The Pittsburgh Pirates lost 6-2 on the road against the Atlanta Braves, giving them a 7-10 record this spring. Nick Kingham started and allowed five earned runs on six hits and four walks in 3.2 innings. He was helped out in the second inning by a triple play. With runners on first and second, a grounder to shortstop Kevin Newman looked like a routine 6-3 double play, but first baseman Jose Osuna threw to third base, where Colin Moran tagged the runner from second base, after he rounded third. Steven Brault pitched the final four innings and held the Braves to one run.
The Pirates scored their runs in the fourth inning on a single by JB Shuck, a hit-by-pitch to Osuna, followed by an RBI single from Moran and an RBI grounded by Patrick Kivlehan. The Pirates had five first round picks in the lineup (Newman, Ke’Bryan Hayes, Cole Tucker, Will Craig and Travis Swaggerty), but they combined to go 0-for-7 at the plate.
Tuesday’s Action
Jameson Taillon makes his first start today, and the lineup behind him isn’t far off from what we will see on Opening Day. It’s a 1:00 PM start time against the Minnesota Twins. Taillon has been pitching simulated games at Pirate City prior to today. The game will be broadcast live on AT&T SportsNet and MLB Network (out of area), and MLB Network will also show a replay.
Here’s the lineup:
- Adam Frazier 2B
- Starling Marte CF
- Francisco Cervelli C
- Josh Bell 1B
- Melky Cabrera LF
- Jung Ho Kang 3B
- Lonnie Chisenhall RF
- Erik Gonzalez SS
- Jameson Taillon P
After Taillon, the Pirates will send out Jordan Lyles, Tyler Lyons and Michael Feliz.
Felipe Vazquez, Richard Rodriguez and Keone Kela will pitched simulated games at Pirate City today.
The Pirates made five cuts this morning.
The minor league schedule begins today.
Here’s some Pirate City action. Jon Schwind throwing to Stephen Alemais. Schwind is going to be an assistant hitting coach this year for Indianapolis. He’s actually a player-coach, though the only way he plays is in an emergency situation. Calling him a player-coach and putting him on the injured list allows the team to carry an extra coach on the bench (yes, there are coach limits in the minors).
.@Jon_Schwind tossing BP to @StephenAlemais at Pirate City pic.twitter.com/JOgbamOLkG
— Altoona Curve (@AltoonaCurve) March 12, 2019
Upcoming Action
Tomorrow is the final off-day of the spring schedule. The Pirates resume play on Thursday at home against the Phillies at 1:00 PM. Trevor Williams will make the start.
