Thursday: Bucs at Bosox - Nova v Chris Sale, Lineup, Notes, Bucs Beat Birds 6-5

Today: The Pirates hop the bus to Fort Myers to meet the Red Sox in JetBlue Park at Fenway South. It's the Bucs first game under the lights, starting at 6:05. Audio will be available via webcast at pirates.com. For the nightowls and/or those handy with taping games, the MLB Network will show the game again at 2 AM Friday.

Lineup (starters): Adam Frazier SS, Phil Gosselin 2B, Josh Bell 1B, Jose Osuna LF, Elias Diaz C, Alen Hanson RF, Eury Perez CF, Gift Ngoepe 3B & Ivan Nova P. Mix-and-match continues to be the spring theme.

Josh is the closest to a starter in tonight's lineup (2015 Bowman)

Pitchers: Ivan Nova, Edgar Santana, AJ Schugel, Dan Runzler and Dovydas Neverauskas. Nova, Santana & Runzler have been lights out this spring; AJ & Davydos, not so much...

Yesterday's Game:  Jamo went four frames, giving up a run, and Antonio Bastardo & Juan Nicasio both had strong outings. The Goose went opposite field for a granny while Jose Osuna and Freeser added RBIs, and all together it was just enough to survive another Jared Hughes implosion (2/3-IP, four runs w/three earned) to take a 6-5 win from the O's. Each team had one big frame, with Pittsburgh putting up a five-spot fifth and the Birds ringing up four in the seventh.  Despite the score, the pitching was generally sound - each side collected just five hits.

Notes:

• The Pirates meet the Red Sox to kick off the season at Fenway. The matchups are: April 3rd/Opening Day) Gerrit Cole v Rick Porcello; April 5th) Jameson Taillon v Chris Sale; April 6th) Neither team has settled on a starter. 

Starling is back in action (2016 Topps Series 1)

• Injury report: Starling Marte, who has missed the past three DR games in the WBC with a swollen ankle, is expected back in the lineup today. Jason Rogers, who was a camp longshot, is out of his boot (he's been gimpy since 3/2) and cleared for baseball drills except for full-speed running. Pity; he was having a strong spring, but the bad wheel cost him a good look while the WBC'ers were away.
• Cool Chad tossed four zeroes (57 pitches) in camp yesterday and Josh Lindblom threw three frames (52 pitches) against AAA batters. Fran and Eric Wood are back in Bradenton today after their WBC stint while Jacob Stallings has also returned from maternity leave.
• Mike Wysocki of The Pittsburgh City Paper put together a list of the Top 10 Bucco pitchers of the past 50 years and left lots of room for debate.
• There are 14 spring games left after tonite for the brass to determine the bench, bullpen and fifth starter. 
• The Missouri Sports Hall of Fame in Springfield will dedicate a life-size bronze statue of Bill Virdon on Thursday, May 25th. The Quail has been a member of the Show-Me HoF since 1983.
• The Yankees signed RHP Ernesto Frieri, who was the return for Jason Grilli back in the day, to a minor-league deal with camp invite.