Jeff Locke pitched 5.2 innings as the Pittsburgh Pirates won a rain-shortened game 4-2 Friday against the Minnesota Twins.
The game was called due to rain in the bottom of the eighth inning.
Locke is now 1-1 on the season and lowered his ERA from 9.00 to 6.59. He allowed: eight hits, two runs, walked three and struck out two batters. Antonio Bastardo picked up his first save and allowed a hit while striking out two batters in his inning of work. Blake Wood got the final out of the sixth inning striking out the lone batter he faced.
“The thing I was happy about today was that we got into the sixth inning, got the pitch count up, stayed healthy,” Locke said. “I like where I’m at right now. I’m right where I need to be.”
The Pirates first scored in the opening inning on a one-out home run from Gregory Polanco. The homer was Polanco’s first of the spring and cleared the right field seats. This was the sixth time the Pirates have scored in the first inning and also the second day in a row.
An additional run was scored in the second inning when center fielder Jaff Decker, who is battling Andrew Lambo for the team’s final bench spot, hit an RBI double that scored Jung-ho Kang. Kang came into the game hitting .111 however hit a one-out triple. Kang now has four hits on the spring with three of them being extra base hits.
Locke’s two runs were allowed in the third inning. Danny Santana opened the inning with a single and scored when the next batter Brian Dozier tripled. Mauer was the next Twins hitter to step to the plate and had an RBI ground out.
Tony Sanchez hit his third home run of the spring in the fourth inning, a homer that proved to be the game winning run. Sanchez who will start the season on the major league roster is hitting .452 with eight of his 14 hits being extra base hits. Sanchez also has a 25.8 percent strikeout rate this may which is a vast improvement over his 37.3 percent mark in 2014.
Starling Marte added a run in the fifth inning with an RBI double which scored Polanco. Polanco had a two-out double prior to Marte’s at-bat. Polanco was 2-for-4 at the plate to raise his batting average to .220 this spring.
The Pirates will host the Toronto Blue Jays Saturday at 1:05. Charlie Morton will start for the Pirates. The team will break its Grapefruit League attendance record as it is 334 fans shy of the 93,433 mark set in 2013.
Notebook: General Manager Neal Huntington spoke to the media and said that the loser of the Jeff Locke-Vance Worley battle for a spot in the team’s starting rotation will move to the bullpen.
Huntington also said that Jung-ho Kang will break camp with the Pirates on the Opening Day roster.
“We like the bat speed, we love the power,” said Huntington. “We like what he’s been able to do defensively at short and third. At second, the ability to make the blind turn was very intriguing, but we also know some reps are needed to make him feel comfortable there.”
With the 12 cuts the Pirates made Friday morning, 36 players at camp. This however includes Brandon Cumpton who is on the 60-day disabled list after having Tommy John surgery. The vast majority of the roster has been determined with a bench spot, and one-or-two places in the Pirates bullpen still up for grabs. Andrew Lambo and Jaff Decker are the front runners for the bench spot, though Pedro Florimon intrigues the team with his defense. Radhames Liz, John Holdzkom and Arquimedes Caminero are among those fighting for bullpen spots. Clayton Richard, Blake Wood and Wilkin Castillo are the three non-roster invitees that still are in major league camp.
Huntington also said that the expectation is for Chris Stewart to start the season on the disabled list.
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