The Pittsburgh Pirates defeated the New York Yankees 8-7 at home on Saturday, giving the Pirates a 4-4-1 record this spring. Starter Jordan Lyles ran into a little trouble during his three innings and Dovydas Neverauskas gave up three runs in the ninth, but the Pirates got strong results from their bullpen in the win.
Lyles allowed three runs over three innings, giving up seven hits and two walks, while facing a lineup that didn’t have many of New York’s regulars. Felipe Vazquez and Keone Kela each followed with a shutout inning and two strikeouts. It was the first spring appearance for both of them. They have been getting in their throwing at Pirate City. Richard Rodriguez also tossed a scoreless frame, while Francisco Liriano made his third appearance and allowed his first run of the spring.
Corey Dickerson led the offense, going 2-for-3 and driving in two runs. He had one of seven doubles for the Pirates, and their only triple. Steven Baron had two singles and drove in a pair. Ke’Bryan Hayes had a walk, double, stolen base and two runs scored in two trips to the plate. Cole Tucker and Will Craig each added their first double of the spring.
Lonnie Chisenhall left the game early with what was called “general lower extremity tightness”. His removal from the game was said to be extreme caution. He played just 29 games last year, missing time twice with calf issues. Chisenhall appeared to be fine after the game.
Sunday’s Action
The Pirates are at home on Sunday to take on the Tampa Bay Rays. It will be the second start for Mitch Keller, who allowed two runs on three hits in one inning during his debut earlier this week. Here’s the lineup for today:
- Kevin Newman SS
- Jung Ho Kang 3B
- Colin Moran DH
- Francisco Cervelli 1B
- Patrick Kivlehan LF
- Jose Osuna RF
- Pablo Reyes CF
- Kevin Kramer 2B
- Jacob Stallings C
The late inning replacements today will be Cole Tucker, Ke’Bryan Hayes, Will Craig, Bryan Reynolds, Christian Kelley, JB Shuck, Alfredo Reyes and Bralin Jackson, who will get his first spring action. The bench also includes Erich Weiss, Adrian Valerio, Logan Hill, John Bormann and Jason Delay.
After Keller, the Pirates will send out Clay Holmes, Kyle Crick, Nick Burdi, Aaron Slegers, Geoff Hartlieb and Luis Escobar. The extras in the bullpen are Elvis Escobar, Brandon Waddell, Alex McRae and Tate Scioneaux.
At Pirate City, Joe Musgrove will throw two simulated innings against Starling Marte, Adam Frazier and Erik Gonzalez.
Tuesday’s Action
The Pirates have their first of two days off this spring on Monday. They resume play on Tuesday with Chris Archer on the mound in Sarasota against the Baltimore Orioles. He will be pitching in his first game, after putting in work at Pirate City up until this point. The Pirates will also send out Steven Brault for his third appearance, as well as Keone Kela, Michael Feliz and Tyler Lyons.
