Late Game Comeback Drops Pirates Again

by Zane Heiple

Photo by Christopher Horner/Pittsburgh Tribune Review

While wins and losses aren't the true definition of a successful spring training, holding onto a lead and performance in those latter innings give an organization an idea of what kind of player they have.  While yesterday's loss was just an off day for Daniel McCutchen, today's game may have marked the end of the line for Ryota Igarahshi.  Igarahshi was brought in as a non-roster invitee to challenge for a spot in the bullpen.  After today's outing of not being able to hold a three run lead in the ninth inning, I feel his days with the Buccos are over.  The Houston Astros would cap the 5-4 win in the tenth inning over the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Errors where also abundant today as Pittsburgh would commit three of them.  Maybe its just the surplus of players and not being comfortable with each other, but it seems like the Pirates have been committing a lot of them this spring.  It will be important to solve this problem come April 5th, since the Buccos are not a ball club that can give teams extra outs during an inning.

There were some good things that happened today as well.  Starting pitcher James McDonald went seven innings while striking out three batter while giving up one run on two hits.  Chris Resop would pitch a scoreless eighth inning and Daniel Moskos stopped the bleeding in the ninth by striking out two batters.

The offense looked good as well.  Josh Harrison went 2-4 to increase his average to .520.  Jose Tabata would go 2-4 and Garrett Jones hit his third home run of the spring. 

The Pirates will take the field on Sunday to battle the Astros once again.  Brad Lincoln will get his first start since March 7th when he had some calf tightness.  Lincoln looks to once again be a pitching option for the Pirates in case of injury or if a spot start is needed from a minor league player once the season begins.  First pitch is at 1:05.

Grapefruit League Record: 7-13

And...

As Always...

Let's Go Bucs!

Rays Top Pirates In Pitching Battle

by Zane Heiple

Photo by pirates.com

Consistency is what the Pittsburgh Pirates need if they want to build on the success of last season.  So far this spring the Pirates starting pitching has been just that, it is their offense that has been sporadic during the month of March.  Today was no different as the Buccos fell to the Tampa Rays 2-1.

Jeff Karstens was on the mound to start the day and continued to prove that last year was not a fluke.  He would pitch five innings allowing one run on three hits with five strikeouts and three walks.  With today's performance he has lowered his ERA this spring to 1.13.  James Shields went for the Rays and was even more impressive than Karstens.  He would go six innings allowing one run on four hits while striking out seven.  Joel Hanrahan would give up one run in his inning of work while striking out three batters.  Jason Grilli would go two innings and Ryota Igarashi would pitch one inning, with neither pitcher allowing a run to score.

While both teams struggled at the plate, none of the Pirates would have multiple hits.  Their only run of the day came in the sixth inning when Andrew McCutchen would go deep with his first home run of the spring.  Tampa's first run would come from a Luke Scott solo home run in the fifth and then would take the lead for good with one run in the sixth.  Pedro Alvarez continued to struggle as he would go 0-3 with three strikeouts and see his batting average drop to a measly .174

While it is impossible to average the 14 runs per game that they did on Wednesday and Thursday, it would be nice to see the Pirates average around five runs a game over the next few weeks before heading north.  It will not matter how effective the pitching staff is, if the offense can not give them run support.

The Pirates will play the Minnesota Twins for what seems like the millionth time this spring in Fort Myers.  Charlie Morton will head to the mound for Pittsburgh as he looks to regain his form following off-season hip surgery.  First pitch is scheduled for 1:05.

Grapefruit League Record:  6-8

And...

As Always...

Let's Go Bucs!