The Pittsburgh Pirates got great starting pitching from Juan Nocasio, but the bullpen faltered as Pirates fall 11-8 to the Houston Astros.
The Pittsburgh Pirates offense shined today, but the relief pitching was not enough as they fell to the Houston Astros 11-8 at McKechnie Field in Bradenton, Florida.
Jain Nicasio started For the Pirates and built off of his last game on Tuesday. He threw 2.0 innings only giving up 1 hit while striking out 2. Nicasio threw one perfect inning last time out and had success again today.
He was followed up by Kyle Lobstein, who threw a scoreless inning of relief striking out 1. Lobstein was strong last time out as well as he threw 2 innings giving up no runs on his start against the Tigers back on March 1.
Both Lobstein and Nicasio are in the three man race for The fifth spot in the Pirates rotation. Both pitchers are making a strong case for that fifth spot early on in spring training.
Next in was Arquimedes Caminero who struggled going one inning giving up 3 runs while walking one and striking out 1. The big blow to Caminero came on a 2 run home run by Matt Duffy.
Duffy had a big day for the Astros homering twice for the Astros and driving in 4 runs. He added a solo home run off Guido Knudson in the ninth and was instrumental to the Astros victory
Caminero Did well in his first game as he threw a 1-2-3 inning striking out 2. Last season consistency was a problem for Caminero and he has to work on that in 201y. Caminero has the potential to be a great back end of the bullpen pitcher and with some consistency he can reach that goal.
Jared Hughes was up next and he struggled as well going 0.2 innings giving up 3 runs while walking one and striking out one. Hughes is also vying for a spot in the middle of the Pirates bullpen and was successful last season. Daniel Bard came into finish the inning getting out the only batter he faced.
Another middle reliever John Holdzkum followed and threw a scoreless inning while striking out 2 and walking 1. Holdzkum has been plagued by injury the Last couple of seasons and built off of his last outing today. Holdzkum looks to return to the major league club this season and help contribute in the middle of the bullpen.
Wilfredo Boscan came in next and threw a perfect inning of relief With no walks or strike outs. Boscan will be used mostly as bullpen depth in 2016 and looks to mature in triple A at the beginning of the season.
A pair of non-rostsd invitees struggled to end the game as Kelvin Marte threw 0.2 innings giving up 4 runs walking a batter and giving up 2 home runs. Guido Knudson came in after and threw 1.1 innings giving up one run and striking out 2.
The thing the pitching staff struggled with most today was giving up the long ball. The Astros hit a total of four home runs on the day including two from Duffy. That is something the Pirates will need to limit in 2016 if they want to succeed.
The bats came out again on the offensive side and scored 8 runs on the day giving them 18 runs scored in the Last two games. Today we saw many players taking reps at different positions on the field and it worked out for them.
Michael Morse played right field today and went 2 For 3 With an RBI. Morse will be the righty platoon at first base along with John Jaso. However, if Morse can show that he can play the outfield as well, it will go a long way to making him more and more of an asset to this Pirates team.
The other half of the platoon John Jaso also had a good day going 1 For 2 With an RBI. The duo will be looking to replace the power that Pedro Alvarez brought to the position. However, the defense that they bring will help the Pirates in 2016.
The young stars also shined for the Pirates today. They have been hitting the ball well and coming up in the clutch late in baseball games helping the Pirates stay in games that their pitchers give up a lot of runs in.
Pedro Florimon continued his success from yesterday going 1 For a Today driving in 2 runs. Florimon has gone 4 For 5 in his last two games while driving in 5 runs. Florimon showed his versatility today as he played centerfield taking over for Andrew McCutchen.
Florimon is a big candidate for that fifth spot on the bench. Florimon can provide defensive versatility and can pinch run late in games. Speed will be a key aspect for for this year's Pirates and that is something that Florimon can provide.
Non-roster invitee Juan Diaz also had a big day going 2 For 2 driving in one run. Max Moroff started the game and went 2 For 2. One of the Pirates top infield prospects, Moroff will be a good player for the Pirates in the future.
Up next for the Pirates they will stay at home to battle The Philledelphia Phillies tomorrow afternoon. For the Pirates, Jeff Locke will return to the hill after his disasterous start last time out where he gave up four runs in two innings of work. The Phillies will send Vincent Velasquez to the mound. First pitch is scheduled for 1:05 p.m.
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