Pittsburgh Pirates Grapefruit League Game 3: Jordan Lyles Set To Debut

On Monday afternoon, the Pittsburgh Pirates will play the third game of their 2019 Grapefruit League schedule

Who: Pittsburgh Pirates (2-0) vs Boston Red Sox (2-0)
Where: LECOM Park, Bradenton, Florida
When: Monday, February 25th, 2019, 1:05 PM EST

Grapefruit League play carries on for the Pittsburgh Pirates on Monday afternoon when the defending World Series Champion Boston Red Sox roll into Bradenton. For the Pirates, right-handed pitcher Jordan Lyles will make his spring debut. Alex Cora and the Red Sox will counter with lefty Brian Johnson.

This offseason the Pirates signed Lyles to a one-year, $2.05 million contract. Lyles enters the spring competing with the previous two day’s starting pitchers – Steven Brault and Nick Kingham – for the final spot in Pittsburgh’s starting rotation. As the spring begins Lyles holds the upper leg in the competition. This is partially due to his experience, and partially due to the Pirates believing in changes that Lyles made last season.

The early bar has been set high for Lyles after Brault pitched two scoreless innings on Saturday afternoon and Kingham followed with two scoreless on Sunday. While Lyles is the favorite to land the final spot in the Pirate rotation, early indications are that he will not do so without having to fend off a pair of hungry youngsters.

Following Lyles, the Pirates plan to roll a quartet of minor league pitchers out to the mound. Lefties Brandon Waddell, who will start the season in the rotation at Triple-A Indianapolis, and Elvis Escobar who will be entering his first full season as a pitcher will follow Lyles on Monday afternoon. Righty Eduardo Vera, and the hard throwing Jesus Liranzo are scheduled to pitch as well.

You can listen to today’s game on Pirates.com, as well as the MLB At Bat App. The game will also be broadcast on the Pirates’ flagship radio station – 93.7 The Fan in Pittsburgh.