Results tagged ‘ josh beckett ’
Pirates score five runs in 4th, beat Red Sox 7-5
Kevin Correia helped out his own cause in the Pirates 7-5 win over the Boston Red Sox on Saturday afternoon in Bradenton, Fla.
Correia went 2 for 2 at the plate, including a two-run single in the fourth inning.
Kevin Correia told Rob Biertempfel of the Tribune, “I just got my bat on the ball. I’ve played in the National League my whole career and I like hitting.”
Manager Clint Hurdle has had the pitchers batting in the lineup since March 6th. Last season, the Pirates pitchers batted just .089 (25-for-279).
“I think it’s a good idea,” Correia said. “When you look back over a season, you’d be surprised at how many times what a pitcher did at the plate was the difference in a big inning.”
Correia’s first two innings were solid –throwing just 26 pitches, 15 for strikes. Although, he did get up several hits, the defense behind him turned two double plays. Correia also had back-to-back strikeouts in the fourth inning. Correia struggled in the fifth. After walking Darnell McDonald (James McDonald’s cousin), he gave up back-to-back-to-back singles from Daniel Nova, Nate Spears and Marco Scutaro. Neil Walker commited an error, which scored another run in the inning.
Correia allowed three runs (two earned) on seven hits with one walk and four strikeouts.
Correia told Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com, “The first inning, I was kind of getting my feel. I felt pretty good after that. Then they barreled a couple of balls in the fifth. But all in all, I felt strong through 80 pitches. At this point, I feel like I could make a regular-season start.”
An error by the Red Sox first baseman Nate Spears in the fourth inning allowed the Bucs to start a five run rally off Josh Beckett.
Neil Walker reached base on the error, Andrew McCutchen drew a walk, then Lyle Overbay hit a two-RBI double to give the Bucs a 2-0 lead. Matt Diaz and Dusty brown both hit singles. With the bases loaded, Correia hit a two-RBI single, but an error by catcher Jared Saltalamacchia allowed the bases to clear. The Pirates scored five runs, only one was earned by Beckett.
Notes:
- Joel Hanrahan pitched a scoreless sixth allowing just one hit while striking out two.
- John Bowker hit a two-run homer in the seventh, his 3rd homer of the spring. He is 9-for-30.
Bowker told Langosch, “It’s going well. I’m trying to just get that rhythm and get the timing down like everybody else.”
- Pedro Alvarez, who has yet to hit a home run this spring, leads the club with six doubles.
- Lyle Overbay extended his hitting streak to 10 games. The first baseman went 2-for-3 with two RBI.
- McKechnie Field set another attendance record today. (previously 6,602 on March 13 vs. Red Sox) 6,644 fans packed the stadium.
- Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com reports that Manager Clint Hurdle Is not ready to name an opening day starter yet but it will be either right-hander Kevin Correia or Left-hander Paul Maholm.
Hurdle told Langosch, “We’re getting closer. We’ve categorized all the numbers. We have all the information we need. With us, it’s not so much our No. 1; it’s our best way to set up the rotation as we move forward. We’re still considering some things.”
- Brad Lincoln, who was dealing with stiffness and soreness in his right forearm on Saturday morning, may have to skip his side session on Sunday.
Lincoln told Langosch of MLB.com, “If I was to answer that today, I would say, ‘Probably not,’” Lincoln said, when asked if he’d be ready to pitch on Sunday. “But we’re going to do treatments all day on it and see where it goes. Try to get some of that swelling out of there.”
Lincoln was struck in the right forearm with a line drive by Jimmy Rollins on Friday.
- The Pirates will travel to Kissimmee, Fla. On Sunday to face the Houston Astros at 1:05. Charlie Morton will face Ryan Rowland-Smith.
Evan Meek, Mike Crotta and Chris Leroux are scheduled to throw.
Day 34 of Pirates spring training: news and notes
The Pirates will face the Boston Red Sox at 1:05 in Bradenton, Fla. Kevin Correia will start for the Bucs against Josh Beckett. The game will be aired on FSN Pittsburgh.
- According to Rob Biertempfel of the Tribune, Brad Lincoln does not expect to throw a bullpen session on Sunday. Lincoln was struck in the right forearm with a line drive hit by Jimmy Rollins of the Phillies on Friday.
Lincoln told Biertempfel, “It’s really stiff, worse than yesterday. My strength is still good, though. And there’s no structural damage.”
- Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com reports that Lincoln he will receive treatment today. He was also wearing a protective sleeve on his right arm.
- Some more injury notes, Rob Biertempfel reports:
James McDonald (left side) threw long toss (about 50 throws) today and will try a bullpen session on Sunday.
Chris Snyder (back stiffness) took swing off a tee today. Snyder plans on doing fielding drills on Sunday, hopes to take batting practice on Monday and play in a minor league game Tuesday. Snyder said, “Right now, no pain. Every day in the last three has been a positive progression.”
- Rob Biertempfel of the Tribune reports that Charlie Morton will throw the first six innings Sunday against the Astros. Even Meek (one inning), Mike Crotta (one or two) and Chris Leroux (one or two) will follow.
Joel Hanrahan will throw one inning on Sunday in a Triple-A game at Pirate City.
Jose Ascanio will throw batting pratice at Pirate City this afternoon.
- Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com reports that left-hander Garrett Olson will arrive in Bradenton, Fla., this evening. He is scheduled to throw a side session on Sunday and make his debut in Monday’s game.
Olson joins Scott Olsen, Joe Beimel, Brian Burres and Justin Thomas as the lefties being considered in the Bullpen.
General Manager Neal Huntington told Langosch, “[Olson's] another guy we’ll get an evaluation on in Spring Training. It’s a player that we have liked for a couple of years. Actually, we tried to acquire him when he was with Baltimore. I’ve tried a couple of times with Seattle. He came available on waivers, and we claimed him.
- Garrett Olson ( @Oly49) tweeted this am: Thank u to all the mariners fans for being awesome and supportive. Gonna miss u all! And to Pirate nation, here I come!
Pirates
Lineup: Tabata LF, Walker 2B, McCutchen CF, Overbay 1B, Alvarez 3B, Diaz RF, Cedeno SS, Brown C, Correia RHP
Pitchers: Correia, Hanrahan, Beimel, Nieve, Thomas
Red Sox
Lineup: Scutaro SS, Pedroia 2B, Saltalamaccia C, Youkilis 3B, Cameron DH, McDonald CF, Nava LF, Reddick RF, Spears 1B
Pitchers: Beckett, Aceves, Wheeler
Phillies walk-off win, 3-2
Tuffy Gosewisch, a non-roster invite by the Phillies, hit a walk-off single that scored Erik Kratz for the 3-2 win at Bright house Stadium in Clearwater, Fla., In front of record attendance –10, 828.
Right-hander Chris Leroux entered the ninth inning with a 2-1 lead. He allowed two runs on three hits, picking up the blown save and loss.
Brad Lincoln was pulled after pitching 2.2 innings (he was scheduled to pitch four) after getting hit on the right arm by a line drive hit by Jimmy Rollins (For more on Lincoln’s injury update, read here). Unfortunate timing for the right-hander who is trying to earn the 5th spot in the rotation.
Lincoln, despite only allowing one run on one hit, he did walk two batters –both were lead off walks in the first and third innings.
Brad Lincoln told Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com, “The control issue was a factor today. I never really did get in a groove. My arm felt great; it was just I couldn’t find it out there on the mound. I just battled out there today.”
The Pirates starting lineup today was made up of those fighting to make the club. There wont be many opportunities left to prove themselves, as there are 44 men at big league camp with just two weeks until opening day.
Corey Wimberly went 0-for-4 with a RBI, John Bowker 1-for-4 with a RBI and a double, Steve Pearce went 1-for-3 with a walk. Garrett Atkins and Josh Fields went hitless. Pedro Ciriaco and Andy Marte both went 1-for-3.
Manager Clint Hurdle told Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com, “I think we’re evaluating internally and we’ll keep it internal. We’ll let people know as we do that. Obviously at this point in time, we’re close to having another round-them-up meeting to decide what we’re going to do with our personnel. I like the way everybody has gone about their work. I like that we have been able to move those guys fighting for the bench positions around.”
Notes:
- During the first inning, Ryan Howard hit a double up the first base line. Jimmy Rollins, who was on second, tried to score home but the relay from Steve Pearce (right) to Pedro Ciriaco (second) to Ryan Doumit was on target. Doumit missed the tag, Rollins missed the plate but Doumit recovered and Rollins was tagged out –that’s a play to see.
- Mike Crotta pitched yet another scoreless inning. He has not allowed a run this spring –8.1 innings and counting.
- Ryan Doumit (strained oblique) caught five innings and went 0-for-2 today. It was reported that he felt fine afterwards.
- MLB Network announced it will air the Pirates version of 30 clubs in 30 days on Tuesday at 11 PM/ET.
- The Pirates claimed Left-hander Garrett Olson from the Seattle Mariners. To make room for him on the 40-man roster, Kevin Hart (shoulder surgery) was placed on the 60-day disabled list (more on Olson here).
- The Pirates will face the Boston Red Sox at McKechnie Field on Saturday. Kevin Correia is scheduled to throw six innings. Josh Beckett will start for the Red Sox. The game will be aired on FSN Pittsburgh.
Bucs score big in front of largest crowd, beat the Red Sox 9-4
6,602 fans –the largest attendance in the 42-year-history of McKechnie Field –watched the Pirates beat the Boston Red Sox on Sunday, 9-4.
Brad Lincoln started for the Bucs, allowing two runs on two hits with three walks and two strikeouts over three innings.
Lincoln retired the first six batters in a row and was really throwing his changeup with confidence.
He got into a good rhythm at times,” Manager Clint Hurdle said. “There were a few times when he rushed and he was missing arm-side out, arm-side up a little bit. I was happy with the way he pinched off the (third) inning. It was an extended inning, with two runs scored, but he put up the outs after that. He’s working in the right direction, no doubt.”
Josh Beckett allowed five runs on four hits through four plus innings with two walks and five strikeouts.
The Pirates scored six runs in the fifth inning –lead by Pedro Alvarez’s two-run double. Ronny Cedeno lead off the inning with a home run, Andy Marte walked and Jose Tabata was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Neil Walker hit an RBI single followed by Alvarez’s two-RBI double. Lyle Overbay hit a two-run single –12 batters came to the plate in the inning.
Notes:
- Jeff Karstens and Joel Hanrahan both allowed a home run in their outing on Sunday.
Hanrahan’s mistake was his only hit of the inning. He retired the other three batters.
“It was just something today that I really didn’t have the feel for,” Hanrahan said. “I would have liked to have been able to throw a 3-2 slider, but I didn’t feel like it was a good pitch to throw today.”
- Chris Resop allowed no hits or runs with three strikeouts during through two innings.
- John Bowker picked up his second homerun of the spring in the second inning –a solo blast. He is batting .333 in 18 at-bats.
- Jose Tabata started in center field today, a plan of “what if’s” by Manager Clint Hurdle.
“I want to explore as many Plan Bs as we might have to run into the season so we’re not doing it on the fly come the season,” Hurdle said. “(Garrett) Jones is going to get some reps at first base. (John) Bowker will be at first also. (Pedro) Ciriaco was at third today. (Josh Rodriguez) will probably get a couple games at third also. We’ll move some people around just to see how much versatility we have.”
- Hurdle is still unsure of where Andrew McCutchen will bat in the lineup just yet, but seems to like Jose Tabata batting leadoff.
“I’ve really liked his approach leading off,” Hurdle said of Tabata. “He’s shown some discipline. He’s had some walks. He can hit the ball the other way. He’s got speed when he gets on. He looks like that’s something that he’s able to do.”
- The Pirates will face the Baltimore Orioles on Monday in Sarasota, Fla.
Kevin Correia is scheduled to pitch the first five innings, followed by Evan Meek, Scott Olsen, Joe Beimel and Mike Crotta.
** Olsen and Beimel will be making their Pirates spring debuts.
Hurdle is looking forward to seeing them pitch on Monday.
“I’m very anxious, and anxious for them to be able to get out and compete. Each of them had a setback and they’ve worked hard to get back in the position where they can take the mound and make pitches. Hopefully, they’re not too amped up and they can just go out, throw their pitches, get their work in.”
Day 28 of Pirates spring training: news and notes
The Pirates will face the Boston Red Sox at 1:05 today. The game will be broadcasting live on MLB Network. You can also watch the game on MLB TV.
Brad Lincoln (5IP, 3H, 1ER, 0BB, 2K) will start for the Bucs against Josh Beckett (5.2 IP, 5H, 2ER, 1BB, 4K) of the Red Sox.
**A little note. The Pirates first round pick in the 2010 draft, Jameson Taillon, has been compared to Josh Beckett. Just something to perhaps get you excited about the potential of Taillon and the future of the Pirates.
- Joe Beimel and Scott Olsen are both scheduled to make their Pirates spring debut’s on Monday. They will each pitch one inning.
- Kevin Hart threw a 25-pitch bullpen session on Saturday and it was reported that he had no issues.Chris Synder will receive more treatment for his lower back. He is listed as day-to-day.
Pirates
Lineup: Tabata CF, Walker 2B, Alvarez 3B, Jones RF, Overbay 1B, Bowker LF, Cedeno SS, Brown C, Lincoln RHP
Pitchers: Lincoln, Hanrahan, Karstens, Resop, Leroux
Red Sox
Lineup: Cameron RF, Lowrie SS, Drew DH, Varitek C, Kalish CF, McDonald LF, Anderson 1B, Spears 2B, Sutton 3B
Pitchers: Beckett, Atchison, Miller, Bard
Bucs lose both split squad games
It was not a good day for the Pirates, as the Bucs lost twice today in their split squad games.
Ross Ohlendorf started against the Philadelphia Phillies and was scheduled to pitch four innings. Ohlendorf only lasted two plus as he was charged with four runs on five hits with three walks. Despite the ugly box score, most of the five hits were not hard hit (John Bowker also lost a catch in the light).
“The results aren’t necessarily the box score,” Ohlendorf said. “It might be how hard they hit the ball. Like today, most of the hits I didn’t feel like were hit that hard. I definitely wish it would have gone better today. I threw a lot more pitches than I should have.”
Ohlendorf needed 35 pitches to get through the first and his 60 pitch count only got him through to third inning.
The Pirates scored four runs on five hits and lost to the Phillies 11-4.
Jeff Locke started for the Bucs against the Toronto Blue Jays in Dunedin, Fla. He allowed one run on two hits with a walk and three strikeouts over two innings.
It was noted that Locke threw 29 of his 41 pitches for strikes.
Manager Clint Hurdle had this to say about Locke throwing so many first-pitch strikes: “That’s one of the things we have not been doing well overall as a staff. We had a little glitch, bumped it up over 60 percent, closer to 65, then we went south. He came in there and filled up the zone. The first-pitch fastball strikes were impressive and the fact that he was finishing his fastball. He was working both sides and spun the ball pretty effectively. It was a good outing and fun to watch him today.”
The Pirates blew a 4-1 lead and went on to lose 6-4. If my memory serves me correctly, that is the third blown lead in the past three games (Saturday vs. Blue Jays, Friday vs. Rays, although they went on to win and Thursdays vs. Orioles).
Notes
- Will Carroll of (@InjuryReports) had this interesting tweet on Saturday afternoon: From Pirates camp: No worries on McCutchen’s wrist, McDonald is more concerning from long term, full season perspective.
- The Pirates said on Saturday they would reevaluate James McDonald over the next few days and after which the club would release more information about his status.
The team is going to be extra cautious with McDonald, but he said today he felt good enough to get back to work right away.
“I feel like I can,” said McDonald, who the Pirates are counting on to be a main cog in the team’s rotation. “When I was pitching, it kind of grabbed a little bit. They said, ‘It’s spring, not the season, so let’s just take it slow.’”
- Andrew McCutchen was back in the lineup on Saturday, after being pulled in the third inning of yesterday’s game with soreness in his right wrist. X-Rays came back negative and McCutchen, who wasn’t initially scheduled to play today, convinced the staff that he was healthy to play.
“I can hit, I can throw, I can do anything,” McCutchen said. “It’s fine. I just wanted to get it checked to make sure it’s nothing serious. It ended up being nothing serious, just nerve irritation. I was definitely nervous, because I’ve never dealt with anything with my wrist before.”
“The hand was a non-issue,” manager Clint Hurdle said. “He’s good to go.”
McCutchen started in center field and went 2-for-3 with a double, two-run homer and two runs scored. He is now batting .321 this spring.
- Catcher Chris Snyder was scratched from the lineup due to tightness in his lower back. He is listed as day to day. Snyder received treatment at McKechnie field today. The Pirates will update his status on Sunday.
- Lyle Overbay hit his third homerun this spring off of Phillies’ Worley in the fourth inning.
- Corey Wimberly picked up two more hits today. After going 0-for-13, Wimberly has five hits in his last six at-bats.
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The Pirates will face the Boston Red Sox in Bradenton, Fla., on Sunday. Brad Lincoln will start against Josh Beckett.
- Keith Olbermann tweeted a photo of Pirates minor league infielder Jeremy Farrell with his Father (Toronto Blue Jays Manager) John Farrell.
11 things to look forward to in ’11
With a start of a new year, it’s a clean slate for the Bucs, who endured 105 losses. The new season is right around the corner: Only 41 days until Pitchers and catchers report and 88 until opening day.
Here is a list of 11 things to look forward to in 2011:
11) Interleague series against the Boston Red Sox at PNC Park – Some of the die hard Pirates fans may not like the idea of facing the potent lineup of the Red Sox, but baseball fans in general will enjoy seeing the All-star lineups. Stars like Carl Crawford, Adrian Gonzalez, Kevin Youkilis, Dustin Pedroia, David Ortiz, Jon Lester and Josh Beckett (the list goes on and on) will be in Pittsburgh –a glimpse of a possible 2011 playoff contender.
10) The new offseason acquisitions and how they impact the ball club – The Pirates made several signings this offseason in hopes to improve the team in 2011. Lyle Overbay will be the new everyday first baseman and Matt Diaz will platoon in right field with Garrett Jones.
Other signings include: Third baseman Andy Marte, short stop Josh Rodriguez, center fielder Corey Wimberly, left handers Scott Olsen, Kevin Correia and Aaron Thompson.
9) A better pitching rotation – The Pirates starters went 34-84 with a 5.28 ERA last season. The Bucs are hoping Ross Ohlendorf, and Paul Maholm will perform much better in 2011. New Pirate Kevin Correia also helps to improve the staff and James McDonald, who had great success since being acquired by the Dodgers, will round out the top four. Scott Olsen, Charlie Morton and Brad Lincoln will be fighting for the fifth spot.
8) Number one draft pick- The Pirates lost 105 games last season, sealing the first pick in the 2011 draft. Third baseman Anthony Rendon is considered to the be the top talent. He finished 2010 at Rice University batting .394 with 26 home runs and 85 runs batted in.
7) Young prospects making their way through the system – Players like Tony Sanchez, Josh Harrison, Jordy Mercer and Andrew Lambo (to name a few) are getting closer to making their major league debuts while adding more young talent to the Pirates ball club.
6) Glimpes of solid arms in late 2011 – Rudy Owens, Justin Wilson and Daniel Moskos (reliever) could make their debuts as early as July. Bryan Morris and Jeff Locke are also two more starters that will make a impact on the Pirates rotation but it’s more likely to be in 2012.
5) Debuts of young aces- Jameson Tallion and Stetson Allie will be making their Pirates debut at Low-A West Virginia in 2011.
Tallion was selected second overall by the Bucs in the 2010 draft. The 6’7, 230 pound right hander’s fastball already reaches 94-99 on the gun and has “explosive movement” according to scouts. Tallion also has a plus curve (81-85) and breaking ball (84-88).
Allie has an even stronger arm. The 6’4, 225 pound right-hander throws both a two-seamer and four-seamer fastball that clocks regularly at 98. He also has an above average slider (87-91) and a change, with very good sink at 85-87.
4) Clint Hurdle managing the Bucs – Hurdle is exactly what the young Pirates need in a new skipper. He is very charismatic and passionate about baseball, smart, motivational and has past success in managing a young team. Hurdle is aware of the changes ahead and has said, “I’m all in.”
3) Ending the 18 year consecutive losing streak? -While it may be a long shot –the Pirates would need to have a 24 game improvement to finish .500– it still is possible. Example: The 2007 Tampa Bay Rays went 66-96, in 2008 they finished 97-65 –a 31 game improvement as well as a American League Championship title. The1991 Braves went 94-68 after finishing 65-97 in 1990. Tough, but not impossible.
2) The young Bucs continue to improve – Andrew McCutchen, Jose Tabata and Neil Walker (all under 25) will continue to get better and better with more major league experience. Tabata and Walker finished their rookie seasons better than expected. Tabata had 121 hits in 102 games, Walker with 126 in 110 games. Both hit most of the season over .300 and finished .299 and .296 respectively. McCutchen in his first full major league season continued to be a hitting and running machine. He finished .286 while adding 94 runs, 16 home runs, 56 RBIs and 33 stolen bases.
1) Pedro Alvarez to become a superstar- Pedro finished his rookie campaign with a .256 average, 16 home runs and 64 RBI’s. If Alvarez’s month of September is a glimpse of what’s to come (.306 avg, 10 doubles, six home runs and 27 RBI in 29 games) Pirates fans should be excited for years to come. He has an ability to change the game with one swing –the three-run walk-off bomb against the Rockies made highlights and one of MLB Network’s top moments of the season. There’s no doubt he is a superstar in the making.
Kristy Robinson
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