Results tagged ‘ ross ohlendorf ’
Day 36 of Pirates spring training: news and notes
The Pirates will face the Minnesota Twins today at McKechnie Field at 1:05pm. You can listen to the game on the Pirates radio network (104.7) , MLB TV, or on a free webcast here.
Left-hander Paul Maholm will face Brian Duensing of the Twins.
- Injury updates:
Rob Biertempfel of the Tribune reports:
Lefty Joe Beimel on Sunday took a cortisone shot to relieve pain and inflammation in his elbow. He said Monday he had “zero pain” but added there is no firm timetable for when he’ll resume pitching.
Right-hander James McDonald (discomfort in left side) will throw a bullpen session Wednesday. If all goes well, he might be cleared to resume game action.
Garrett Jones said he “felt a little pop” in his neck/shoulder area Thursday and still is stiff and sore. “It kind of locked up, but I feel better now. It’s nothing serious,” said Jones, who batted in a minor league game Sunday.
Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com reports:
Brad Lincoln’s right arm is still swollen, but he said his range of motion and strength is coming back. Lincoln, who was hit in that arm on Friday, said he hopes to resume throwing (on flat ground) on Wednesday. This means he is definitely missing at least one turn through the rotation.
Catcher Chris Snyder will get 3-4 at-bats in a Minor League game on Monday. He’ll also put his gear on and catch a bullpen session. Assuming all goes well, Snyder, who was out with back soreness, will then catch in a Minor League game on Tuesday.
- MLB Network is in Bradenton today filming 30 clubs in 30 days. The Pirates episode will air Tuesday at 11 PM/ET. Andrew McCutchen getting mic’d up:
- The Pirates released Garrett Atkins and reassigned Fernando Nieve and Justin Thomas (read more here).
- Scott Olsen is out of the running for the 5th spot in the rotation and is likely to start the season on the disabled list. Charlie Morton, although it hasn’t been announced yet, looks to earn the No. 5 spot in the rotation (read more here).
- The Pirates have their final off day of the spring on Tuesday.
- Wednesday the Bucs will face the Houston Astros at McKechnie Field. Ross Ohlendorf, who was originally scheduled to start, has been moved back to Thursday. Left-hander Brian Burres will start against the Astros instead.
General Manager Neal Huntington told Rob Biertempfel of the Tribune, “We’re trying to get (Burres) stretched out to give us multiple innings. He could potentially plug a spot in the rotation if we have a need. Stranger things have happened. Teams have lost two starters in the last five days of spring training. You have to have internal options, which is why we’re trying to get Brian and Jeff (Karstens) stretched out.”
Pirates
Lineup: McCutchen CF, Walker 2B, Pearce LF, Overbay 1B, Diaz RF, Alvarez 3B, Rodriguez SS, Jaramillo C, Maholm LHP
Pitchers: Maholm, Olson, Veras, Gallagher
*Garrett Olson will be making his Pirates debut.
Twins
Lineup: Span CF, Tolbert SS, Mauer C, Young DH, Bailey 1B, Hughes 2B, Dinkelman LF, Lambin 3B, Repko RF
Pitchers: Duensing, Capps, Gutierrez, Hoey, James, Perkins
*Photo credit: @BucsInsider
O’s pound Bucs 13-3
The Baltimore Orioles offense pounded the Pirates on Thursday afternoon in Bradenton, Fla., as they combined for 20 hits in the 13-3 loss by the Bucs at McKechnie Field.
Ross Ohlendorf was scheduled to pitch five innings but he outing was cut short due to his high pitch count (he only threw three innings). Ohlendorf allowed six runs on eight hits with two strikeouts. His sinker was effective in the first inning (enduced a double play) and had a 1-2-3 second.
Ohlendorf ran into trouble in the third. He allowed two runs to score before Jose Tabata misplayed a routine fly ball in the sun –It should have been the third out. From there, the O’s rallied. Matt Weiters hit a two-RBI single and Jake Fox hit a two-run homer.
Ross Ohlendorf told Colin Dunlap of the Post Gazette, I feel like I kept the ball down. The results really weren’t that indicative of that. I would have preferred to have thrown more [innings] but I think I should be OK.”
“I would like the results to be good, but I am much more concerned with how I am throwing. … I feel like I made good pitches for the most part.”
Scott Olsen and Joe Beimel (in their second spring appearance) also took a beating.
Olsen allowed three runs on three hits with three walks and a strikeout. Olsen was scheduled to throw two innings but was pulled after 1.1. He issued back-to-back walks and at one point threw six straight balls. Olsen also allowed Jake Fox to homer, his second of the game.
Is there still time for Olsen to be stretched out to be considered for the fifth spot in the rotation? Manager Clint Hurdle told Rob Biertempfel of the Trib, “I don’t know. He very well may be. I can’t say no. I’ll leave the speculation out there for people who want to speculate. We’ll give him the ball again and see where he takes it.”
Beimel allowed three runs on three hits with one walk and one strikeout in the eighth inning.
Notes:
- Andrew McCutchen has reached base safely in 10 straight games.
- Jason Jaramillo went 1-for-2 with a RBI and a walk. He is 9-for-16 with four doubles, five RBI and three walks (.529 avg).
- Brian Burres pitched four shutout innings in the Pirates ultrasquad game at Pirate City today. He allowed two hits with two walks and five strikeouts.
Brian Burres told Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com, “There are a couple things that I still want to continue to do. But as far as where I am now, I think I’ve done a pretty decent job this spring trying to do the things that I’ve wanted to do.”
Burres has yet to give up a run this spring over nine innings and the opponents are batting just .179 against him.
- Jeff Karstens threw three scoreless innings with six strikeouts and no walks.
- Evan Meek and Fernando Nieve threw scoreless frames as well.
- So far, Paul Maholm and Kevin Correia are the only pitchers to have thrown five-inning starts. The others: Brad Lincoln (four innings scheduled tomorrow), Charlie Morton (four), Ohlendorf (three) and James McDonald (three).
Manager Clint Hurdle told Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com, “We’ve got work to do. We’re not throwing enough strikes. We don’t have good enough command right now. I have no idea what our pitch count was today, but we threw way too many pitches today. We’d like to see our starters lengthen things out. There is work to be done. That’s what Spring Training is for. That’s why you have the amount of games that you have, and that’s why these starters have to keep building up their pitch counts.”
- Rob Biertempfel of the Tribune reports that Ryan Doumit is scheduled to play against the Phillies on Friday. Doumit (strained oblique) has been sidelined since March 8th.
Doumit went 3-for-4 (double and a homer) in a minor league game today. Manager Clint Hurdle told Biertempfel, “We just needed him to see pitches and make sure he’s getting his swing off with no hesitation.”
- Corey Wimberly, John Bowker, Steve Pearce, Andy Marte, Ryan Doumit, Garrett Atkins, Josh Rodriguez and Pedro Ciriaco will start tomorrow against Philly. The positions have not yet been announced. As Biertempfel points out (Doumit excluded), perhaps a last chance before to show Hurdle what they got? Another round of cuts should be happening soon.
Brad Lincoln (four innings) will get the start against Roy Oswalt. Chris Resop, Jose Veras, Mike Crotta and Chris Leroux will follow.
Day 32 of Pirates spring training: news and notes
The Pirates will face the Baltimore Orioles today at 1:05 at McKechnie Field. You can listen to the game on MLB.com
- Ross Ohlendorf is scheduled to pitch five innings against the Baltimore Orioles. Joe Beimel and Scott Olsen will make their second appearances of the spring. Daniel McCutchen and Sean Gallagher will also throw.
- Rob Biertempfel of the Tribune reports that Pedro Ciriaco will start in Center Field at Pirate City in an intrasquad game at 10 am. Steve Pearce will be starting at third base. Jeff Karstens is also now scheduled to start and pitch four innings. Brian Burres was originally scheduled to start. No word as to why he was scratched. Tyler Yates, Fernando Nieve and Evan Meek will follow.
- Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com reports that Steve Pearce has eliminated his leg kick from his swing. Pearce is hoping this adjustment (less movement during at-bats) helps earn him a bench spot.
Steve Pearce told Langosch, “I’ve felt amazing. If I had more at-bats during the season, a leg kick might have been beneficial, because it worked for me last year. But with limited at-bats, I need to limit my movement.”
Pearce is seeing immediate results. Since losing the leg kick last week, he has reached base in six of his last nine at-bats.
Hitting Coach Greg Ritchie told Langosch, “You don’t want to take away what’s natural but you definitely want to be simplified, so things can be maintained very easily. There is a magnitude of things that it’s going to accomplish. He is seeing the ball bigger, eliminating the strikeouts, putting the ball in play and hitting the ball on the money.”
The following pitchers are scheduled to throw on Friday: Brad Lincoln, Chris Resop, Jose Veras, Michael Crotta, Chris Leroux.
Charlie from Bucs Dugout was at Pirate City on Wednesday and he posted this great article of what he saw from the prospects and games. Be sure to check it out.
- Both Jameson Taillon (first round pick in 2010) and Luis Heredia are huge a huge part of the Pirates future. Taillon, although it hasn’t been formally announced, said at Pirate City that he will be starting the season for the West Virginia Power. It hasn’t been announced where Heredia will start the season, but when I spoke to President Frank Coonelly he didn’t rule out the Gulf Coast League.
Be sure to read these two great articles on Taillon (Tribune) and Heredia (Post Gazette) and the progress they’ve made.
- Biertempfel also reports that Ryan Doumit (strained oblique) will lead off of every inning in a minor league game this afternoon.
Pirates
Lineup: Tabata LF, Walker 2B, A. McCutchen CF, Alvarez 3B, Overbay 1B, Diaz RF, Cedeno SS, Jaramillo C, Ohlendorf RHP
Pitchers: Ohlendorf, Beimel, Olsen, D. McCutchen, Gallagher
Orioles
Lineup: Pie CF, Hardy SS, Reimold LF, Wieters DH, Fox C, Winn RF, Harris 2B, Bell 3B, Snyder 1B
Pitchers: Tillman, Rupe, Accardo
The Pirates will be wearing green hats today in honor of St. Patty’s day. The bases will also be green.
*Photo credit: @BucsInsider
Trouble in 4th for Maholm, Pirates lose 5-3 to Orioles
The Blue Jays scored three runs in the fourth inning off Paul Maholm, and went on to win 5-3 at McKechine Field in Bradenton Fla., on Wednesday afternoon. The Pirates drop to 8-12 this spring and have lost seven of the last 10 games.
Paul Maholm allowed four runs on five hits with two walks and three strikeouts over five innings.
Maholm pitched well, but ran into trouble in the fourth inning. He walked Eric Thames, who then stole second base. Jose Molina hit a RBI single to left field, then David Cooper hit a two-run homer.
After the game (on twitter) Maholm said, “Had one bad inning today had 2 sliders hammered but able to come back out and throw six pitches for 3 outs. Ready for season.”
“Glad to have a rough inning and make adjustment learned a lot today and feeling better other than one inning.”
Paul Maholm told Rob Biertempfel of the Trib, “It was good to go back out and have a quick inning, get ground balls and fix what was going on. This was the first time all spring — bullpens, game, anything — when I’ve all the sudden gotten out of whack. It’s hard when you know you’re off and you’re trying to compete. I was able to come back and do what I need to do.”
The Pirates scored just three runs (on 11 hits) against the Blue Jays. Neil Walker hit his second homer of the spring in the first inning. Garrett Jones hit a RBI single (scoring Lyle Overbay) in the fourth and Jones drew a bases loaded walk to score the third and final run in the eighth inning.
Notes:
- Andrew McCutchen went 2-for-3 with a double. He is continuing his hot spring (batting .382) and has eight hits in his last 11 at-bats.
- Joel Hanrahan pitched a perfect inning, striking out one.
- Mike Crotta threw a perfect ninth. He has yet to give up a run in 7.1 innings pitched this spring and has allowed just three hits.
- Biertempfel also reports that Pedro Ciriaco will start in Center Field tomorrow at Pirate City in an intrasquad game at 10 am. (No, that’s not a typo). Jeff Karstens is also now scheduled to start and pitch four innings. Brian Burres was originally scheduled to start. No word as to why he was scratched. Tyler Yates, Fernando Nieve and Evan Meek will follow.
Ross Ohlendorf is scheduled to pitch five innings against the Baltimore Orioles. Joe Beimel and Scott Olsen will make their second appearances of the spring. Daniel McCutchen and Sean Gallagher will also throw.
- Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com reports that The Pirates will be wearing green hats on Thursday in celebration of St. Patrick’s Day. McKechnie Field will also use green bases.
Andrew McCutchen was spotted posing for a shot in Sports Illustrated.
*Photo credit: @BucsInsider
Day 31 of Pirates spring training: news and notes
The Pirates will face the Toronto Blue Jays at 1:05 in Bradenton, Fla., today.
Paul Maholm will start for the Bucs against Kyle Drabek.
According to Rob Biertemepfel of the Trib, Woody Huyke will manage the Pirates this afternoon, as Manager Clint Hurdle spends the day at Pirate City watching minor league camp. Huyke has spent the past 43 years with the Pirates organization.
- Injury updates:
According to Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com,
James McDonald will throw on flat ground on Thursday. He will also to throw a bullpen over the weekend. McDonald tells Langosch, that he feels “way better”.
Chris Snyder is taking it easy today after waking up with back stiffness. He has been hitting and throwing the last two days.
Ryan Doumit (oblique strain) took batting practice this morning. He will also take some at-bats during a minor league game on Thursday. Doumit tells Langosch, “Feel just fine. I knew it was nothing to begin with.”
- During Tuesday’s game against the Orioles, Andrew McCutchen stole second base with Pedro Alvarez (batting fourth) at the plate and no outs. Clearly, McCutchen will still be stealing despite batting third.
Manager Clint Hurdle told Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com, “You have to remember who we are,. Our four hitter right now, we want to get runners in scoring position for him. If Pedro is hot and rolling during the season, we might not take as many chances. But we’ve got usable speed and if we can go get a base, we’re planning on going and getting a base.”
“We’ve got to take some chances. Pedro is a power hitter in growth. It’s not like we’re running with [Albert] Pujols up at the plate. It’s a whole different complex, a whole different dynamic. We want to keep this mindset of going, of being aggressive, especially with Andrew. I do think that’s a part of his game that he can continue to open up more and we don’t want to take that away at all if he ends up in the three spot.”
- Left Fielder Jose Tabata is getting more comfortable leading off this spring.
Tabata told Ron Musselman of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazete, “I feel comfortable leading off, but I will do whatever they want. If they say lead off, I’ll be there. If they say bat second or third, I want to do whatever I can to help my team.”
Tabata batted .255 when leading off, .328 in the No. 2 spot last season.
Manager Clint Hurdle told Musselman, “I really like his approach leading off. He’s shown some discipline. He’s had some walks. He can hit the ball the other way. He’s a contact hitter. You can use him to hit and run. You can use him various ways. He’s got speed when he gets on.”
- Ross Ohlendorf (three or four innings) will start on Thursday against the Baltimore Orioles. Joe Beimel (one), Scott Olsen (one or two), Daniel McCutchen (one or two) and Sean Gallagher (one or two) will follow.
- Brian Burres will pitch the first four innings Thursday at Pirate City. Tyler Yates (two), Fernande Nieve, Jeff Karstens (three or four) and Evan Meek (two) also will throw.
Blue Jays
Lineup: Patterson CF, McCoy SS, Encarnacion 3B, Thames LF, Molina DH, Cooper 1B, Arencibia C, Tolisano RF, Diaz 2B
Pitchers: Drabek, Villanueva, Janssen, Henn, Lewis
Pirates
Lineup: Tabata LF, Walker 2B, McCutchen CF, Alvarez 3B, Overbay 1B, Jones RF, Cedeno SS, Brown C, Maholm, LHP
Pitchers: Maholm, Hanrahan, Resop, Veras, Crotta
*Photo credit: @Colin_Dunlap
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.
Day 27 of Pirates spring training: news and notes
- The Pirates have split-squad games this afternoon. You can watch the Phillie game on MLB TV here, or listen to the Blue Jays game here.
Ross Ohlendorf will start (four innings) against the Phillies. He’ll be followed by Jose Veras (one or two innings), Aaron Thompson (two) and Tyler Yates (one).
Jeff Locke (two innings) will start the other game against the Blue Jays in Dunedin, Fla. He’ll be followed by Sean Gallagher (two or three), Daniel McCutchen (two), Ramon Aguero (one) and Mike Crotta (two or three).
- Andrew McCutchen, who was pulled in the third inning of Friday’s game due to discomfort in his left wrist, is back in the lineup today (Go ahead Pirate faithful and breathe a sigh of relief). For precautionary reasons, McCutchen did have X-Rays and they believe it was nerve related.
“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.”
McCutchen woke up Friday morning with the wrist sore. He is not sure how the minor injury happened.
- The Pirates have not yet discussed the injury of James McDonald, who was also exited the game yesterday due to pain in his left side. There is no time table as to when he will return but McDonald “will be re-evaluated over the next couple days”.
“I’m not going to be doing anything on the field today, but I feel like I’m capable,” McDonald said.
Phillies at Pirates:
Pirates
Lineup: Presley CF, Jones RF, Alvarez 3B, Overbay 1B, Walker 2B, Bowker LF, Cedeno SS, Jaramillo C, Ohlendorf RHP
Pitchers: Ohlendorf, Veras, Thompson, Yates
Phillies
Lineup: Orr 2B, Gload DH, Ibanez LF, Howard 1B, Moss RF, Mayberry CF, Valdez 3B, Kratz C, Galvis SS
Pitchers: Worley, Herndon, Mathieson, Zagurski
Pirates at Blue Jays:
Pirates
Lineup: Tabata LF, Rodriguez 2B, A. McCutchen CF, Diaz RF, Marte 3B, Fields 1B, Atkins DH, Snyder C, Dusty Brown C, Wimberly SS
Pitchers: Locke, Gallagher, D. McCutchen, Aguero, Crotta
Blue Jays
Lineup: Podsednik LF, Davis CF, Snider DH, Rivera RF, Encarnacion 1B, Lawrie 3B, Arenibia C, McCoy SS, Diaz 2B
Pitchers: Romero, TBA
- First baseman Aaron Baker, who announced on twitter Friday night that he would be traveling with the team to Dunedin, Fla., for his first big league spring training Pirates game, tweeted a picture of the bus ride.
Pearce comes up big in Bucs 8-7 win over Rays
Steve Pearce knocked in Andrew Lambo from third in the ninth inning for the go-ahead run in the 8-7 win over the Tampa Bay Rays in Port Charlotte, Fla., on Friday.
The Pirates combined for 15 hits –the most this season and picked up their 7th victory this spring. The seven wins tie the total of wins the Bucs had last year, with 19 games still remaining.
The Bucs greeted Rays’ Wade Davis win runs rather quickly. They tacked on four on seven hits through the first two innings.
Davis pitched three innings allowing four runs on seven hits with two walks.
James McDonald’s outing started off well –a 1-2-3 first inning for the right-hander. McDonald was pulled after just two innings, four hits, two runs (one earned) with two walks, after suffering discomfort in his left side. Manager Clint Hurdle, along with the training staff met him off the mound and he walked off the field holding his left hip. McDonald could be suffering from an oblique injury, but at this time, the Pirates have not announced any more information.
Brian Burres pitched three shutout innings, giving up just two hits. He did walk four and struck out one.
The Pirates at one point had a comfortable 7-2 lead over the Rays, but things began to unraveled quickly from the bullpen.
Daniel Moskos allowed four runs on three hits with one walk and a strike out. The pitching staff combined for eight walks this afternoon.
Fernando Nieve picked up the save after pitching a scoreless frame, allowing just one hit.
Notes:
- Scott Olsen completed his second live batting practice session Friday morning without any issues.
- John Bowker hit a pinch hit two-run homer in the Bucs 8-7 win over the Rays, extending his hit streak to five games. Bowker is battling for a bench spot on the roster this year.
- Pedro Alvarez continues his hot bat this spring. He went 1-for-3 with a RBI. Alvarez is batting .310 in 10 games this year.
- Andrew McCutchen went 2-for-2 with a run scored and a RBI. He was pulled in the third inning due to discomfort in his left wrist. He, along with McDonald were taken back to Bradenton for further tests. No additional information on their injuries has been announced. You can read more on their injuries here.
- Ryan Doumit was officially diagnosed with a right oblique strain on Friday. The Pirates said he will be reevaluated on March 16th –which means it’s unlikely to get any playing time before then.
Doumit said on Friday that the injury was not serious but, “These things can get a lot worse if you’re not careful with them, so I’m going to play it safe.”
- The Pirates have 20 stolen bases so far this spring (15 games).
- Corey Wimberly, who picked up his first hit of the spring on Thursday, went 2-for-3 with a stolen base. He was also picked off at third base.
- Josh Rodriguez replaced Ronny Cedeno in the fifth after being sidelined for several days. Hurdle: “We’re just happy to get him back. He’s been out a few days; he was dinged up a little bit, and we had to shut him down. … He made a couple nice plays at short today, moved around well. He seems to be physically fit; we just need a long look at him.”
- Chris Leroux entered the eighth inning with a 7-6 lead. He allowed two hits, a walk and the tying run to score. According to reports, Leroux walked off the mound, covered his mouth with his glove, and let out quite the howl.
Leroux is fighting for a spot in the Bucs’ bullpen this year, and has been working on, well, everything.
“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,” the 6-foot-6 right-hander said. “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,” Leroux said, “but now with all my mechanical changes, I realize that it’s going to be a process.”
Leroux has allowed two runs over five innings on six hits with three walks.
- Ross Ohlendorf will start Saturday (four innings) in a split-squad game against the Phillies. He’ll be followed by Jose Veras (one or two innings), Aaron Thompson (two) and Tyler Yates (one).
Jeff Locke (two innings) will start the other game against the Blue Jays in Dunedin, Fla. He’ll be followed by Sean Gallagher (two or three), Daniel McCutchen (two), Ramon Aguero (one) and Mike Crotta (two or three).
Diaz homer not enough in 4-2 to Rays
Matt Diaz showed signs of breaking out of his slow start to spring (two hits in his first 16 at-bats) by hitting a two run home run in the fourth inning off of lefty David Price, but the lead was not enough as the Pirates lost 4-2 to the Tampa Bay Rays.
Price allowed just two runs on four hits, striking out two through four innings of work.
“I thought I threw some good off-speed stuff and that’s what I wanted to work on,” Price said. “Threw a lot of two-seams, I was down in the zone. Thought I was pretty good.”
Ross Ohlendorf started for the Bucs. Ohlendorf retired the first three batters in the first inning, but gave up three hits and walked one in the second.
“I probably felt a little stronger in the first one just because I had a little more adrenaline,” said Ohlendorf, who had lasted 1 2/3 innings in his first start. “But I still felt good about today.”
Tyler Yates allowed two runs on one hit with two walks through .2 innings and picked up the loss.
Notes:
- Evan Meek made his spring training debut in the fourth inning of Monday’s ball game, pitching a scoreless inning.
After Ronny Cedeno made an error, allowing Evan Longoria to reach base, Meek got Manny Ramirez to hit into a double play. He then walked Joyce but the inning ended when he got caught trying to steal second base.
“Things were a little quick today,” Meek said afterward. “I found myself trying to relax and go out and throw strikes. That was my main focus — not really focus too much on velocity or anything. I really wanted to go in and get my work in and get back in the groove of things. It’s a good step forward.”
Meek threw just one breaking ball during his inning of work, relying on his fastball for strikes. He is scheduled to pitch an inning on Thursday, and should have no set backs for opening day.
- John Bowker and Josh Rodriguez were both sidelined on Monday due to minor injuries.
Bowker (soreness in his left wrist), Rodriguez (tightness in right quad) should not miss more than a few days.
- Scott Olsen will throw a live session of batting practice on Tuesday.
- Chris Snyder threw out two-of-three base stealers today.
- The Pirates will have two games on Tuesday against the Minnesota Twins in Fort Myers.
Brian Burres will start the regular squad game against Carl Pavano, Brad Lincoln will start for the “B” squad. Steve Pearce will also make his debut at third base.
Day 22 of Pirates spring training: news and notes
- The Pirates will face the Tampa Bay Rays at McKechnie Field at 1:05 today.
Ross Ohlendorf will get the start(3 innings), followed by Evan Meek, Jose Veras, Tyler Yates, Michael Crotta and Daniel Moskos.
David Price will start for the Rays. Mike Ekstrom, Rob Delaney, Matt Bush and Alex Cobb are scheduled to follow.
- Ronny Cedeno was walking around the clubhouse Sunday morning with a bat in his hand –eager to get some swings in the cage and eager to get back on the field. He has been sidelined for several days with a bruised right middle finger.
- Right-hand pitcher Evan Meek will make his spring training debut today against the Rays. Meek has been sidelined with a tight right calf.
- Joe Beimel threw off the mound on Sunday. Although there is no set date for a return, the Pirates say he is on track to be ready in time for opening day.
- As it was pointed out yesterday, the Pirates have five players that have no options remaining: Jose Ascanio, Kevin Hart, Charlie Morton, Chris Resop and John Bowker.
If the Pirates option any of them to the minors, they would have to clear waivers first –which could be a huge risk. Any of the other 29 teams could claim the player.
I think it’s safe to say that Charlie Morton (battling for the 5th spot in the rotation) and Chris Resop (Bullpen) will be on the 25-man roster. However, Ascanio, Hart and Bowker’s future are not as clear.
“It’s a situation where it plays a factor,” general manager Neal Huntington said. “It’s not the decision factor. You start to take a look at which decisions are reversible and irreversible, and sometimes the irreversible decision is the one that forces your hand a little bit.”
Rays
Lineups: Jaso C, Damon LF, Longoria 3B, Ramirez DH, Joyce RF, Upton CF, Johnson 1B, Inglett 2B, Beckham SS
Pitchers: Price, Ekstrom, Delaney, Bush, Cobb.
Pirates:
Lineups: Tabata LF, Cedeno SS, Walker 2B, Diaz RF, Atkins 3B, Overbay 1B, Snyder C, Hernandez CF, Ohlendorf P
Pitchers: Ohlendorf, Meek, Veras, Yates, Crotta, Moskos
Kristy Robinson
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