Jung-ho Kang played the hero in the Pittsburgh Pirates third consecutive Spring Training victory Saturday. Kang came into the game hitting .129, but left with a .171 average after a 2-for-4 day with three RBI.
Kang broke what was a 1-1 tie in the seventh inning with an RBI single then won the game in the ninth inning with a two-run home run, his second homer of the spring. Kang’s seventh inning RBI came against former Pirate closer Jason Grilli.
Stolmy Pimentel made the start for the Pirates and made his last case to stick with the team come Opening Day. Pimentel is out of options and has had an inconsistent spring. Pimentel was 1-1 with a 6.75 ERA coming into this start but allowed one hit over the course of two innings. This lowered Pimentel’s ERA to 5.40.
The Pirates first scored in the third inning when Pedro Florimon hit a sacrifice fly that scored Austin Meadows. Meadows, was the ninth overall pick in the 2013 First-Year Player Draft and started the contest in right field. Meadows was 1-for-4 with a triple.
The Braves tied the game two innings later when Chris Johnson hit a home run off Radhames Liz. Johnson now has two homers this spring and both are off Pirates pitching.
Liz threw three innings allowing the one hit and run while walking two and striking out three batters. Like Pimentel, Liz is out of options and has a 2.08 ERA in Spring Training.
After a tough stretch to start the spring, Antonio Bastardo has been able to put up zeros and in this game did not allow a base runner while striking out two batters. Bastardo is tied for second among Pirates pitchers with 12 strike outs this spring.
John Holdzkom followed Bastardo’s lead pitching an additional zero on the scoreboard. Holdzkom both walked and struck out a batter.
Phil Gosselin tied the game with an RBI single off Blake Wood. Gosselin’s hit scored Todd Cunningham. After Kang’s ninth inning homer, Yonathan Barrios set the side down in order to close the game earning his first save.
On the injury front, Jaff Decker departed the game in the sixth inning after running the bases because of left calf discomfort, no further information was given following the contest.
The Pirates will conclude the home portion of its Spring Training schedule Monday against the Philadelphia Phillies. The 1:05 p.m. first pitch will be thrown by Adrian Sampson for the Pirates. Zach Eflin will start for the Phillies, while Mark Melancon and Tony Watson will be used in relief for the Pirates. The game will be webcast on pirates.com
Photo credit: Gene J. Puskar/AP
