Phils Walk Off Bucs, Today's Lineup & Notes

The Bucs got beat up at the start, beat up at the end, and the three-run first and ninth frames carried the Phils to an ugly 7-5 win. Jeff Locke gave up four runs in his stint, with the Pirates throwing  three balls (Fran Cervelli, Josh & Pedro) astray behind him. Angel Sanchez got a chance to close; another throw away (Tony Sanchez) set the stage for Ben Revere's two-out walkoff homer. The offense continued to roll, though. Cutch went 3-for-4, Starling  2-for-3, Jordy homered, and Jung-Ho & El Coffee both doubled and scored as the Pirates banged out 13 hits. Still, the club went 4-for-17 with RISP, so they had chances to run away and hide both offensively and defensively that they couldn't cash in.

Starling Marte - photo Dave Arrigo/Pirates

Today's Game: Charlie Morton climbs the hill at 1:05 as the Bucs close out the spring season at Citizens Park in a Philadelphia rematch. The game will be carried on 93.7 The Fan, and if you're up early looking for Easter eggs and chocolate bunnies, MLB Network will have the tape delay replay on at 6AM Sunday morning. After this match, the roster will be trimmed and Monday, Frankie Liriano and Johnny Cueto kick the Bucco season off.

Today's Lineup: Josh Harrison 3B, Gregory Polanco RF, Starling Marte CF, Neil Walker 2B, Pedro 1B, Jordy Mercer SS, Tony Sanchez C, Sean Rodriguez LF, Morton
Today's Bench: Fran Cervelli, Pedro Florimon, Jung-Ho Kang, Corey hart, Andrew Lambo and others.
Today's Pitchers: Jared Hughes, Mark Melancon, Arquimedes Caminero, Vance Worley, Stolmy Pimentel and more.
Cutch and Cervelli get the day off. None of the bubble guys have started this Phil exhibition set; we guess the decisions have been made and perhaps the FO is trying to move a body or two before the final cuts.

• The Bucs continued their emphasis on pitchers getting their swings as the Phils used a DH while Pittsburgh batted its hurlers. With pinch-hitters, Jeff Locke was the only pitcher to hit. He went 2-for-3 with a RBI.
• Tony Watson has tossd eight scoreless innings this spring while allowing just three hits and striking out 11.
• Pirate Prospects' Tim Williams catches up on Chris Volstad, the Bucs quiet reclamation project.
• Carson Cistulli of Fangraphs picks the Top Five Pirate prospects by their projected WAR.
• The Nats' Nate McLouth (shoulder) has yet to resume throwing, so he'll start the year on the DL.