Sights & Sounds from Pittsburgh Pirates Spring Training – battling the O’s

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.

Opening Day is inching closer and is less than two weeks away. Soon we’ll get to see a more steady spring training lineup that should reflect what the regular season lineup will be. We’ll also see more cut days as the roster gets trimmed down to the final 25 players.

But today spring training churned forward. After having an off day two days ago, the team’s last of the spring, the Pirates beat the Orioles 6-5 yesterday. That score was flipped today as the Pirates fell 6-5 in the team’s final meeting with the Orioles this spring. Jon Niese took the mound for the Pirates and had a rough start, giving up four runs but pitching six full innings. Typically the Pirates have only allowed their starting pitchers to go two or three innings so far this spring, but as Opening Day nears, we’ll see the starters go longer into games as they would in the regular season. Niese’s ERA now sits at 9.82 for the spring.

On the offensive side, multiple Pirates notched multiple hits on the day. Matt Joyce stood out, as he was 2-4 on the day with a solo home run and an RBI single. As he competes for one of the final bench spots, this was a day he needed to have. The Pirates likely want a left-handed bat off the bench, but his play this spring has left much to be desired so far.

Cole Figueroa also had two hits on the day, and he’s batting .257 so far this spring. Figueroa may have the inside track to the final bench spot as his defense has shined this spring and his offense hasn’t been as bad as many expected it would be.

Tomorrow the Pirates travel to take on the Red Sox in a 6:05 PM game as they move towards the final week of spring training.

Here now are some brief highlights from the game:

Jon Niese comments on his start, and says he feels pretty good right now:

Clint Hurdle comments about being more aggressive on the base-paths and more:

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