Bucs, Bosox Tie; Lineups & Notes

Who said baseball games don't end in ties? The Bucs and the Bosox played nine innings and ended up sister-smooching in a 2-2 draw. Starters Frankie Liriano and Wade Miley were in good form, with Francisco ringing up six whiffs in his four frames. The outing did take him 81 pitches, so he still could zero in on some quicker at-bats.

The Pirates scored when Starling Marte, who had a pair of knocks, singled, stole second and came around on a Corey Hart knock. The next run was scored by Gorkys Hernandez, who is quietly having a nice spring, hitting over .350. He tripled and plated on a Clint Hurdle special, a suicide squeeze dropped down by Gustav Nunez. Deolis Guerra gave up one Red Sox run, and the tying tally came in on a two-out, ninth inning single off Stolmy Pimentel, who is not having a nice spring. His ERA is 9.00.

Marte Partay; he steals second and scores on Corey Hart's single (photo Dave Arrigo/Pirates)

Tomorrow's Game: The Pirates go on the road to Kissimmee to meet the Astros in a 1:05 match. Charlie Morton will toe the rubber. He missed his last outing, instead pitching a minor-league sim game. The game will be aired by the MLB Network and on 93.7 The Fan.

The Lineup: Josh Harrison 3B, Jordy Mercer SS, Gregory Polanco RF, Tony Sanchez C, Pedro 1B, Jaff Decker CF, Steve Lombardozzi LF, Pedro Florimon 2B, Morton P.
The Bench: Andrew Lambo, Gustav Nunez, Gorkys Hernandez, Brent Morel, Sebastian Valle, Deibinson Romero.
The Pitchers: John Holdzkom, Blake Wood, Rob Scahill.

Cutch is still out; Hurdle said he'd be running bases today. Just idle speculation, but sounds like he's working through a hammy/groin tweak; he's not slated to play tomorrow, either. Brent Morel is back after being on injury ice for a spell. And hey - who ever thought they'd see Tony Sanchez hitting cleanup? Josh has been hitting leadoff a lot; looks like he'll be back in the top spot again in 2015. 

• Frankie, Tony Watson and Antonio Bastardo K'ed 12 Red Sox in six innings, with Watson & Bastardo striking out the side.
• Jung-Ho Kang was scratched today. He's not hurt, just getting in some extra work. He's a scratch for tomorrow, so the staff is emphasizing some field drills for him during his transition from full-time KBO All-Star to Pirate prospect.