Bucs v Blue Jays; Pirates Rally Past Phils 7-5; Camp Notes

Today: The Pirates visit the Blue Jays at Dunedin Stadium for a 1:07 clash. Joe Musgrove v Marco Estrada is the opening card with Kyle Crick, Josh Smoker & Kevin Siegrist on deck. The lineup is the B-Team; only Cervy & Fraze made the cut today. The game will be aired on 93.7 The Fan.

Yesterday: IvaNova wasn't real sharp in his Opening Day tune up, going three innings and giving up two runs on five hits with a walk and three whiffs. But he left with a 3-2 lead thanks to to a two-run shot by Spring Superman Fran Cervelli behind a J-Bell double and Freeser RBI knock in the second. They added on when Freese doubled and scored on a Corey Dickerson knock. It was tied up in the sixth off Tyler Glasnow, who gave up a pair in 3-2/3 IP on five hits with six K. Pittsburgh iced it in the seventh when Will Craig homered, Colin Moran singled, then Josh and Joey O hit back-to-back two baggers to make it 7-4. Dovy Neverauskas and Johnny Hellweg cruised out from there, with the last Rays' run unearned after a two-out, two-base boot, wild pitch and infield single to make the final 7-5.

Notes:

• Cervy, J-Hay and Moran each had a pair of knocks; the Pirates had 12 hits on the day. 
• Bryce Brentz was placed on outright waivers yesterday; Joey O won that battle. The question is will he win the war as the Bucs debate carrying one less bench guy and one more pitcher when camp breaks. As for Brentz, he said that if he clears waivers, he's likely to re-sign with the Pirates.
• Don't be surprised if Kevin Siegrist starts in the minors; the possibility has been tossed around by Neil Huntington and his velo has yet to recover from arm woes, so the Bucs may look to strengthen his arm before using him in the show.
• Baseball America has some season predictions; they pick the Buccos as one of its surprise teams ("The Pirates have more bounceback or breakout candidates than just about any team...") and Starling as one of its comeback candidates.
• Think what you may of his managing chops, Clint is tireless working for kids. On Friday night, he hosted a Hot Stove Dinner to support the Prader-Willi Syndrome Association USA, bringing along ol' Bucco Omar Moreno.
• Looks like RHP Drew Hutchison will break camp with the Phils. He was just added to their 40-man roster after signing a minor league deal earlier in the spring.
• Best laid plans: the Giants tooled up w/Cutch and company, then double trouble hit - Jeff Samardzija strained his right pec and will be out 3-5 weeks, then Madison Bumgarner broke a finger when smacked by a rocket up the middle; he's expected to miss six weeks. Que sera, sera...