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Day 39 of Pirates spring training: news and notes
The Pirates will face the Tampa Bay Rays in Port Charlotte today at 1:05. You can listen to the free webcast here.
Charlie Morton will start for the Pirates and throw about 80 pitches. He will face right-hand pitcher Jeff Neimann. Joel Hanrahan and Jose Veras are also scheduled to pitch.
- Morton, who was named into the Bucs rotation on Thursday, told Langosch of MLB.com, “I feel different from last year in the sense that I feel more confident going into the season,” Morton said. “I think there were some questions last year in my mind going into the season, but I think getting beat up last year kind of taught me a lot of things. I’m really looking forward to getting on the mound. I’m really excited.”
- Earlier this morning, the Pirates cut five players from camp: pitchers Sean Gallagher, Daniel McCutchen and Tyler Yates, Infielder Josh Fields and Catcher Wyatt Torregas (read more here).
- The Pirates also announced that left-hander Joe Beimel will not be ready to start the season with the club. He’s been struggling to get healthy due to left elbow soreness. General Manager Neal Huntington told Colin Dunlap of the Post Gazette, “The goal is to have Joe healthy for not just the start of the season, but for a large portion of the season for us. As it stands now, the best way for that to happen is to approach things this way.
Biemel is scheduled to throw a bullpen session on Sunday.
- Brad Lincoln threw from 120 feet today and it was reported that he felt fine afterwards. Lincoln is sidelined due to a right forearm contusion (line drive by Jimmy Rollins).
- Rob Biertempfel of the Tribune tweeted some interesting information today. Pirates source tells me team will NOT release Doumit ($5.1M this yr) if trade cannot be worked out. “He still has offensive value to us.”
Pirates
Lineup: Ciriaco CF, Rodriguez SS, Bowker LF, Doumit C, Pearce 3B, Diaz RF, Marte 1B, Wimberly 2B, Morton RHP
Pitchers: Morton, Hanrahan, Veras
Rays
Lineup: Zobrist RF, Johnson 2B, Longoria 3B, Ramirez DH, Johnson 1B, Upton CF, Shoppach C, Brignac SS, Fuld LF
Pitchers: Neiman, Cruz, Farnsworth, Peralta
Pirates cut five from major league camp
The Pirates cut five players from their major league camp on Friday morning.
Right-hand pitchers Sean Gallagher, Tyler Yates and Daniel McCutchen, Infielder Josh Fields and Catcher Wyatt Toregas.
Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com reports the allocation of the following players:
Yates reassigned to Minor League camp
Gallagher reassigned to Minor League camp
McCutchen optioned to Triple-A Indianapolis
Fields reassigned to Minor League camp
Toregas reassigned to Minor League camp
Gallagher signed a minor league contract this offseason. He went 2-1 with a 6.03 ERA in 31 games (34.1 innings) last season with the Pirates.
This spring, Gallagher allowed two runs on five hits over eight innings (2.25 ERA) with two walks and four strikeouts.
Yates has not pitched in the majors since May 15th, 2009 due to Tommy John Surgery.
Yates pitched in 15 games for the Bucs in the 2009, going 0-2 with a 7.50 ERA. He allowed 14 hits, 12 runs (10 earned) through 12 innings.
This was his first spring back since recovering. Yates allowed six runs on nine hits over 4.1 innings (12.46 ERA) with three walks and three strikeouts.
McCutchen spent the 2010 season bouncing back and forth between Triple-A Indianapolis and Pittsburgh. He went 2-5 with a 6.12 ERA in nine starts (28 appearances).
McCutchen allowed five runs on 10 hits over eight innings (5.63 ERA) with three walks and three strikeouts.
Fields signed a minor league contract with the Pirates this offseason. Fields missed most of the 2010 season, recovering from hip surgery that he had in April. He played in 13 games (with the Kansas City Royals), post surgery, where he went 15-for-49 (.306 avg) with three homers and six RBIs.
This spring, Fields batted .172 with one double, two RBI and struck out 11 times in 29 at-bats.
Torregas signed a minor league contract with the Pirates in January. He spent the 2010 season with three teams (A, AA, AAA) in the Indians minor league system. In 38 games combined he batted .227 with five home runs and 14 RBI. Toregas had four passed balls and a .991 fielding percentage.
This spring, Torregas batted .455 in 11 at-bats.
36 players remain at big league camp.
Burres struggles in 10-6 loss to Astros
Left-hander Brian Burres had his first rough outing of the spring on Wednesday’s 10-6 loss to the Houston Astros in Bradenton, Fla.
Burres entered the game without allowing a single run over nine spring innings. But that didn’t last long as Burres allowed two in the first inning after allowing a lead-off hit, a four pitch walk (six straight balls thrown), a RBI double by Hunter Pence and a sac fly by Brett Wallace.
The Pirates quickly tied the game at two in the bottom of the first after a walk by Neil Walker and a home run by Andrew McCutchen off of J.A. Happ — his first of the spring.
The Bucs tacked on two more runs to take a 4-2 lead in the second, but Hunter Pence homered off Burres in the third to cut the lead to just one run.
More trouble came in the fifth for Burres. Angel Sanchez and Pence hit back-to-back doubles and Tony Manzella, who pinch ran for Sanchez, scored on a fielding error by Matt Diaz in right field. Jason Michaels doubled, but advanced to third on a bad throw by Diaz. Wallace hit a sac fly scoring Michaels and taking a 6-4 lead.
Burres combined to allow six runs on 10 hits with one walk and two strikeouts over five innings.
Burres told Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com, “Even when I was throwing strikes, it wasn’t where I wanted them all the time. Little bit wild with the strike zone today. I wasn’t keeping the ball over the plate enough and when I was, it was up and they did a pretty good job taking advantage of it.”
Pedro Alvarez hit his first home run of the spring in the sixth –and it was crushed to deep center field.
The Astros combined to score four more runs off the Pirates relievers, three off of Tyler Yates in the ninth inning.
Notes:
- Lyle Overbay continued his hot spring, going 2-for-2 with an RBI and a walk. He seems to feel pretty comfortable as a Bucco (He’s batting .425 ).
Manager Clint Hurdle told Langosch of MLB.com, “This man is determined this spring. He has made a conscious effort of getting out of the blocks clean. The confidence should have been built up. I think he’s found an approach that is going to work. It’s good to see.”
- Ronny Cedeno had a good day at the plate, he went 2-for-3 with a run scored.
- Ryan Doumit went 2-for-4 with a run scored but he allowed two passed balls (one scored a run in the seventh) and was picked off twice, at both first and second base.
- Mike Crotta pitched a scoreless ninth inning and has yet to allow an earned run this spring (10.1 innings).
- Ross Ohlendorf is scheduled to start on Thursday against the Orioles in Sarasota, Fla. He will pitch six innings followed by Evan Meek (one), Garrett Olson (one or two) and Chris Leroux (one). The O’s will send Jake Arrieta to the mound.
- The members of the 2010 Eastern League champion Altoona Curve received their rings in a pre-game ceremony held at McKechnie Field.
- On Monday, Pedro Alvarez, Josh Fields and Josh Rodriguez stayed after the game for additional batting practice with Manager Clint Hurdle, hitting coach Gregg Ritchie, and several other coaches. Today after the game, Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com reports that Alvarez stayed after again, but this time he was joined by Neil Walker and Ronny Cedeno.
Hurdle told Langosch of MLB.com, It’s something I’ve always done. I would have preferred to have done it a few times earlier, but we waited because of the workload these guys have been carrying. It’s just more practice is all it is.”
So what exactly is the focus of the session? Manager Clint Hurdle said, “Sometimes you have to find a way to slow the game down. When you’re behind the fastball and ahead of the soft stuff, it’s a very uncomfortable place to be. Sometimes you get up there and just have too much going on. All the thinking needs to be done on-deck. Once you get in the batter’s box, you need to compete.”
- Rob Biertempfel of the Tribune reports that James McDonald (left side) is scheduled to pitch on Saturday, most likely in a minor league game. McDonald has not pitched more than three innings in a start this spring and has been sidelined since March 11th. If all goes well on Saturday, he could remain in Florida to pitch a minor league game on the 31st –putting him in line for an April 6th start for the Pirates. If he suffers any set backs, Jeff Karstens or Brian Burres could be used as a spot starter.
Biertempfel of the Trib also reports that Chris Snyder (back soreness) who has been sidelined since March 9th will be in the lineup on Thursday against the Orioles.
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 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).
Day 26 of Pirates spring training: news and notes
The Pirates will face the Tampa Bay Rays (for the fifth time this spring) in Port Charlotte, Fla,, at 1:05 today. You can listen to the game on mlb.com.
James McDonald will get the start for the Bucs against the Rays’ Wade Davis.
- One of Ronny Cedeno’s goals for the 2011 season is to cut down on the strikeouts (Cedeno struck out 106 times in 468 at-bats last year).
“I feel good — much better,” Cedeno said. “Last year was a bad year. I have a new year, and I need to make an adjustment. I need to put the ball in play, and get in the right position to hit.”
- Injury updates:
Joe Beimel and Scott Olsen will remain in Bradenton, Fla., as the team heads to Port Charlotte today for the game against the Rays. They will both throw batting practice; Beimel (20 pitches), Olsen (35 pitches). This marks Olsen’s second batting practice session this week and should be cleared to pitch in a game soon.
Joe Beimel is scheduled to make his spring debut on Monday against the Baltimore Orioles.
Jose Ascanio (right elbow) threw a successful side session on Wednesday and is scheduled to throw another on Friday.
Brian Friday (left hand) and Josh Rodriguez (right quadricep) are said to be recovering and are listed as day-to-day.
- Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune reports that Tyler Yates family have not been effected by the Tsunami this am (Yates is from Hawaii). “Tyler Yates said he expects his home, family in Hawaii are safe from tsunami”
- Manager Clint Hurdle has been focusing a lot on aggressive base running this spring. Can the other teams expect most of the players to run? Matt Diaz, who stole 12 bases in 2009, says you shouldn’t count him out.
“I’ll sneak it in there. I don’t want it out there because they see a short, fat, white guy on first and they really don’t pay too close of attention. So, [I'll] try to steal, stealth wise. Try to lull them to sleep,”
- Ryan Doumit was reevaluated this morning and has been diagnosed with a right oblique strain. Doumit should be sidelined for a few days. He’s doing light exercise, but is not cleared to swing a bat.
- Ohlendorf will pitch the first four innings on Saturday in a split-squad game against the Phillies. Those scheduled to follow are Jose Veras (one or two innings), Aaron Thompson (two) and Tyler Yates (one).
Jeff Locke will start in the other game against the Blue Jays. He will pitch the first two innings followed by Sean Gallagher (two or three innings), Daniel McCutchen (two), Ramon Aguero (one) and Mike Crotta (two or three).
Pirates
Lineup: Tabata LF, Jones RF, McCutchen CF, Alvarez 3B, Walker 2B, Fields 1B, Cedeno SS, Brown C, McDonald P
Pitchers: McDonald (four innings), Burres (two), Moskos, Thomas, Leroux
Rays
Lineup: Ramirez DH, Rodriguez 2B, Kotchman 1B, Shoppach C, Lopez 3B, Johnson SS, Jennings CF, Fuld LF, Vogt RF
Pitchers: Davis, Hellickson, Farnsworth, Peralta, Russell, Cobb
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.
Morton, Lincoln both impressive in Bucs 4-1 win over Blue Jays
The battle for the 5th spot in the rotation gets even more competitive after impressive innings by both Charlie Morton and Brad Lincoln in the 4-1 win over the Toronto Blue Jays in Dunedin, Fl. On Thursday afternoon.
Charlie Morton gave up a lead off double to Rajai Davis in the first inning then former Bucco Jose Bautista hit an RBI single to give the Blue Jays an early 1-0 lead. Morton settled down and didn’t allow any more hits or runs over the rest of his outing.
Morton faced 10 batters through three innings, needing just 25 pitches.
“He’s letting the ball work for him now,” Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said of Morton. “He’s kept the ball down with great regularity. It’s great to see him out there competing and feeling good about himself.”
Brad Lincoln was even more impressive. Lincoln was scheduled to throw two innings but stayed in for a third. Lincoln finished the day facing the minimum nine. No runs, no hits, no walks, one strikeout.
“Brad was very good today,” Hurdle said. “Much better with his command than his first time out. The ball was coming out of his hand a little more crisper. He had some sink to the ball. He pitched very efficiently as well.”
The rest of the pitchers behind Morton and Lincoln were solid as well.
Tyler Yates and Jeff Locke did not allow a hit nor a run during their inning of work.
Caesar Valdez allowed two hits but struck out two and didn’t allow a run during his inning.
Notes:
- Andrew McCutchen batted lead off for the first time this spring. Manager Clint Hurdle is still unsure of whether McCutchen will bat lead off or third this year. Hurdle said spring training is the time to figure it out.
- Brett Cecil struck out the side (McCutchen, Steve Pearce and Matt Diaz) in the first inning. He then went on to strike out four Bucks in a row (Alvarez in 2nd inning) and six of the seven batters he faced (Cedeno in the 3rd).
- Ronny Cedeno 0-for-11 so far this spring.
- Pedro Alvarez hit a two RBI triple in the fifth inning. He is batting .357 so far this spring.
- The Pirates pitchers continue to pick off runners at first base this spring –something they have been working on a lot during Camp Hurdle. Cesar Valdez picked off John Tolisano in the ninth inning.
- Evan Meek will make his spring training debut on Monday against the Tampa Bay Rays (pitching one inning).
Meek will throw a 20 pitch bullpen on Friday.
- Olsen appears to be a week to 10 days away from making his grapefruit league debut as a Bucco.
Olsen is scheduled to throw a bullpen session on Saturday. Then throw two rounds of live batting practice on Monday to see if he’s ready to go.
- The Pirates return home (McKechnie Field) on Friday to play the Phillies.
Kevin Correia will get the start for the Bucs followed by Brian Burres, Fernando Nieve, Bryan Morris, Kyle McPherson and Daniel Moskos.
Joe Blanton is scheduled to start for the Phillies.
Kristy Robinson
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