The Pittsburgh Pirates won their final spring game 5-1 on Tuesday afternoon against the Houston Astros. Eduardo Vera looked strong over five innings, while four relievers took one inning each and retired all three batters they faced.
The Pirates sent out Brandon Maurer and Tyler Lyons for the first two innings so they would be able to face the Major League hitters. Maurer needed 19 pitches for his inning, but no batters reached base. Lyons followed with a quick second inning before Vera took over in the third. He allowed just three hits, including a solo homer to George Springer. Vera finished his first Spring Training with a 1.80 ERA, giving up two runs over ten innings, which is also what he has allowed over at Pirate City this spring. Montana DuRapau and Tate Scioneaux finished the game off with one inning each.
On the offensive side, the Pirates got their first two runs on a homer by Melky Cabrera in the fourth inning, his first home run of the spring. The Pirates got another two-run homer in the ninth inning from Kevin Newman, his second of the spring. JB Shuck drove in the other run on a ninth inning single, which scored Ke’Bryan Hayes. The Pirates had eight hits, getting one each from eight different hitters. Colin Moran was the only batter to reach twice, collecting a walk and a single, while scoring a run.
Roster Decisions
The Pirates told Kevin Newman (pictured above), Nick Burdi, Pablo Reyes and Nick Kingham yesterday that they made the 25-man roster. They also noted that Jordan Lyles and Lonnie Chisenhall will make the Opening Day roster if they are healthy. Lyles will still make one more start at Pirate City tomorrow, going six innings and 100 pitches. If that goes well, then he makes the team and Steven Brault heads to the minors. Chisenhall was hit on the hand by a pitch on Monday. He’s listed as day-to-day, but if he can’t go on Opening Day, JB Shuck will make the team.
That means that Patrick Kivlehan, Tyler Lyons, Steven Baron, Brandon Maurer and Rookie Davis were all reassigned to minor league camp yesterday. Dovydas Neverauskas will also be optioned to Indianapolis for the final roster cut. Jose Osuna, Gregory Polanco, Edgar Santana and Elias Diaz will all be placed on the injured list to begin the season. Santana will go on the 60-day IL to clear one of two spots needed for Melky Cabrera and Francisco Liriano on the 40-man roster. The other roster spot decision has yet to be announced.
Opening Day is tomorrow. Jameson Taillon will be on the mound to take on the Cincinnati Reds at 4:10 PM.
