Rays and Notes

Who'd thunk that the Steelers would be more active in the FA market than the Bucs...?

• Pedro Alvarez and Travis Ishikawa hit long, with-the-wind home runs (El Toro's went an estimated 440') to lead the Pirates to an 8-4 win over the Minnesota Twins yesterday. 
• The Bucs visit the Rays today for a 1:05 game. The lineup: Starling Marte LF, Russ Martin C, Cutch CF, Gaby Sanchez 1B, Neil Walker 2B, Jordy Mercer SS, Jose Tabata RF, Josh Harrison 3B and Tony Sanchez DH. Jeanmar Gomez will start.
• Dejan Kovacevic of the Tribune Review stated his case for giving Andrew Lambo a shot.
• Tim Williams of Pirates Prospects reported that RHP prospect Clay Holmes is experiencing elbow tightness, and is scheduled to visit Dr. James Andrews next Wednesday for further evaluation. Holmes had issues with his elbow last year, and a visit to the good doc is rarely a good thing.
• MLB.com has a batch of Bucco farm articles: Teddy Cahill looks at a strong system; Bernie Pleskoff tries to figure out where the prospects fit in the overall scheme and, of course, the Top Twenty list of prospects.
• Ever wonder what an Advance Video Scout does? Well, Pirate AVS Jonathan Plaut tells Batting Leadoff all about the job.