Ke'Bryan Hayes, Bryan Reynolds home runs highlight Pirate offensive outburst

Feb 20, 2024; Bradenton, FL, USA;  Pittsburgh Pirates third baseman Ke'Bryan Hayes (13) poses for a
Feb 20, 2024; Bradenton, FL, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates third baseman Ke'Bryan Hayes (13) poses for a | Kim Klement Neitzel-USA TODAY Sports
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Home runs from Ke'Bryan Hayes and Bryan Reynolds powered the Pirate offense as Marco Gonzales struggled in a Grapefruit League victory for the team

Entering Tuesday afternoon's action, the Pittsburgh Pirates were 0-3 in Grapefruit League play. Well, the team is now in the win column. This comes following a 13-4 victory over the Atlanta Braves on Tuesday, improving to 1-3 in the Grapefruit League.

Marco Gonzales struggles in Pirate Grapefruit League debut

Marco Gonzales was acquired from the Atlanta Braves via trade in December. With this, Gonzales was immediately penciled into the Pirate starting rotation. On Tuesday, he made his first Grapefruit League start with the Bucs.

The 1st inning saw Gonzales suffer from some soft contact that found holes. In the 2nd inning, however, Gonzales would really struggle. After retiring the first two batters of the inning, Gonzales issued a walk and hit a batter. He also allowed three balls in play with an exit velocity greater than 96 MPH.

This resulted in Gonzales failing to finish the 2nd inning. He pitched 1.2 innings on the day, allowing 3 runs on 6 hits, a walk, a hit batter, and a pair of strikeouts. While stats in Spring Training do not matter much, results and performance do. Neither the results or performance from Gonzales were encouraging, especially considering he already enters the season with red flags and concerns.

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