Pirates Outslug Rays in Grapefruit League Finale Win

Three Pittsburgh Pirates home runs lead the way in the Pirates 13-8 win over the Tampa Bay Rays. Kyle Lobstein started the game in his final spring training tune-up before the season.

The Pittsburgh Pirates wrapped up their Grapefruit League schedule yesterday by defeating the Tampa Bay Rays by a score of 13-8. The home run ball proved essential to the Pirates offense as they hit three on the day including a grand slam from Sean Rodriguez. Kyle Lobstein took the hill in his final tune-up of the spring and pitched pretty well.






In total, Lobstein threw two innings giving up two runs on two hits. He was in the competition for a spot in the starting rotation, but lost the battle to both Jeff Locke and Juan Nicasio. However, he was rewarded for his efforts by winning one of the last two spots in the Pirates bullpen. With Jared Hughes likely headed for the disabled list to start the season, a spot in the bullpen opened up and Lobstein took advantage of it.






Overall, Lobstein had a very successful spring with the Pirates going 2-1 with a 2.77 ERA while striking out eight and walking three in 13.0 innings of work. Lobstein did see time in the majors last season, mostly as a starting pitcher, with the Detroit Tigers. In 13 games with the Tigers, he went 3-8 with a 5.94 ERA. The young left-hander is looking to prove himself for the Pirates this season.






Ryan Vogelsong was next in his final outing of the spring, but he was stricken with bad luck throughout the day. He threw 1.1 innings giving up three runs, only one earned, on two hits while walking two batters. Vogelsong will be the long relief man in the Pirates bullpen during the 2016 season.






Vogelsong is currently in his second stint with the Pirates and is looking to have a better result then the last time he was with the team. He pitched for the Pirates from 2001-2006 and went a combined 10-19 splitting time between the starting rotation and the bullpen. Now, under pitching coach Ray Searage, Vogelsong will be working to get his mechanics back so he can be the effective pitcher he was for the San Francisco Giants during the 2011 and 2012 seasons.






Minor league pitcher Montana DuRapau came in to clean up the inning as he threw 0.2 inning giving up no runs and walking a batter. DuRapau has seen time in three games this spring training and has yet to give up a run in 2.0 innings of work. He spent most of last season with Single A Bradenton, but did see very limited action with Double A Altoona. DuRapau will look to continue his development during the 2016 season.






The back-end of the Pirates bullpen went through their final spring tune-ups next as Mark Melancon, Tony Watson, and Neftali Feliz each threw an inning of work. For the most part, they pitched pretty well and are ready to go for the season.






Melancon threw 1.0 perfect inning retiring the side in order. During limited work in spring training this year, Melancon has yet to give up a run. He set the team record in saves last year and looks to have a repeat performance as the Pirates closer in 2016. Watson did not have as much success. In his 1.0 inning of work he gave up two runs on three hits while striking out three. The big blow to Watson was a two-run home run from Trevor Beckham.






Neftali Feliz also gave up one run in his 1.0 inning on two hits while striking out one batter. Feliz is looking to rebound after a down year last season with the Texas Rangers and the Detroit Tigers where he went 3-4 with a 6.38 ERA. At one time, he was one of the most dominant closers in baseball. He is looking to return to that dominant status with the Pirates here in 2016.






These three guys will be depended upon to close out games for the Pirates this year. If these three can be effective pitchers, it could make for one of the strongest bullpens in all of major league baseball. With three closer type pitchers in your bullpen, you can really shorten the game and have it possibly be over by the seventh inning.






Minor leaguer Guido Knudson finished out the game for Pittsburgh throwing 2.0 innings giving up no runs on three hits while striking out a batter. Knudson will be assigned to Triple A Indianapolis and will more than likely be a September call-up or bullpen relief throughout the course of the 2016 season.




Overall, the pitching did not do bad. Lobstein and Vogelsong showed that they are ready for the season to start. The bullpen also got in some good work as the back end of the bullpen got in the work it needed before the season begins. The bullpen will definitely be a strong spot on this team in 2016 and will be key to the Pirates success.


The pitching was helped yesterday by a great offensive attack as Pittsburgh hit three home runs and scored 13 runs on the day. The Pirates were able to get a total of 14 hits on the afternoon with many players joining in on the hit parade. All but five of the 18 players who had an at bat yesterday got hits and Sean Rodriguez and Matt Joyce combined for seven of the teams 13 RBI on the day.


The offensive star of the day, however, was Michael Morse. He was yesterday's designated hitter and went 2 for 2 with an RBI, a walk, and two runs scored. Morse is vying for a spot on the Pittsburgh bench this season. After the acquisition of David Freese bumped Morse out of the first base platoon, he has had to become more versatile and take his talents to the outfield.


Morse has really heated up this spring and is having a good one with the Pirates. He finished Grapefruit League action with a .359 batting average and 4 RBI. Morse is a quality power bat to have coming off of the Pirates bench in big situations. Power is something that the team might be lacking this season, and Morse is someone who can provide that pop when needed.


The big run producers on the afternoon were Matt Joyce and Sean Rodriguez. Each hit a home run in the game and combined to drive in seven of the teams 13 runs on the afternoon. Both will be featured on this year's Pirates bench and they will be used to give certain guys days off throughout the course of the regular season.


Joyce went 1 for 2 with a big three-run home run off of Jake Odorizzi in the first inning to get the Pirates off to a bang. Joyce also walked and scored a run in the game. Joyce is currently slated as the Pirates fourth outfielder and will be used to back up both Starling Marte and Gregory Polanco. Joyce is a veteran presence on the bench to help guide this team to success in 2016.


Rodriguez's big hit came in the second inning when he hit a grand slam off of Steve Geltz to pull the Pirates way out in front. Rodriguez finished the day going 1 for 2 with a run scored, a walk, and a strike out. Rodriguez will be Pittsburgh's utility man for the 2016 season. His ability to play multiple positions is a big advantage for the Pirates. He will be seeing a lot more time this season than he has in previous years and will be a key to the Pirates success.


The Pirates do have one more game before they open their season on Sunday afternoon. They will travel to Indianapolis to take on the Cincinnati Reds at Victory Field, the Triple A home of the Indianapolis Indians. The Reds will be sending right hander Alfredo Simon to the hill and the Pirates will counter with minor leaguer Wilfredo Boscan. First pitch for the exhibition game is scheduled for 1:35 p.m.

Plenty of Options Available At First Base For The Pirates

The Pittsburgh Pirates have a plethora of available talent at the first base position. It gives them the ability to mix and match their lineup for the differet opponents they will face throughout the year.

Coming into the season, one big area of concern for the Pittsburgh Pirates was the first base position. With the loss of Pedro Alvarez to free agency, the Pirates only had Michael Morse available to step-in at the position for the Pirates. Flash forward to today, and the Pirates are left with many options to play the position in 2016.

This is a good problem for the Pirates to have because each man can be relied on to play the position at a high level. As of right now the active roster has seven potential first baseman on it. They include Max Moroff, Jake Goebbert, Jason Rodgers, Sean Rodriguez, Josh Bell, David Freese, and John Jaso. Now obivously guys like Moroff, Bell, and Goebbert will be in the minors to start the season due to minor league options, but that still leaves four capable men to play the position in the major leagues.

The number one guy out of spring training right now is John Jaso. Jaso is currently hitting .294 this spring (5 for 17) with 2 RBI. He is not as much of a power threat as Alvarez was, but he can sneak the ball into the gap for extra bases, which will be a lethal weapon for the Pirates this season. Jaso signed a two-year deal with the Pirates so he will help be the transition into the Josh Bell era at first base.

Jaso is a good offensive player as with the Rays last season he hit .286 with five home runs and 22 RBI. He split time between designated hitter and outfielder for the Rays last season. Of his 53 hits last season, 22 of them were for extra bases. With the deep gaps that PNC Park has, this will be a key element of Jaso's game. If he can find that left centerfield notch in PNC, it will allow for the Pirates to score a lot of runs this season.

The acquisition of David Freeze offers another veteran option for the Pirates to use off the bench. Last season with the Low Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Freese hit .257 with 14 home runs and 56 RBI. Freese is a familiar face to the Pirates organization as he aged for the St. Louis Cardinals from 2009-2013.

Freeze gives the Pirates a veteran bat that they can use either as a platoon option with Jaso or as a clutch bat off the bench. I really like the Freeze signing and feel that in the long run it will help the Pirates tremendously.Freese was a world series MVP back in 2013 and has proven clutch in the past. He will be a valuable asset to the 2016 Pittsburgh Pirates.

Another familiar face to the Pirates organization is back as Sean Rodriguez will serve as the team's super utility player. Last season Rodriguez hit .246 with 4 home runs and 17 RBI. He started the 2015 NL Wild Card game for the Pirates at first base, but was eventually pulled for Alvarez.

Rodriguez offers a great skill set to this Pirates team.He has the ability to play all over the diamond. Last season he made apperancez at first base, third base, second base, short stop, right field, and left field. This makes Rodriguez a great guy to have on the bench for his ability to give a lot of players much needed days off. While Rodriguez will spend some time at first base, I think he will spend the majority of his time in that super utility role.

Michael Morse is another good question as to his role in 2016. The acquisition of Freeze made Horse's future very unclear. Last season Morse hit .231 with 5 home runs and 19 RBI. It was the worst season of his career and he is looking to get back to his 2014 form.

Morse has been working a lot in right field This spring, so he might be looking at more time out there this season. The plus with Morse is his power ability. A left handed power bat at PNC Park is always a plus with the short portch in left field. Of Morse can come off the bench and be a clutch hitter for the Bucs. He will fit right in and make an impact on this team. I am a big fan of Morse and think he will be a key player for the Pirates this season.

The wild card to make the major league club is off-season acquisition Jason Rodgers. Acquired from the Brewers in a trade that sent outfielder Keon Broxton to Milwaukee, Rodgers hit .296 with four home runs and 16 RBI. Granted this was in very limited action, but Rodgers definitely is a promising option for the Bucs.

Rodgers does have some minor league options left which makes him expendable for the Pirates. They can send him down to Triple A Indianapolis to start the season and then bring him up half way through. Rodgers is another one of those guys who can play multiple positions for the Pirates. He has played first base, third base, left field, and right field in his career. This also adds to Rodgers value for the Pirates.

Having so many options at the first base position is always a good thing. The more people you have the more chance of success there is. I think that the Pirates will start the season with a platoon of Jaso and Freese throwing Rodriguez in there every now and then. Morse will be used primarily as a bat off the bench and a back up corner outfielder. If Gregory Polanco struggles we could also end up seeing a Polanco/Morse platoon in right field.

First base will be a key position for the Pirates this year. Having someone who can produce at the position will go a long way to solidifying the Pirates lineup. The regular season is quickly approaching and excitement is building for another great season of Pirates baseball.

Offense Shut Down as Pirates Are Sunk By Tigers

The Pittsburgh Pirates offense was shut out today as they lost to the Detroit Tigers by a final score of 3-0 as their record falls to 3-8 on the Grapefruit League season.

The Pirates pitchers performed pretty well on the mound today, but the Pirates offense was held in check as the Pirates fell 3-0 to the Detroit Tigers. Some key contributors to the Pirates offense strated to heat up but it was not enough to defeat Mike Pelfrey and the Tigers.

The long battle for the fifth starter spot continued as Jeff Locke took the hill for the Pirates. In his last spring outing Locke performed well pitching 3 innings of scoreless baseball while only allowing two hits on the day. The outing before that was a nightmare as he went 2 innings giving up four runs against the Tigers.

This time out, he continued his hot streak as he had an overall solid outing. He pitched 4.0 innings giving up two runs on  two hits while striking out five and walking one. The strike out numbers were a good thing to see for Locke in today's outing. If Locke can improve upon his 2015 strikeout numbers it could go a long way to making him the solid back-end of the rotation pitcher that the Pirates desperately need.

Locke had a slow start to the fifth starter spot race but recently has turned it on. He is in a battle with Kyle Lobstein and Juan Nicasio to see who will round out the starting rotation. Locke came into spring training the likely candidate for the job. However, with the performances of Lobstein and Nicasio so far, Locke is going to have to have a couple of great outings if he wants to remain the fifth starter for the Pirates.

After Locke, a pair of candidates for the 2016 Pirates bullpen entered the game in John Holdzkum and Eric O'Flaherty. Each performed well today and helped their case to be a part of the 2016 shark tank for Pittsburgh.

Holdzkum threw one inning of perfect baseball retiring the side 1-2-3. Ever since his shaky outing in the beginning of spring against Toronto where he gave up three runs in just 0.2 innings pitched, Holdzkum has been solid for the Pirates. Fighting his way back from injury, Holdzkum looks to be a solid option for the Pirates in the middle of their bullpen.

O'Flaherty also had a strong outing giving up no runs on one hit while walking one in his 1.0 inning of work. So far this spring, O'Flaherty has been performing well for the Pirates only giving up one earned run in his four outings. His only real rough spot came in his first outing when he gave up 5 runs, only one earned, and walked one batter. O'Flaherty is looking to revitalize his career with Pittsburgh after a down 2015 season. So far in spring training, he is making a strong case for a spot in the 2016 Pirates bullpen.

Two non-roster invitees finished out the game as Jorge Rondon threw a scoreless inning only giving up one hit and Curtis Partch gave up one run on two hits while walking two and striking out one in his 1.0 inning of work. For the most part the Pirates pitching did very well this afternoon, however the offense could not do anything as the Pirates suffered the loss.

While the offense was not able to score any runs today, there were some positives on the day. Some of the key offensive players for the Pirates performed well at the plate and are starting to get hot over the course of spring training. These minor victories will be key to the Pirates moving forward.

Michael Morse has been working a lot in right field recently and performed well in today's game going 1 for 2 with a walk on the day. With the log jam of first baseman the Pirates currently posses, it will be key for a guy like Morse to learn multiple positions so that he can be useful for the Pirates. Morse does have the ability to play the corner outfield positions and can be used there on his off days from playing first base.

The addition of David Freese also makes it vital for for Morse to be able to play multiple positions. Freese provides a veteran infielder to back up the corner positions. If Freese has success it could mean that Morse gets moved to the outfield to help with depth at that position. Either way, he will be a key platoon piece for the Pirates to use throughout the season.

Another player who performed well today was Chris Stewart. Stewart went 2 for 3 today with two singles increasing his spring average to .300. Stewart will be used to back-up Francisco Cervelli this season and could see some time catching Gerrit Cole. Last season, Cole collected 14 of his 19 wins with Stewart behind the plate. That match will continue in 2016 and could see the Pirates all the way to the 2016 playoffs.

Pedro Florimon continued his spring training success as he went 1 for 2 today increasing his average to .313. With the addition of Freese, it is looking less likely that Florimon could make the roster. However, if he keeps performing well he could find his way with the big league club at some point during the 2016 season. Josh Bell also had a good day at the plate getting one hit in his only at bat of the night.

Don't let the current spring training record fool you, there have been a lot of positives for the Pirates over the course of spring training. we have seen guys like Florimon and Lobstein perform well while doing what they can for the team. There is still a lot of work to be done, but with opening day still 22 days away, the Pirates have some time to work out the cincks that are present in their 2016 roster.

The Pirates are back in action tomorrow as they once again take on the Detroit Tigers. The Tigers will send lefty Matt Boyd to the mound. He comes into the game with a 1-0 record so far in spring training with a 1.80 ERA. For Pittsburgh, it will be the spring training debut of ace Gerritt Cole. First pitch is scheduled for 1:05 p.m. at McKechnie Field in Bradenton, Florida.