Bucs Win, Lineup & Notes

Gregory Polanco homered and so did Tony Sanchez as the Bucs defeated the Twins 4-2 yesterday. Jung-Ho Kang tripled and scored; Starling Marte and Jaff Decker had RBI doubles. Jeff Locke gave up both runs over 5-2/3 IP. It was a short game; a Florida rainstorm brought it to a halt in the eighth inning after Blake Wood and Antonio Bastardo got what would prove to be the final four outs.

Jung-Ho Kang - the transition hasn't been easy (photo Dave Arrigo/Pirates)

Today's Game: The Bucs face the Blue Jays at McKechnie in a 1:05 contest with Charlie Morton taking the ball. The game will be aired by 93.7 The Fan.

The Lineup: Jordy Mercer SS, Gregory Polanco RF, Cutch CF, Neil Walker 2B, Corey Hart 1B, Andrew Lambo LF, Francisco Cervelli C, Sean Rodriguez 3B, Morton P.
The Bench: Jaff Decker, Wilkins Castillo, Tony Sanchez, Pedro Florimon, Jung-Ho Kang and a minor league group led by Reese McGuire.
The Pitchers: Mark Melancon (Happy B-Day!), Jared Hughes, Rob Scahill and minor league guys led by Zack Dodson.

The innings are getting tougher to come by for the players remaining on the major league roster. Clint's working in the regulars and making sure the bench guys get a couple of swings before camp breaks. Decisions still loom for the fifth starter, the last player on the bench and the bullpen composition, so the games still are meaningful for a handful of fringers.

• The Pirates are featured on tonight's "30 Clubs in 30 Days" on MLB Network at 7PM.
• Neal Huntington says Pedro Florimon is still in the hunt for the final bench spot. That says something about wanting a late-inning glove guy on the bench and the versatility of the players that have already won spots on the pine.
• Justin Sellers still has an Achilles problem and Chris Stewart is slowly getting back into action with a hammy issue.
• Commissioner Rob Manfred visited camp today. Notably, he gave the Bucco ownership & FO lots of love and backed off his stance of looking into defensive shifting.