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Pittsburgh Pirates Grapefruit League Game 12: Facing The Red Sox On ESPN

By Marty Leap

PITTSBURGH, PA - SEPTEMBER 23: Nick Kingham #49 of the Pittsburgh Pirates reacts as Travis Shaw #21 of the Milwaukee Brewers rounds the bases after hitting a three-run home run in the second inning during the game at PNC Park on September 23, 2018 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin Berl/Getty Images)
PITTSBURGH, PA - SEPTEMBER 23: Nick Kingham #49 of the Pittsburgh Pirates reacts as Travis Shaw #21 of the Milwaukee Brewers rounds the bases after hitting a three-run home run in the second inning during the game at PNC Park on September 23, 2018 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin Berl/Getty Images) /
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On Wednesday afternoon, the Pittsburgh Pirates will be on national TV for the first time this spring

Following a 10-4 victory over the Baltimore Orioles on Tuesday afternoon, the Pittsburgh Pirates own a 5-5-1 record in Grapefruit League play. Next up for the Bucs is a Wednesday afternoon trip south to Fort Myers. When the Pirates arrive in Fort Myers, the defending World Series Champion Boston Red Sox will be waiting for them.

Wednesday afternoon’s game will be the second this spring between the Pirates and Red Sox. It will also be the team’s spring TV debut. Wednesday afternoon’s game will be televised nationally on ESPN.

When the game starts Nick Kingham will get the ball for the Pirates. Kingham is competing with Jordan Lyles, Steven Brault, and Rookie Davis for the final spot in the team’s starting rotation. If he does not win a spot in the rotation, Kingham, who is out of minor league options, will have an opportunity to earn a spot in the Opening Day bullpen.

Wednesday will be Kingham’s third outing of the spring and he is in need of a good one. After pitching two scoreless innings against the Marlins in his first outing of the spring, Kingham was roughed up last time out. In 3 innings of work against the Phillies, Kingham allowed five runs on six hits, a walk, and two home runs. If he is going to earn the final spot in the Pirate rotation, Kingham must pitch better than that.

After Kingham’s day ends, five more pitchers are scheduled to pitch for the Pirates. Righties Kyle Crick and Richard Rodriguez will each get some work in as they prepare to be key member’s of the bullpen in 2019. Veteran lefty Tyler Lyons will make his third appearance of the spring in an effort to win a spot in the bullpen. In addition, Dovydas Neverauskas and Jesus Liranzo, both of whom are ticketed for Triple-A to begin the season, are scheduled to pitch as well.

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First pitch from Fort Myers is scheduled for 1:05 PM. If you can not watch the game on ESPN, you can listen to the game on pirates.com.

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