PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – Pirates took a group of their most veteran players trying to make the MLB roster and faced a near-starting lineup Yankees team in Tampa Wednesday night.
It ended up being an entertaining game as the Bucs came back from 5 down to tie it only to have young righty Blake Cederlind walk in a run in the bottom of the 8th. Final, 6-5 New York.
Cederlind allowed a hit, hit a batter and walked two to go with two strikeouts.
Stanton/Torres Bomb
Pirates starter Tyler Anderson gave up singles to Aaron Judge and Brett Gardner to lead off the third. Needing a strike, Anderson threw a change-up to Giancarlo Stanton right over the middle of the plate. The big Yankees righty hit a 115 mile an hour missile over the left field wall for a three-run homer.
Next batter on the next pitch, Glayber Torres hit a 429-foot homer as Anderson gave up 4 straight hits in the third inning.
Anderson would never officially get out of the inning, trailing 5-0. Bucs called for a rollover inning as Anderson reached 59 pitches overall, 39 were strikes. The lefty gave up five runs on eight hits, struck out two with no walks.
CFs homer
Pirates tied the game in the fifth inning as Brian Goodwin hit a grand slam and Jared Oliva hit a solo homer, both off former Pirate Justin Wilson.
“It definitely helps,” Goodwin said. “It’s never a bad thing to hit a homer. At the end of the day, it’s one swing. There are a number of at bats to be had from this point on. It is something you can take and build some confidence off of.”
Goodwin believes he’s had better at bats so far than the results would show (.184 batting average), noting he’s faced some of the better pitchers as well. He believes he’s in a good spot.
Oliva homered over the left field wall after getting his first opportunity in the majors last season 3 hits in 16 at bats in 6 games. Kind of a forgotten name with Anthony Alford healthy, Goodwin signed and now the addition of Dustin Fowler
“Last year in camp, he appeared to be nervous,” said manager Derek Shelton said of Oliva. “New staff, in camp he was very tentative in everything. This year he looks like he’s having fun.”
Shelton said he’s more mature and it just feels like he belongs.
“The big thing with this group,” Shelton said of the centerfielders. “We have athletes. Athleticism stands out. That’s the thing that’s been the most interesting to me.”
“We are all out there competing and giving it our best,” Goodwin said. “Deep down we know what is at stake.”
Veteran bullpen righties shine
Richard Rodriguez gave up a hit over two scoreless innings striking out four including Stanton and Torres back-to-back.
“It feels great,” Rodriguez said. “More importantly, I feel good. I feel comfortable. I feel healthy. I’m excited for this season, especially to help my team.”
Michael Feliz pitched a three-up, three-down inning. David Bednar gave up two hits in his inning, but also struck out two allowing no runs.
Up next
A really interesting pitching matchup at 1:05 against the Orioles on Thursday. Bucs righty Mitch Keller against Cy Young Award winner Felix Hernandez. ‘The King’ signed a minor league deal after 15 years in Seattle, 169 wins and 2,524 strikeouts.