Each day during spring training for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Pirates Breakdown will give you game recaps, news updates, and video of player and coach interviews, highlights, and more from the day.
The Pirates continued churning through spring training today, this time partaking in their first official split squad game (the first split squad day had one game essentially including all minor leaguers, and didn’t count towards Grapefruit League play). Home at McKechnie Field the Pirates took on the Atlanta Braves, while the away squad took on the Minnesota Twins at Hammond Stadium in Fort Myers. The team fell to the Braves 7-3 while besting the Twins 2-0.
On the road, Juan Nicasio took the mound and shined yet again. He pitched five innings of shutout ball, striking out eight and walking just two batters. At this point, it will probably be surprising if Nicasio doesn’t make the starting rotation on Opening Day. Nicasio still hasn’t allowed a run in 15 innings of work this spring, and his K/BB ratio is an ridiculous 24/5. On the offensive side, the Pirates only notched seven total hits, spread out throughout the lineup.
Against the Braves at home, Francisco Liriano didn’t fare so well, allowing four runs in 3.2 innings. He did manage to strike out five batters, and while his ERA sits at 6.23 this spring, Liriano has seemed to feel fine as he moves towards taking the ball on Opening Day. Daniel Bard allowed the other three runs as his spring ERA has ballooned to 16.20 in 1.2 innings of work. Jordy Mercer had two hits, while Liriano struck with the bat, hitting a solo shot to right field.
Here are some brief highlights from the Pirates matchup with the Braves:
Clint Hurdle gave come comments following the Braves game, including his take on Liriano:
And the man himself, Francisco Liriano, gave his take on his seemingly rough start against the Braves:
The Pirates have an off day tomorrow before taking on the Orioles at 1:05 PM on Wednesday. Tomorrow is the last off day for the Pirates this spring.
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