PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – There are only a couple of veterans on the Pirates roster this year and a two of them homered in the first Pirates Grapefruit League game. Gregory Polanco hit a 2-run homer in the third and Todd Frazier hit a 2-run homer in the fifth in a 6-4, 8-inning win.
“It felt really good,” Frazier said. “First game getting out there, trying to get acclimated. Getting one over the wall was pretty nice. Just trying to square a couple of balls up whether I get hits or not. I’ll take that first day for sure.”
“I know I hit it well,” Polanco said. “I hit it with the barrel. It was just a little bit late. As soon as I hit I knew I had a chance. That’s why I watched it.”
Polanco said it was a good start to Spring Training and he appreciated the loud cheering from his teammates.
As for the fly ball he dropped later in the game?
“I called it early,” Polanco said. “The wind was blowing hard from right to left field. As I was under it, it kept drifting. The ball hit off my palm.”
Ke'Bryan Hayes had a RBI double. Kevin Newman and Eric Gonzalez each had two hits.
Pitchers struck out 10
Starter Chad Kuhl gave up a couple of hits, but also struck out three in his inning of work starting the game. Sam Howard gave up an unearned run, but struck out two.
Wil Crowe, Clay Holmes, Nick Mears, Shea Spitzbarth all pitched a scoreless inning with a strikeout.
Rise for Mancini
The Orioles first batter got a standing ovation, not because it’s the first Baltimore batter of the year. Trey Mancini is recovering from Stage 3 colon cancer and all in the ballpark including both teams stood to salute his return. After the umpire stepped aside, the 29-year-old first baseman absorbed the moment and tipped his cap.
“Much deserved,” Frazier said of the applause for Mancini. “Not only a great athlete, a great person who means well. To see him come back and fight to be the man he is. You root for a man like that.”
The goal is for Mancini, who didn’t play at all in 2020, to be strong enough to be ready to play Opening Day.
Fans return
As Pirates broadcaster Greg Brown said early during the first broadcast on 93.7 The Fan, it was the best baseball atmosphere since 2019 since some fans were able to return. Orioles allowing 25% of fans at Ed Smith Stadium.
“They got pretty loud,” Frazier said. “It was good to hear some yelling. Some fans screaming at the umpire. Kind of the norm, hopefully we can keep that rolling.”
“You almost forget what it even felt like what it felt like not to have fans in the stands,” said Colin Moran. “Once they came back, it felt natural. It was definitely something that was missed last year. Whether they are getting all over you about something you did wrong or they are cheering for you. It was nice to have some kind of energy.”
The Pirates will also allow 25% of fans at LECOM Park. The home portion of the Spring Training schedule begins Tuesday at 1:05 against Detroit.
Pitt faces Pittsburgh
Righty Isaac Matson, a 19th round pick out of Pitt in 2017, threw the fifth inning for the Orioles giving up the 2-run home run to Todd Frazier. That is the only hit he allowed to go with a pair of walks and a strikeout.
The 6’2” righty went 6-3 with a 2.33 ERA pitching at all three levels in 2019. Mattson struck out 110 in 73 innings with a 1.01 WHIP.
New, old rule
The return of the relaxed inning rule affected the first inning of the season. The Pirates had runners on with two outs in the top of the first, but the inning ended. It’s Baseball Rule 5.09(e) which allows defensive managers to end an inning prior to three outs following any completed plate appearance, provided the pitcher has thrown at least 20 pitches.
Such was the case after Todd Frazier’s strikeouts and Baltimore ended the inning. That didn’t allow Eric Gonzalez to get an at bat. Gonzalez would end up with a hit as the first batter of the second inning.
There is also no three-batter rule for pitchers before March 14 and pitchers can re-enter games. Games may also be shortened to five-or-seven inning games through March 13 upon agreement from both sides. Sunday’s game was shortened to 8.