We will have recaps of the Pirates’ exhibition games this spring. These won’t be blow-by-blow accounts of the games. It doesn’t really matter at this point who got the key hit, etc. It’ll be more of a running summary of how the roster is shaping up.
The Pirates opened their spring schedule on Saturday afternoon with a 9-7 loss to Toronto.
The opening lineup featured maybe the chief position battle, with both Rodolfo Castro and Ji-Hwan Bae as the two main competitors for second base. Castro played third in this one and had the biggest blow on offense, a grand slam off former Pirate Zach Thompson. That was the team’s only extra-base hit. Castro finished 1-for-3, while Bae was 0-for-1 with a walk.
Rodolfo Castro ate and left no crumbs. pic.twitter.com/srAKTsfe6P
— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) February 25, 2023
Otherwise, the lineup featured more established regulars than you might normally see at this point in spring. Oneil Cruz (1-for-3), Andrew McCutchen (0-for-3), Carlos Santana (1-for-2, BB) and Austin Hedges (1-for-2) all started. Maybe this is a sign of the team’s newly developed seriousness.
The outfield battle also got some play, with mixed results. Jack Suwinski whiffed in both his at-bats. So did Miguel Andujar, who probably has a non-zero chance of making the team. Connor Joe walked in his two plate appearances and Cal Mitchell went 1-for-3 with two strikeouts. The Pirates fanned 16 times in all.
Once the starters came out around mid-game, the 2022 Altoona Curve largely took over. Of interest: Liover Peguero went 2-for-2 with two RBIs, Nick Gonzales whiffed both times up, and Henry Davis naturally got hit by a pitch his first time up. Jared Triolo played first.
Mitch Keller started the game with two uneventful innings, but several of the more established relievers had rough debuts.
David Bednar gave up three runs on a walk and two bombs. Jarlin Garcia served up one gopher ball and two runs. Duane Underwood Jr., allowed three runs, two earned, and gave up four hits in his inning. Two lefties on NRIs, Daniel Zamora and Rob Zastryzny, each threw a scoreless inning.
