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Grapefruit League Game 10: Pittsburgh Pirates at New York Yankees

By Marty Leap

Mar 4, 2017; Bradenton, FL, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates Andrew McCutchen (22) beats the tag of Boston Red Sox short stop Brock Holt (12) as he steals second base in the fifth inning of a baseball game during spring training at McKechnie Field. Mandatory Credit: Butch Dill-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 4, 2017; Bradenton, FL, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates Andrew McCutchen (22) beats the tag of Boston Red Sox short stop Brock Holt (12) as he steals second base in the fifth inning of a baseball game during spring training at McKechnie Field. Mandatory Credit: Butch Dill-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Pittsburgh Pirates play the New York Yankees in the 10th game of their Grapefruit League season this afternoon

The Pittsburgh Pirates are off to a hot start in Grapefruit League play. After yesterday’s 3-2 victory over the Boston Red Sox, the Pirates are now 7-2 thus far this spring. While Spring Training games are 100 percent meaningless, winning them is still more fun than losing.

This afternoon, the Pittsburgh Pirates will travel to Tampa Bay to play the New York Yankees. Today’s game is the first of back-to-back games between the two teams. First pitch from Steinbrenner Field is scheduled for 1:05 PM.

Jameson Taillon will make the start today for the Bucs. This will be Taillon’s second start of the spring. In his first start he allowed two runs on three hits, two walks, a home run, and three strikeouts in two innings pitched.

Nick Kingham, Clay Holmes, Antonio Bastardo, A.J. Schugel, and Dan Runzler are all scheduled to pitch after Taillon. Today’s Pirate lineup is as follows:

  1. Max Moroff – SS
  2. Alen Hanson – 2B
  3. Francisco Cervelli – DH
  4. John Jaso – 1B
  5. Eric Wood – 3B
  6. Jose Osuna – RF
  7. Barrett Barnes – LF
  8. Jacob Stallings – C
  9. Danny Ortiz – CF

For the Yankees, ace Masahiro Tanaka will start. He will be followed by one of the Pirates’ longest running foes, Aroldis Chapman. As of this writing (9:10 AM) the Yankees had not yet released their lineup.

Next: The Pirates Have A Blocking Problem

World Baseball Classic Looms

The Pittsburgh Pirates will send five players off of their Major League roster to the World Baseball Classic. These five players will report to their respective teams tomorrow.

Andrew McCutchen and Josh Harrison will play for Team USA. Starling Marte and Gregory Polanco will represent the Dominican Republic. Meanwhile, Francisco Cervelli will play for Team Italy.

The Bucs are also set to send four Minor League players to the World Baseball Classic. Third baseman Eric Wood will play for team Canada, Jared Lakind will pitch for Israel, Luis Escobar will pitch for Columbia, and Sam Street will pitch for Team Australia.

The Pirates will host Marte, Polanco, and Team DR at LECOM Field in Bradenton on Wednesday afternoon.

Other Notes

  • First baseman Josh Bell (knee surgery) will return to the Pirate lineup tomorrow. Barring a setback, Bell will be ready for Opening Day on April 3.
  • Chad Kuhl continues to work on his change up. Kuhl’s need for a third pitch has been well documented on this site. Hopefully, his change up can be the needed third pitch that helps him against left-handed hitters. So far this spring left-handed hitters are just 1-for-8 against Kuhl, a big improvement over the .301 batting average LHHs had against him in 2016.
  • Tomorrow’s game against the Yankees will be the first ROOT Sports broadcast of the spring, first pitch is scheduled for 1:05.
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