The Pittsburgh Pirates held their annual Black and Gold game this afternoon where some of Pittsburgh's top prospects got to show their stuff during game action.
Today the Pittsburgh Pirates got a look at what some of their top prospects could do in the annual Black and Gold Inter-squad scrimmage. The game featured two teams lead by prospects and hopefuls to make the 2016 Pirates opening day roster. It also gave manager Clint Hurdle a chance to see what the young players can do and what they can provide to the club both this season and deep into the future.
The Gold team, lead by starting pitcher Tyler Glasnow, came out victorious beating the black team by a final score of 4-3 in five innings of play. Also present on the gold team were prospects Alan Hansen, Harold Ramirez, and Max Moroff along with guys vying for a spot on the opening day roster including Pedro Florimon, Jake Goebbert, and Jason Rodgers.
Glasnow started the game facing seven batters and throwing 2.0 innings giving up two runs while striking out two and walking zero batters. A pitch Glasnow was working on today was his changeup. Glasnow has two solid pitches in his fastball and curveball, but the changeup is something that he will give a lot of attention to this season.
Glasnow was followed by John Holdzkum who pitched a scoreless third inning for the gold team. Holdzkum had an injury plagued 2015 season and is looking to bounce back here in 2016. His first outing in a live game seemed to be a step in the right direction. He was followed by non-roster invitee Trevor Williams who threw a scoreless fourth inning.
On the offensive side, the star for the gold team was off-season acquisition Danny Ortiz. Ortiz went 2 for 3 on the day with 3 RBI. He was the catalyst to a big three run fifth inning which ultimately lead to the Gold teams victory.
The Black team was led by starting pitcher Jameson Taillon. It also featured some of the teams top prospects including Josh Bell, Adam Fazier,Gift Ngoepe, and Dan Gamache while including some players looking to make the team in Cole Figueroa and Matt Joyce.
Taillon started the game and threw 2.0 innings giving up one run on three hits while striking out three. For Taillon, it was an exciting time because it was his first time on the mound in two seasons. He has been plagued by injuries in recent years and it has banished him to back-field activities at the Pirates spring training home in Bradenton, Florida. Today he pitched in front of the largest crowd he has seen in the last two seasons.
Taillon was followed by non-roster invitee Steven Brault who threw a 1-2-3 third inning for the black team. Brault is in his first big league camp, and he has shown some success in the minors last season. He was named the EAS pitcher of the week for the Altoona Curve back on the week of August 3rd. He has also been named a Baseball America Low Class A all-star back in 2014.
Offensively, the Black team jumped out to a fast start as they took a 2-1 lead in inning number one. They scored their first run on a RBI double by Matt Joyce that scored Adam Frazier. They added another run in inning number three but couldn't hold off as the gold team scored three runs in the fifth inning to seal the victory.
It was a good day for the prospects and potential players fighting for a spot on the team to show what they can do. However, the real action starts tomorrow when the Pirates travel to Joker Merchant Stadium to take on the Detroit Tigers in their spring training opener. On the mound for the Pirates will be left-hander, and former Tiger, Kyle Lobstein. Opposing him will be left-handed pitcher Matt Boyd for the Tigers. First pitch is scheduled for 1:05 p.m.
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