Sights & Sounds from Pittsburgh Pirates Spring Training – games finally get underway

Each day during spring training for the Pittsburgh Pirates, we’ll be giving you game recaps, news updates, and exclusive video of player and coach interviews, highlights, and more from the day.

Welcome to our first daily edition of Sights & Sounds from Pirates Spring Training (we have had a few of these in the past week, but we start in earnest today!). We’ll be giving you daily coverage of the day’s events in spring training for the Pirates, including a brief recap of the day’s game (if there was one), any news updates, and exclusive video, including interviews with players and coaches and highlights of the game(s).

Today was the first official spring training game for the Pirates as the team visited Joker Marchand Stadium in Lakeland, Florida to take on the Detroit Tigers. The Pirates pulled out a 4-2 win, and while we all know the outcomes don’t matter, there are still topics of note to discuss.

In the game, Francisco Cervelli drove a solo shot to left in his first at-bat of the spring, and Jordy Mercer later doubled that score with a shot of his own. Two guys trying to claim a bench spot on Opening Day in Alen Hanson and Jason Rogers each drove in a run, and Rob Scahill, fighting his own battle for a place in the bullpen, gave up a two-run home run to Victor Martinez. Kyle Lobstein started the day for the Pirates and pitched two innings of shutout ball.

Here are some highlights from the game, including Cervelli’s bomb and a slick play by off-season pickup Cole Figueroa:

Cervelli gave some comments after the game, including his take on Lobstein and if the Pirates should be worries about their recent slow starts to the season:

And Lobstein, facing his former team, talked about getting back out on the mound, facing real competition for the first time in months:

Guys like Hanson, Rogers, and Lobstein are definitely focusing on having good springs, and not just on working out some kinks in their game. In the booth, it was cool to hear new addition Joe Block, as he seemed to be having a good time opposite Steve Blass, and he definitely has done his research on all there is to know about the Pirates’ players. It will be difficult replacing Tim Neverett, but it’s cool to have a new voice in the mix. We got to see former Pirate Casey McGehee in the field, and former Pirate prospect JaCoby Jones at shortstop for the Tigers, who was hit with a 50-game suspension for PEDs last November, in action. Andrew McCutchen didn’t make the trip to Lakeland with the team, but that’s normal to see; it will certainly happen plenty of more times. And Pirates’ infielder Gift Ngoepe made some nice defensive plays in the field; while he doesn’t have much of a bat, it will be interesting to see if he becomes the first black South African player to reach the major leagues. He could do some at some point this season after reaching Triple-A last season.

The Pirates return to McKechnie Field in Bradenton tomorrow to cap off a home-and-home with the Tigers. Jeff Locke will take the mound and face off against Buck Farmer.

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