The Pirates' dream of starting another Grapefruit League winning streak was short lived as the Rays got to top pitching prospect Mitch Keller for 4 runs in the first inning on their way to a 10-4 win over the Bucs at LECOM Park.
Keller's second pitch of the game was a home run to Joey Wendle and then it got worse. Keller walked 2 and gave up 2 more hits including a 2-run double by Mike Zunino who also made one of the outs when he tried for a triple and was thrown out at 3rd base. It was Keller's only inning (he was supposed to go 2), but he took it in stride. "Just too many pitches," Keller shrugged, "they didn't want to run me back out there and there's no need to overdo it right now; it's spring training.
Clay Holmes walked 2 batters in the third inning and scrambled out of trouble but in the fourth, after 2 outs, he hit a batter then issued another walk so that was it for him. Lefty Brandon Waddell then promptly gave up a 3-run bomb to Avasail Garcia to make it 7-0.
It was also a tough eighth inning for 6-10 right hander Aaron Slegers who, after pitching a scoreless seventh, allowed two infield hits then hit a batter to load the bases with no outs. Dalton Kelly doubled home two runs then a third scored on an infield out for what turned out to be the 10-2 final.
2 players on each team were hit by piches. Junh Ho Kang and Pablo Reyes were hit first (Reyes in the back) so when Holmes hit Willy Adames the next inning, Rays manager Kevin Cash started yelling from the dugout at Clint Hurdle who by that point had seen his pitchers walk 6 batters. "Nobody's got any time for that," Hurdle shook his head, "it's spring training."
Reyes hit his second HR of the spring off Rays lefty Jalen Beeks to get the Bucs on the board in the bottom of the fourth. The other run came in the 7th after Cole Tucker walked, Ke'Bryan Hayes doubled him to third and Tucker scored on Colin Moran's sacrifice fly. Hayes is 5-for-12 with 3 doubles and 2 HRs. The Pirates tacked on 2 runs off former Bucco Casey Sadler in the ninth, one on an error and the other on an RBI single by Will Craig.
Lonnie Chisenhall said his removal from Saturday's game for "extreme lower extremities tightness" was merely a precaution. "You can never be too cautious in spring training," Chisenhall explained. "It (was) March 2nd and I didn't feel like I had my legs under me so I communicated that." He says he will "spend the next couple days getting' back right."
The Pirates don't play tomorrow, the first of 2 off days during spring training. Chris Archer is scheduled to start Tuesday in Sarasota against the Orioles so he will be the first of the top 4 starting pitchers to face opposing hitters.
