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.
Today was another day in spring training when the off the field news trumped the game. It was announced today that Juan Nicasio would get the final spot in the rotation come Opening Day, and Ryan Vogelsong would go to the pen; make sure to check out all of the details of that news here.
This news shouldn’t come as much surprise to anyone, as Nicasio has had a stellar spring and shows a higher ceiling than Vogelsong. At some point this season, though, one or two of Nicasio, Vogelsong, and Jeff Locke will be replaced by Tyler Glasnow and/or Jameson Taillon.
The Pirates did have a game today, though, as spring training winds to a close. The team still has a couple roster spots to decide on, most notably who gets the final two bullpen spots and who locks up the end of the bench. Today, the Pirates avoided a loss but still couldn’t pull out a victory as the team tied with the Boston Red Sox in a 4-4 contest.
Jon Niese was on the mound, and even though he’s going to be in the rotation come Opening Day, his rough spring continued. He gave up two runs on five hits in four innings of work as his spring ERA sits at 8.40. This may have been the last pitching outing for Niese before Opening Day. Cory Luebke pitched a scoreless inning, as he competes for one of the final two bullpen spots. He may not have been given the opportunity for a bullpen spot before, but the injury to Jared Hughes and the trade of Eric O’Flaherty helps his case.
The Pirates managed eight hits on the day, three of which came from Andrew McCutchen, who is having a quality spring. While his average only sits at .279, he hit his sixth home run of the spring today, a two-run shot in the seventh inning. This total set a new spring training career high, surpassing his 2014 total of five home runs. Gregory Polanco had two hits and an RBI, and Jason Rogers notched an RBI as well.
The Pirates travel to take on the Tampa Bay Rays tomorrow at 1:05 PM to close out the month of March.
Unfortunately we don’t have video available to us today, but, as always, here are some select tweets from the day to keep you up to date. Enjoy!
https://twitter.com/BiertempfelTrib/status/715224991797796865
https://twitter.com/BiertempfelTrib/status/715196619386458112
https://twitter.com/BiertempfelTrib/status/715139848018010112
https://twitter.com/BiertempfelTrib/status/715242928415891456
https://twitter.com/BiertempfelTrib/status/715276821630214144
https://twitter.com/BiertempfelTrib/status/715292720416342016
FWIW, entering today, Jaso has made one error in 92 chances this spring at first base
— Travis Sawchik (@Travis_Sawchik) March 30, 2016
Hurdle said the Pirates will set their rotation against the Reds after Nicasio and Cole throw this weekend.
— Bill Brink (@Bill_Brink2) March 30, 2016
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