The Pittsburgh Pirates won 3-1 over the Detroit Tigers on Tuesday afternoon in Bradenton. Starter Steven Brault tossed 3.2 shutout innings. He gave up two hits and walked three batters, while picking up four strikeouts. Brault was followed by Felipe Vazquez, Keone Kela and Francisco Liriano, who combined to retire all ten batters they faced, with Vazquez collecting three strikeouts. The lone Detroit run came off of Rookie Davis in the ninth. He had three strikeouts in his two innings of work.
The Pirates scored single runs in the third, fourth and fifth innings. Starling Marte grounded into a double play in the third, which scored Erik Gonzalez. Melky Cabrera brought home Josh Bell in the fourth with an RBI single. Marte doubled with two outs in the fifth, stole third base, then scored on a throwing error. Adam Frazier, Corey Dickerson and Josh Bell each had two hits in the game. Dickerson has a .480 average and a 1.420 OPS this spring.
Wednesday’s Action
The Pirates are on the road this afternoon to take on the Minnesota Twins, with a 1:05 PM start time. Joe Musgrove will make his second spring start. Here’s the lineup, which includes some guys still competing for roster spots, as well as an interesting rookie in left field (pictured above):
- Pablo Reyes SS
- JB Shuck CF
- Colin Moran 1B
- Jose Osuna RF
- Kevin Newman 2B
- Patrick Kivlehan 3B
- Jacob Stallings C
- Lolo Sanchez LF
- Joe Musgrove P
After Musgrove, the Pirates will send out Nick Burdi, Clay Holmes, Michael Feliz and Brandon Maurer.
The Pirates brought along Steven Baron, Logan Hill, Brett Kinneman, Zack Kone and Hunter Owen for the bench.
At Pirate City, Felipe Vazquez and Keone Kela will each throw an inning during a minor league game. This will be their first time throwing on back-to-back days in games.
Thursday’s Action
The Pirates will be home on Thursday afternoon to take on the Baltimore Orioles. Chris Archer will get the start and he will be followed by Kyle Crick and Tyler Lyons. The game will be shown live on AT&T SportsNet and on a slight tape delay on MLB Network.
