in with a 3-run homer. �That gave the Pirates a 10-0 lead after 3 innings. �Clement picked up his third hit of the day and his second RBI with a double in the 4th inning. �Iwamura also had 3 hits for the afternoon, and in the 5th, C Ryan Doumit hit his second double, for an RBI. �The Pirates also added one more run in the 8th.

Besides going 1-for-3 at the plate, Paul Maholm had a good day on the mound. �He earned the win with 5 innings of work, and allowed one run, which came on former Pirate Matt Kata's RBI single in the 4th inning. �Maholm gave up 6 hits and 3 walks, but worked himself out of trouble, aided by a timely double play in the 4th. �The rest of the pitching staff allowed only one baserunner, who got on with a walk in the 9th inning. �Octavio Dotel pitched for the second day in a row. �Dotel, Evan Meek, and Jack Taschner each pitched a 1-2-3 inning of relief. �Javier Lopez allowed that walk in the 9th, but retired the other three batters he faced.

Also in the game: 2B Brian Friday, C Luke Carlin (scored a run), and LF Evan Chambers (walked).

The Indianapolis Indians were scheduled to play a AAA game against the Las Vegas 51's this afternoon -- no word on the results at this point.

Clement Homers As Ohlendorf Struggles In Loss

Rays 8, �Pirates 2 �(box)

The Pirates struggled again today in Grapefruit League action, losing to Tampa Bay by a score of 8-2. �Rays' starter Matt Garza held the Pirates to just 4 hits in his 7 innings of work. �One of those hits was a home run into the bullpen by 1B Jeff Clement. CF Andrew McCutchen and LF Brandon Moss also singled off Garza, while RF Garrett Jones smacked a triple in the 6th inning.

Ross Ohlendorf made the start for the Pirates, and he had a tough afternoon. �In the 1st inning, he got the first out, then gave up a walk, a triple, and a 2-run homer, to give the Rays a 3-0 lead. �Four more runs were added in the 3rd inning, which began with a double and a 2-run homer. �After a walk and a single put runners on the corners, the Rays tried to bring in a run with a sacrifice bunt, but Ohlendorf pounced on the ball and fired to C Ryan Doumit, who tagged out the runner coming from third. �That didn't stop the Rays' momentum, though. �Two more RBI singles added 2 more runs for a 7-1 lead. �A double, a ground out to advance the runner, and a sacrifice fly brought in the Ray's eighth run in the 4th inning. �All 8 runs were Ohlendorf's responsibility; he gave up 10 hits and walked 3 (one intentional), and did not strikeout out anyone. �Four relievers, Octavio Dotel, Brendan Donnelly, Vinnie Chulk, and Jean Machi, each pitched one scoreless inning. �All but Machi allowed a hit, and all struck out one except for Chulk who struck out two.

The Pirates' rallied for one more run in the 9th inning, with two outs already recorded. �Moss bounced to third but was safe on a throwing error. �SS Ramon Vasquez singled, and C Jason Jaramillo slipped a grounder past the third baseman, off the third baseman's glove, which allowed Moss to score.

Also in the game for the Pirates: �CF Starling Marte, RF Jason Cooper, 3B Jordy Mercer, and 2B Brian Friday.

The Pirates were scheduled to play a split-squad game against the Phillies this afternoon, but that game was cancelled due to rain. �The Indianapolis Indians did not have a game scheduled today.

9th Inning Rallies Sink Indians and Pirates

Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees 4, �Indianapolis Indians 1

The Indians and the Yankees took a 1-1 tie into the top of the 8th in this afternoon's game in Bradenton, Florida. �But that was when the Yankees got to reliever Jean Machi, who gave up two singles, including one for an RBI, to give the Yankees a 2-1 lead. �Back-to-back singles and a 2-RBI double added two more runs in the 9th. �The Indians scored in the 1st inning, on a double by 1B Brian Myrow and an RBI single by 3B Pedro Alvarez. Machi suffered the loss, with 3 innings of work, including one walk and one strikeout. �Octavio Dotel started the game for the Indians and pitched "one inning", with 3 strikeouts, though in order to get in a little more work, he actually got to face 5 batters and make 5 outs. �He threw 21 pitches.

Astros 6, �Pirates 4 � (box)

Starter Zach Duke pitched 6.2 scoreless innings and allowed only 2 hits and a walk, with 2 strikeouts, to get the Pirates off to a good start in their afternoon Grapefruit League game in Kissimmee, Florida. �Duke had been scheduled to throw either 6 innings or 80 pitches, and after going back out to begin the 7th inning, he finished at right around 80 pitches. �He also contributed 2 of the Pirates' 8 hits, both doubles, one into each outfield corner, though he did not come around to score either time. �The Pirates got onto the scoreboard first, with one run in the 4th inning off the Astros' Roy Oswalt. �LF Lastings Milledge doubled to lead off the inning, then advanced to third base on a ground out, and scored on an RBI single by Jeff Clement. Clement scored in the top of the 7th, when he doubled, went to third base on SS Bobby Crosby's single, and then scrambled home when 3B Ramon Vasquez bounced into a double play.

Duke took it into the 7th inning, but when he gave up a 2-out single (only the second hit he'd allowed), he was relieved by Javier Lopez. Lopez finished that inning, but gave up a bunt single and a sacrifice bunt plus a fielding error by 3B Josh Harrison, who was up from minor league camp. �A triple off Jack Taschner, and the Astros had a 4-2 lead.

Led by the minor leaguers, the Pirates came back to tie it up in the top of the 9th. �LF Brandon Moss walked, and CF Robbie Grossman singled. �A wild pitch brought Moss across the plate, then SS Benji Gonzalez singled to score Grossman. �Tie score, 4-4. �Unfortunately, the Astros rallied in the bottom of the frame. �With reliever Jeremy Powell on the mound, a double and a walk-off 2-run homer gave Houston the win, with Powell charged for the loss.

Also in the game: �2B Shelby Ford, 1B Steve Pearce, PH Erik Kratz, and C Luke Carlin.

Durham Homers In Tribe’s Loss; Ohlendorf Struggles

Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs 2, �Indianapolis Indians 1

A home run by 1B Miles Durham gave the Indians their only run in this afternoon's game in Bradenton. �That run wasn't enough, though, as the Iron Pigs tied the game in the 5th with another solo home run, and then rallied to score again in the 8th inning. �Tribe starter DJ Carrasco pitched 2 innings and allowed one hit, while striking out 3 batters. �Reliever Corey Hamman was charged with the loss, as he gave up a single, followed by a stolen base, and then an RBI single by former Indiana University player Kevin Mahar for the winning run. �DH Bobby Crosby had 2 hits for the Indians.

Astros 11, �Pirates 1 �(box)

Righty�Ross Ohlendorf struggled through his roughest start of the spring, as he allowed 7 runs (4 earned) on 9 hits and 3 walks over 3.2 innings this afternoon. �The first two runs came quickly in the top of the 1st, on 3 hits and a walk. �1B Jeff Clement's missed-catch error at first set up the Astros to score two unearned runs in the 2nd. �Run #5 came in the 3rd inning, when Ohlendorf walked a batter, then made a wild pickoff throw for an error, which was followed by an RBI double. �When he got into trouble again in the 4th inning, Ohlendorf was relieved, earlier than had been planned. �Jack Taschner finished the 4th and pitched a scoreless 5th inning. �Then Anthony Claggett pitched 2 innings and gave up 3 more runs on 5 hits. �Steven Jackson gave up a solo home run to former Pirate and Indy Indian Matt Kata in the 8th inning for the Astros' final run. �Jeremy Powell pitched a 1-2-3 inning to finish up the 8th.

The Pirates responded to the Astros' first inning rally with a run -- but it was their only run of the game. �With two outs, RF Garrett Jones singled into right field. C Ryan Doumit worked a walk, and�Jeff Clement brought in Jones when he slipped a single through the right side of the infield. �Clement singled again in the 4th inning -- the only Pirate batter to have more than one hit. �The minor leaguers staged a small threat in the 9th inning, when SS Chase d'Arnaud singled into left field, and PH Gift Ngoepe walked, but two pop outs ended the threat and the game.

Others who got into the game: �3B Jeremy Farrell, C Erik Kratz, CF John Raynor, 1B Steve Pearce.

Three Home Runs in Pirates’ Loss

Twins 5, �Pirates 4 �(box)

Three Pirates homered this afternoon, but it wasn't enough to beat the Twins at Fort Myers, Florida. �C Jason Jaramillo got the Pirates started with a solo blast over the right field wall in the 3rd inning. �2B Delwyn Young had the next shot, which came with SS Ronny Cedeno on base in the 6th inning to add 2 runs. �Moments later, 1B Jeff Clement contributed his own solo homer, for the Pirates' 4th run. �Young's homer was his fourth in five games. �Unfortunately, those four hits (three homers plus Cedeno's double) were the only hits the Pirates had in the game. � 1b Steve Pearce was the only Pirate to reach base on a walk.

The Twins scored their runs one at a time, on 9 hits. �Pirates' starter Ross Ohlendorf gave up 2 runs on 4 hits in 4 innings of work. �The first run came in the 2nd inning, on an RBI ground out with runners on second and third bases. �After Jaramillo tied the score in the top of the 3rd, DH Jim Thome un-tied it with a home run off Ohlendorf in the 4th. �The Bucs' 3-run top of the 6th game them a 4-2 lead. �Chris Jakubauskas and Javier Lopez each pitched a scoreless inning, with Lopez picking up two strikeouts. �Jack Taschner took the mound in the 7th, and gave up a homer to 3B Brendan Harris, to cut the Pirates' lead to one run. �Brian Bass pitched the 8th inning and was charged with a Blown Save when he gave up a run on a sacrifice fly to tie the game at 4-4. �Then in the bottom of the 9th, a hit and a walk-off RBI double by 3B Luke Hughes gave the Twins the win.

Also in the game: �SS Jordy Mercer was the lucky minor leaguer who got to join the big club for the day. �2B Doug Bernier, RF Jose Tabata, 1B Steve Pearce, LF Jon Van Every, PH/DH Brian Myrow, 3B Pedro Alvarez, 3B�Neil Walker, and C Erik Kratz all got to play too.

In minor league camp, Octavio Dotel threw 24 pitches in a minor league game, but it was not a AAA game. �The Indy Indians did not have a game today.