Sunday, March 3, 2019

Sunday: The Rays Visit Bradenton, Yesterday's Recap, Notes

Game: Tampa Bay comes to LECOM Park, with the game starting at 1:05, broadcast by 93.7 The Fan.

Lineup: Kevin Newman SS, Jung Ho Kang 3B, Colin Moran DH, Fran Cervelli 1B, Pat Kivlehan LF, Jose Osuna RF, Pablo Reyes CF, Kevin Kramer 2B, Jake Stallings C (Mitch Keller P). Cervy at first and Joey O in the OF; the K's up the middle, and Pablo in center, where the Bucs are still looking for someone to back up Starling. The mid-game OF will be Jason Martin, Bryan Reynolds and JB Shuck, with Will Craig and Ke'Bryan Hayes at the corners and Cole Tucker at SS. Alfredo Reyes is at second (wonder whassup with Fraze and Nick Franklin?) and Christian Kelley behind the dish. None of the ex-Bucco contingent for the Rays made the trip.

Pitchers: RHP Mitch Keller v RHP Ryne Stanek. Mitch will be followed by righties Clay Holmes, Kyle Crick, Nick Burdi, Aaron Slegers, Geoff Hartlieb and Luis Escobar.

Mitch on the mound (photo Dave Arrigo/Pirates)
Yesterday: Jordan Lyles isn't doing much to claim the back end spot. He gave up three runs in three innings, one per frame, on seven hits (three doubles) and two walks, although one score was due to a Josh Bell misadventure. The Bucs chipped away in the third with a Ke'Bryan Hayes double and Steve Baron knock. Pittsburgh went on a spree in the fourth. A Kevin Kramer single and error on the play scored J-Bell and Erik Gonzalez, followed by a walk to Hayes and another Baron RBI knock. Corey D tripled them home, and the Pirates had a 6-3 edge. It was also a go-go inning as the Bucs swiped three sacks.

Frankie gave NY a run back in the sixth when a leadoff double came home via back-to-back grounders. The Pirates left a runner on third in their half, then picked up two more tallies on consecutive two-out doubles by Will Craig, Jose Osuna and Cole Tucker in the seventh. Dovy Neverauskas ran into ninth-inning woes, giving up four straight singles, and Montana DuRapau gave up a fifth, but the Bucs hung on to take an 8-7 win over the Yankees and snap a four-game losing streak.

Notes:
  • Rut-roh: Lonnie Chisenhall left yesterday's game with "general lower extremity tightness," whatever that may be. While not the usual "discomfort" diagnosis, it is worrisome when you consider Chisenhall's calf issues over the past couple of seasons. He'll get an exam today. 
  • Maz handed in yesterday's lineup card, and the Yankee fans bore no grudges, giving the ol' Hall-of-Famer a nice hand and earning a hat tip from Billy.
  • Jameson Taillon and Trevor Williams tossed three innings on the backfields yesterday; Big Joe Musgrove is scheduled to pitch two innings today while Archie hurled earlier in the week. Per Adam Berry of MLB.com, Clint wants to work his Big Four in controlled live scrimmages until they're ready to go four frames.
  • Tim Williams of Pirates Prospects has a piece on the Elvis Escobar switch from the pasture to the bump.
  • The Pirates aren't the only Central team with internal position battles; Omnisports looks at other free-for-all positions in the division. 
  • Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald finds ol' Bucco Brock Holt happy to be in Beantown.

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