Pirates news - Spring Training notebook: Pirates defeat Tigers behind Davis home run and more

On Saturday afternoon, it was a strong, full-team effort performance for the Pittsburgh Pirates, defeating the Detroit Tigers 7-3. Takeaways from the victory, as well as news from around baseball in today's Spring Training notebook.

In Saturday's win, the Pirates saw second-year catcher Henry Davis smash his second home run of the spring, a 419-foot blast that was 108.7 mph off the bat, the hardest hit ball of the game while six of nine pitchers had scoreless outings.

Other notables include right fielder, non-roster invitee Matt Gorski also hitting a home run in the ninth inning that was 108.6 mph off the bat and went 421 feet, and infielder Nick Gonzales continuing his quality start to the spring going 1-for-3 with a run scored.

Starting pitcher Roansy Contreras had an up-an-down outing on Saturday.

He threw 50 pitches, going 2.1 innings, allowing one hit and three walks, he also struck out one. Despite allowing four base runners to reach base, he did not allow a run in his time on the mound.

As evident with his three walks, Contreras struggled with finding the plate at times, managing just 24 strikes on his 49 pitches. His fastball velocity was sitting at an average of 94.7 mph while topping out of 95.8.

He also worked in his curveball and slider quite a bit with 11 curveballs and 10 sliders.

It was by no means a good day for Contreras but it wasn't a terrible day either, that being said, the 24-year-old right-hander will need to begin to be more consistent with his command the rest of the way this spring as he fights for a spot in the Pirate starting rotation.

Other notables on the mound include 36-year-old right-hander, Chase Anderson who signed a a minor-league deal with a spring training invite last month, making his spring debut for the Pirates on Saturday. He pitched two scoreless innings in the win while walking two and striking out one.

Control was an issue for the Pirates across the board in the victory, walking a whopping 11 Tigers hitters in the game while striking out 10.

LOOKING AHEAD TO SUNDAY

While we don't know entirely who the Pirates will be using on the mound on Sunday, we do know that left-hander Martín Pérez will be making his Pirate Grapefruit League debut as the Pirates host the Baltimore Orioles at LECOM Park. The Pirates will go up against one of the Orioles' top young pitchers, right-hander Grayson Rodriguez.

Pérez is coming off a 2023 season in which he was 10-4 with a 4.45 ERA, appearing in 35 games for the World Series champion Texas Rangers including 20 starts. Marty will have more on Pérez's debut on the site on Sunday morning.

AROUND THE LEAGUE

On Friday night, the San Francisco Giants signed free agent third baseman Matt Chapman to a three-year deal worth $54 million. The Giants in recent days have also been tied to free agent pitcher Blake Snell.

The Atlanta Braves are waiting to hear more on superstar outfield Ronald Acuña Jr. who recently received an MRI on his knee that showed irritation in the right meniscus according to Justin Toscano. As of now, the Braves expect him to be ready for opening day.