Results tagged ‘ kevin correia ’

Correia dominant, Bucs win back-to-back series on road

Right-hander Kevin Correia was dominant in the final game of the three game series against the Cardinals on Wednesday afternoon in St. Louis.

He pitched seven scoreless innings (89 pitches), holding the Cardinals to just five hits with two walks and three strikeouts.

Corriea’s battery mate, Ryan Doumit told Nate Latasch of MLB.com, “He had all his pitches working and he was throwing them for strikes, keeping people off-balance. When you’ve got that combination, you are going to be tough. When you have four pitches and you can locate all four of them, it’s tough to hit.”

Neil Walker added, “He was very much in control, moving it around — inside, outside, cutting, sinking. He was really, really good today, and he was good on Opening Day in Chicago. I think that’s a big confidence booster for him, too, and the way he looked is very encouraging.”

The game remained scoreless until the 4th inning, when the Pirates were able to take a lead. Lyle Overbay lead off the inning by hitting a single to first baseman Albert Pujols, but advanced to second because of a throwing error.

Two batters later, Ryan Doumit doubled to right center to jump ahead, 1-0.

Neil Walker hit his second home run of the year in the 5th to give the Pirates a 2-0 lead. The ball stayed just inside the right field foul pole.

“I thought I hooked it a little bit,” Walker said. “Fortunately, he was kind of throwing hard enough that the barrel couldn’t get too far in front.”

With the lead still intact, Evan Meek took the mound in the 8th inning. Meek, who has had two bad outings this year, pitched a perfect 1-2-3 inning.

The Pirates added an insurance run in the top of the 9th after Andrew McCutchen and Lyle Overbay hit back-to-back doubles. McCutchen scored all three runs on the afternoon.

Joel Hanrahan allowed a lead off double to Lance Berkman and a two-out double by Yadier Molina, ending the Pirates shutout.

But Hanrahan worked out of the inning, notching his fourth save of the season –a major league best.

With the 3-1 victory, the Pirates won their first back-to-back road series since August of 2007. The Bucs will have start their home opener on Thursday at 1:35 ET with a 4-2 record.

John Perrotto of Baseball Prospectus pointed out that it was the first time the Pirates have beaten Chris Carpenter since June 29th, 2004 at PNC Park. He had been 11-1 with a 2.12 ERA in 15 starts against them.

Pre-game news and notes: Pirates @ Cardinals 4/6

The Pirates will face the St. Louis Cardinals at 1:35 this afternoon for the final game of the three game series. Right-hand pitcher Kevin Correia will face Righty Chris Carpenter in the rubber match of the series.

  • Some injury updates:

Right-hander Jose Ascanio pitched one inning in an intrasquad game.

Left-hander Joe Beimel (left elbow soreness) pitched one inning in an intrasquad game.

Right-hander Brad Lincoln (right forearm contusion) pitched three innings in an infrasound game.

Lefty-hander Scott Olsen (left shoulder inflammation) threw a bullpen.

Catcher Chris Snyder (lower back tightness) caught five innings and had three at bats in an intrasquad game.

–All without issue on Tuesday.

  • The Pirates are 3-2 so far this season on the road and are just one game from picking up back-to-back road series wins since August of 2007.

Manager Clint Hurdle has been trying different things this season and is trying to shake things up. He told Nate Latasch, “We’re just trying to do some things differently, trying to find a way to recreate an atmosphere … maybe a routine that they fall into more at home than on the road. You become a slave to routines in this game and on the road, you can get into some bad ones. You get home late. You eat late. You sleep in. You get up. You go right to the park and eat. We’re just trying to get them up and get them moving.”

　

Pirates:

Jose Tabata LF, Neil Walker 2B, Andrew McCutchen CF, Lyle Overbay 1B, Pedro Alvarez 3B, Ryan Doumit C, Garrett Jones RF, Josh Rodriguez SS, Kevin Correia RHP

*Josh Rodriguez, will be making his major league debut today.

Cardinals:
Ryan Theriot SS, Colby Rasmus CF, Albert Pujols 1B, Lance Berkman RF, Allen Craig LF, Skip Schumaker 2B, Yadier Molina C, Daniel Descalso 3B, Chris Carpenter RHP

Post-game News and notes: 4/2

  • Right-hand pitcher Evan Meek is the kind of guy that want’s to get back out there the next day and redeem himself from the previous outing. Meek told Root Sports, “That’s the good thing about being a reliever. You know, you go out there and you don’t have your best stuff you know your going to get back out there soon. You just have to have a short memory. You can’t leave the ballpark beating your head about it. It’s not going to do me any good, it’s not going to do our team any good to do that. Tomorrow’s a new day, it’s a new game.”
  • Injury updates:

James McDonald threw a successful bullpen session today without issue. McDonald (left side) will be ready to pitch on Tuesday against the Cardinals in St. Louis.

Left-hand reliever Joe Beimel (left elbow) threw a live batting practice session today in Bradenton, Fla. Catcher Chris Snyder (lower back) caught the session. Both were reported to be successful and without issue.

  • The Pirates are not expected to compete in the National League Central this season, in fact, the Bucs are expected to finish fifth or sixth in the Central with an estimate of about 70-75 wins. But don’t tell the players that. They believe this team can prove the naysayer’s wrong.

Andrew McCutchen told Rob Biertempfel of the Tribune, “They have a reason not to talk about us right now, We have to change it around. We don’t listen to what everyone else says. We just focus on what’s in front of us.”

Pitcher Kevin Correia told Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com, “Other people probably don’t have expectations for us. As a team — as an organization — we have high expectations. You have to. There is no way to start a season with no or low expectations. You’re already beat then. Just because no one else has high expectations for us, we still do.”

Third baseman Pedro Alvarez added, “I think we have a pretty special bunch of guys,” Alvarez said. “If there is one thing we do well here, it is live in the moment. We don’t live in the past. We don’t look too far into the future. We look at the present. Right now, we have a great group of guys that can do some damage. Offensively, I think we’re pretty balanced.”

  • Pirates No. 1 pitching prospect Jameson Taillon will start the season in extended spring training instead of Low-A West Virginia Power, like it was previously reported.

Taillon, who was selected in the first round (2nd overall) by the Pirates in the 2010 draft, will have limited innings this season and the organization does not want him to be done before the season ends.

General Manager Neal Huntington told Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com, “We’re going to keep him in a controlled environment and slowly stretch him out. That way he can hopefully still be able to pitch at the end of the West Virginia season and have some innings left in him for instructional league. It’s all about the innings.”

Langosch also reports the same will go for right-hander Stetson Allie who was the Bucs second round pick in the same draft.

Post Game Notes: Game 1 (Apr. 1st)

Neil Walker’s grand slam was the highlight of the Pirates 6-3 win over the Cubs on Opening Day, but overall it was a good win for the team.

Some post game notes:

  • Kevin Correia told Lacee Collins of Root Sports after the game, “It was a good game. It was sloppy conditions out there and I kind of had to just get in front of balls and make one out at a time. We did a good job at that. We cashed in big when [Neil] Walker hit the grand slam and after that we really didn’t have any inning where we gave them a chance to get back in the game.”

On his perfect bunt in the 5th inning that kept the rally going: “I got the bunt down when I needed to. You’d be surprised if you look back at all the big innings the team has during the year when the pitcher did something that inning to keep it going, get a hit, or move guys over. It is important. It is something we are focusing on.”

  • Manager Clint Hurdle told Root Sports during his post game press conference, “Many times you’ll see younger players get outside the strike zone or expand because they want to be ‘the guy’. We’ve taught long and hard about it. If the pitcher gives you a chance to be the guy, then you be the guy. But if he doesn’t, put the bat down, get on down the line and let the next guy be ‘the guy’. That’s pretty much what happened.”

On Kevin Correia’s opening day performance: “We didn’t defend as well as we should have behind him. He pitched very, very efficiently. Good mix, kept the ball out of the middle of the plate…He pitched. Controlled bat speed and pitched. A very, very good first outing for Kevin [Correia]. For our ball club, put us in a good place in the game.”

On the Pirates overall performance: “Two big swings at the bat played at six. We pitched very well off the mound. We brought some big fastballs late. Evan [Meek] and Joel [Hanrahan] obviously showed they’re healthy. [Jose] Veras got 3 and 4 hitters in the 7th so it was a good day for the Pirates.”

  • Right-hander James McDonald did arrive to the Windy City last night and was at the game today. Manager Clint Hurdle has said that he will start on April 5th In St. Louis.
  • The Pirates are scheduled to face six right-handed starters during the six-game road trip, but Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com reports that Matt Diaz won’t be sitting on the bench. Manager Clint Hurdle said Diaz will still get some playing time to stay fresh. Diaz is the starting right-fielder against left-handers.
  • Pirates No. 1 prospect Jameson Taillon let fans know on twitter where he will be starting the season. “For anyone wondering.. Few starts in extended ST to keep improving delivery and let weather in WV get better .”
  • The Pirates will face the Chicago cubs on Saturday for the second of a three game series on opening weekend.

Left-hander Paul Maholm will face Right-hander Carlos Zambrano at 1:05 PM/ET.

Walker slams Bucs into opening day victory over Cubs, 6-3

The Pittsburgh Kid Neil Walker hit a bases loaded two out grand slam off of Ryan Dempster in the 5th inning as the Pirates went on to beat the Cubs 6-3 on opening day 2011.

Walker was just the second Pirate in team history to hit a grand slam on opening day. The other? The great one, Hall of Famer Roberto Clemente on April 10th, 1962. Walker, who grew up in Pittsburgh, will forever be a part of Pirates history –the team he grew up rooting for.

Trailing 2-0 to the Cubs, Ryan Doumit lead off the 5th with a single to center field. Ronny Cedeno worked a walk and pitcher Kevin Correia came to the plate. It looked like Manager Clint Hurdle’s extra work in spring training paid off as Correia dropped down a perfect sac bunt to move the runners. Ryan Dempster walked a second batter in the inning, Jose Tabata, to load the bases. Walker worked a seven pitch at-bat before driving a 3-2 fastball over the right field wall. Wrigley field was quiet as four Pirates touched home plate and took a 4-2 lead.

Walker told Stan Savran of Root Sports after the game, “I got ahead in the count. I had to make sure I wasn’t trying to do too much but use the big part of the field. He just walked two guys so I really wasn’t trying to do too much but get myself in a good position to hit and swing the bat. Fortunately I got into 3-2 [count] and he kind of made a mistake over the plate and was able to do something with it.”

“Definitely a special feeling, there’s no doubt about it. More along the lines of helping the team win today is more special. We had a great game today.”

Walker doubled in the 7th inning before Center Fielder Andrew McCutchen homered off of Dempster in the 7th to stretch the lead, 6-2.

Right-hand Pitcher Kevin Correia made his Bucco debut and his first career opening day nod. He was greeted on the mound by Manager Clint Hurdle n the 7th inning with two words: “Great game.” Correia allowed three runs (two earned) on seven hits with one walk and three strikeouts over six plus innings.

The Cubs scored in the bottom of the 7th after a wild pitch thrown by lefty Scott Olson advanced Darwin Barney to second base. Kosuke Fukudome drove him in with a single to cut the lead to 6-3.

Set up man Evan Meek came into the pitch the 8th. He allowed a lead off hit but retired the next three in a row, including a pair of strikeouts to end the inning.

Joel Hanrahan, who Hurdle selected as the teams closer in spring training, allowed one hit and a walk in the 9th before striking out both Blake Dewitt and Marlon Byrd with 98 mph fastballs.

With the Pirates 6-3 victory, they have now won five straight opening day games which is tied for the lead in the majors with the New York Mets.

Pirates vs. Cubs: 4/1 Opening Day

Happy Opening Day Pirate Fans! The season is finally here (although, the weather sure doesn’t seem like it). Opening day brings hope to every fan, no matter what team. Fans everywhere believe this could be the year and that anything’s possible. It’s incredible to see so many fans packed outside Wrigley Field with hope in their eyes despite an 18 consecutive losing season (Pirates) or a 100 + year drought of a World Series title (Cubs).

 

maholmtweet.jpg

  • The forecast in Chicago today is 40′s with rain but the game should be played with no delays. Back in Pittsburgh it’s snowing, so bundle up and get ready for a new season of baseball.
  • Right-hander Kevin Correia will get his first career opening day start in nine big league seasons. He will face Right-hander Ryan Dempster.

Correia told Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com the importance of the team starting off strong, “It is nice to get off to a good start. It just kind of gets your confidence rolling going into the year. If you start off losing games, it’s just not conducive to getting on a good streak. When you’re in a position like we are, any time we can win a series, it’s going to be important – especially against division rivals.”

  • Ryan Doumit will be the starting catcher for the fourth straight season. Chris Snyder, who is the Bucs primary catcher started the season on the disabled list (back soreness).

Manager Clint Hurdle explained his decision of picking Doumit over Jason Jaramillo, who had a great spring, was because of experience. Hurdle told Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com, “I think we’ve got enough young guys breaking in [on Friday] that we’ll rely upon Ryan with some experience behind the plate, We’ll use both. I know both of them have worked very hard, and both of them are trying to take ownership of trying to be the best catcher they can be to handle the staff.”

  • Clint Hurdle will Manage the Bucs for the first time today. This special day also marks Hurdle’s 20th opening day as either a Manager, Coach or a player.

Hurdle told Rob Biertempfel of the Tribune, “I have always experienced some anxious anticipation on Opening Day, regardless of the role I had at the time.”

“It’s always special, and it always will be.”

  • Mike and Mike of ESPN are live from Wrigley Field from 6-10 am today. Fans were packed very early to watch the show and to wait for the gates to be open.

Here are the opening day lineups:

PiratesJose Tabata (LF), Neil Walker (2B), Andrew McCutchen (CF), Lyle Overbay (1B), Pedro Alvarez (3B), Ryan Doumit (C), Garrett Jones (RF), Ronny Cedeno (SS), Kevin Correia (RHP)

Cubs

Kosuke Fukudome (RF), Starlin Castro (SS), Marlon Byrd (CF), Aramis Ramirez (3B), Carlos Pena (1B), Geovany Soto (C), Alfonso Soriano (LF), Darwin Barney (2B), Ryan Dempster (RHP)

*Photo credit: @Maholm28

Morton sharp Alvarez homers, Pirates beat Phillies 4-1

With the help of Charlie Morton’s solid start and Pedro Alvarez’s two-run homer, the Pirates defeated the Phillies 4-1 at Citizen Bank Park for the final game of the spring.

Morton allowed just one run (none earned) on one hit with two walks and two strikeouts over five innings on Wednesday. Morton’s spring ERA was just 2.62. Although, his great spring stats will be washed away by Friday for opening day, Morton’s confidence will follow him into the regular season.

Manager Clint Hurdle told Rob Biertempfel of the Tribune, “He’s pitched well all spring. He’s done a good job all spring. Today he was just efficient. The sinker’s there, the breaking ball was there, the change-up was there at times. But he’s kept the ball down as well as anybody. Pitched to contact as well as anybody. The thing I’m probably most impressed with Charlie is the fact that even though it’s spring, you add the walks and you add the hits and it’s still less than the innings that he’s pitched this spring, which gets your attention.”

Over 24 innings this spring, Morton allowed just 15 hits with six walks.

The Phillies threatened in the 1st inning, with two on and just one out but Morton successfully got out of trouble with a strikeout to Ryan Howard and a fly out to Raul Ibanez.

First baseman Lyle Overbay hit his fourth double of the spring in the 2nd inning. Pedro Alvarez crushed a 89 mph fastball from Cole Hamels to take a 2-0 lead.

Ben Francisco reached second on a two base throwing error by third baseman Alvarez. He then scored on a ground out by Wilson Valdez to cut the lead to 2-1.

Steve Pearce doubled and scored the third run for the Pirates as he was knocked in by minor leaguer Jordy Mercer in the 6th.

The Pirates tacked the fourth and final run in the 9th after outfielder John Bowker hit a sac fly to score Josh Rodriguez.

 

Notes:

  • The Pirates out hit the Phillies 12-2.
  • Steve Pearce hit his sixth double of the spring in the 6th inning.
  • The Pirates will kick off the 2011 season by facing the Chicago Cubs for a three game series at Wrigley field, starting on Friday, April 1st at 2:20 ET.

Kevin Correia will start for the Bucs against Ryan Dempster.

Ohlendorf struggles, Bucs lose 8-5 to Phillies

Ross Ohlendorf’s struggles this spring continued as he threw 94 pitches over four innings as the Pirates lost to the Phillies 8-5 at Citizen Bank Park in Philadelphia on Tuesday.

Ohlendorf has only thrown five innings in a start this spring once. He allowed six runs (four earned) on seven hits with one walk and a strikeout over four innings.

Ohlendorf has now allowed 24 runs (20 earned) on 34 hits over 18.1 innings this spring.

Ohlendorf told Mike Radano of MLB.com, “I wish Spring Training had gone better, but I feel as if I’m ready. I feel like tonight, that even though the results were similar to my other starts, I feel like I threw the ball much better.”

“Where I didn’t do well is I threw too many pitches. I felt that with the exception of a couple of at-bats, I wasn’t getting hit as hard as I was in the last game, and the ball was coming out much better, and [catcher Ryan] Doumit did, too. I’m definitely heading in the right direction.”

Manager Clint Hurdle is not concered with Ohlendorf’s spring struggles. Hurdle told Mike Radano of MLB.com, “I have no concerns or misgivings. He’s in our starting rotation. I’ve seen guys have springs in which they didn’t get anybody out, and when the season started they rolled right through it.”

Lyle Overbay came through with a two-RBI double in the 1st inning off of Roy Oswalt to give the Bucs a 2-0 lead. Both Jose Tabata and Pedro Alvarez walked in the inning.

Jimmy Rollins successfully stole second base in the bottom of the 1st inning. Catcher Ryan Doumit’s throw to second went into center field allowing Luis Castillo to score and put the Phillies on the board.

Right Fielder Ben Francisco homered off Ohlendorf in the 2nd inning to tie the game at two. Ohlendorf continued struggled in the 2nd. Shane Victorino was hit by a pitch to load the bases with one out. Luis Castillo hit a grounder to short, an easy double play to end the inning, but Ronny Cedeno bobbled the ball allowing a run to score. Jimmy Rollins hit a sac fly to score Ruis and give the Phillies a 4-2 lead.

Two more runs scored in the 4th inning off of Ohlendorf, who hit Rollins, his third batter of the night. Ryan Howard and Jimmy Rollins both hit RBI singles in the inning.

Josh Rodriguez and Jose Tabata drew back-to-back walks in the 5th. Neil Walker hit a single, but advanced to third base on an error by the Francisco. Both Rodriguez and Tabata scored. Andrew McCutchen followed with a RBI single to cut the lead to 6-5.

Chris Leroux’s leadoff walk to Victorino scored on a ground out by Rollins in the 6th. Leroux was pulled after just 1/3 of an inning.

Former Bucco Erik Kratz scored off of Evan Meek in the 8th. The Phillies went on to win 8-5.

　

Notes:

  • Jose Tabata went 0-for-2 with three walks and two runs.
  • Neil Walker reached base four times tonight. He went 3-for-4 with a RBI, a walk and two runs scored.
  • Right-hander Kevin Correia, who will be the Pirates opening day starter in Chicago, is eager to get the season started right. He will be facing the Cub’s Ryan Dempster on April 1st.

Correia told Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com, “I’d trade in an Opening Day start for a good start. If we’re going to turn this thing around, it would be nice to win that first game. It’s exciting, but you can’t get caught up too much in it. You’ve got to approach it like any other start.”

  • Although it hasn’t been officially announced, Mike Crotta has made the Pirates 25-man roster according to reports. Crotta, who has never pitched above AAA, has had himself a great spring. He’s allowed just two earned runs over 12.1 innings with two walks and four strikeouts.

Crotta told Mike Radano of MLB.com, “I feel like [Spring Training] couldn’t have gone better for me. I [went to Florida] in the beginning of December because I had some elbow issue to work through. From the first day, I’ve just worked with [Pirates pitching coach Ray Searage] on getting the right mentality to be a reliever, and working on getting the ball down in the zone.”

“I’ve learned a lot this spring, and it’s something I can take with me into my career. It’s awesome to be here, and the whole experience is awesome. From the plane ride to playing in a game, it’s all just awesome. I’m ready to go.”

  • Corey Giger of the Altoona Mirror reports that Pirates pitching prospects Jeff Locke and Bryan Morris will start the season with Double-A Altoona. Left-hander Justin Wilson is still undetermined whether he will go back to Altoona, or start the year with Triple-A.

Catcher Tony Sanchez and Starling Marte, ranked as the Pirates No. 2 and No. 4 prospects by Baseball America, will start in Double-A.

Another interesting move will be with shortstop Chase D’Arnaud. If the Pirates decide that Pedro Ciriaco will be the everyday shortstop in Indianapolis, then D’ARnaud will start the season at Double-A again.

  • The Pirates will face the Phillies again tomorrow for the final exhibition game before opening day kicks off on Friday. Charlie Morton will start for the Bucs against Cole Hamels.

Mike Crotta makes the Bucs 25-man roster

Dejan Kovaceivc of the Post Gazette reports that Right-hander Mike Crotta will make the 25-man roster. The Pirates have not yet made the announcement.

With that move, Right-hander Chris Leroux looks to be the odd man out unless James McDonald isn’t healthy enough to start with the team or they decide to not use Garrett Olson (the only lefty). 

crottayahoosports.jpgCrotta, a 26-year-old right-hander, spent the 2010 season with both Double-A Altoona and Triple-A Indianapolis where he went 7-10 with a 4.42 ERA in 28 starts (156.2 innings) combined.

Manager Clint Hurdle told Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com after just two appearances this spring, “He’s definitely got the attention of some people. He’s pitching with purpose.”

Crotta has allowed just three runs (two earned) over 12.1 innings with two walks and four strikeouts.

 

Leroux allowed five runs on 13 hits over 10.2 innings with three walks and five strikeouts this spring.

Leroux told Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com recently, “I’ve been working on a lot on my mechanics, [which are] almost totally different than I used to be when I came into camp. I’m working on following through. I tend to come up when I finish, and that leaves the ball up sometimes. My front step, I need to keep my front side closed, and it’s just a bunch of different things. My mind’s racing a mile a minute when I’m out there.”

“I always like to think that I have a chance of making it. But now with all my mechanical changes, I realize that it’s going to be a process.”

 

Nothing is official just yet, but the pitching staff for 2011 would look as follows:

Starters: Kevin Correia, Paul Maholm, Ross Ohlendorf, Charlie Morton, James McDonald

Bullpen: Joel Hanrahan, Evan Meek, Jeff Karstens, Chris Resop, Jose Veras, Garrett Olson, Mike Crotta

*Photo Credit: Yahoo!Sports

A Rod homers off of Correia in Bucs 4-2 loss

Despite allowing a two-run home run to Third baseman Alex Rodriguez in the 1st inning, right-hander Kevin Correia was solid in the Pirates 4-2 loss to the New York Yankees in Tampa, Fla., on Saturday afternoon.

Correia allowed three runs on five hits with two walks and five strikeouts. It was the first time this spring he pitched into the sixth inning. Correia threw 92 pitches (59 for strikes).

Correia told Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com, “I thought it was definitely my best outing in spring. I felt strong the whole time. You want your last Spring Training outing to be good. You don’t want to go into the season thinking about how you didn’t pitch well the time before. I felt pretty good about this one.”

Manager Clint Hurdle told Langosch of MLB.com, “I thought he got stronger as he went on. He expects a lot of himself. He never shuts himself down on an inning or an outing. He takes a lot of pride in getting the ball and pitching deep and getting as many innings as he can get. I thought it was a very good way for him to finish up.”

Correia is set to be the opening day starter on April 1st against the Cubs in Chicago.

The Pirates put one run on the board in the 2nd inning after a two out double by Jason Jaramillo which scored Pedro Alvarez.

Chris Dickerson extended the Yankees lead to 3-1 after singling to center field, scoring Outfielder Nick Swisher.

The Bucs brought the game to within one run after second baseman Neil Walker hit a sac fly to score Jose Tabata.

In the 8th inning, Mike Crotta gave up his first earned run this spring, a RBI single by Austin Krum giving the Yankees a 4-2 lead. Crotta’s scoreless inning streak lasted 10.1 innings.

Hurdle told Biertempfel of the Tribune, “He’s pitching out of the bullpen now and that’s not something he did last year. He’s a big guy (6-feet-6, 235 pounds), he repeats his delivery pretty well, he’s got good downhill plane. It’s hard sink, mid-90s mph sink and he’s added a complementary breaking ball. And he’s pounded the strike zone. Those things are always going to work. We’ll see how he finishes it off, but he has done everything he could possibly do to build his confidence and let us know that maybe we should give him an opportunity, and possibly sooner than later.”

　

Notes:

  • Manager Clint Hurdle announced earlier today that Andrew McCutchen will bat third in the lineup this year. Jose Tabata will lead off for the Bucs with Pedro Alvarez batting fifth (read more here).
  • James McDonald (left side) threw a successful three inning game against the Yankees Triple-A team today. He reported to feel fine afterwards (read more here).
  • Rob Biertempfel of the Tribune reports that Pirates No. 1 prospect, Jameson Taillon threw three scoreless innings allowing three hits against the Yankees High-A team.
  • The Pirates have lost five games in a row. Are the losses in spring training really important, or does it effect the team?

Hurdle told Rob Biertempfel of the Tribune, “We play every game to win. But if we don’t, we don’t. When we start the season, we’re not going to have any. We just haven’t played complete games for the last 10-11 games. You’ve got to throw a complete package out there. I’ll be more concerned when we’re running our regular team out there. We’ve been trying to take a very good inventory of all our players this spring and challenging guys in different situations. Winning’s always the intent, but the focus will shift to a higher degree of that once the season starts.”

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