Same Ol' - Bucs Offense AWOL In 4-1 Loss

Derek Holland was bitten by a bug that seems to be making its rounds in Florida; he gave up a pair of Detroit solo shots in the second. But they were the only blips he suffered, and after four frames it was 2-0 Motown (what, you expected the Pirates to score?).  Pittsburgh halved the led when JT Riddle opened the fifth with a triple and Socrates Brito's flare single sent him home. Derek went into the sixth, and a leadoff homer and grounder ended his day, with Chris Stratton finishing up. Holland gave up three runs, four hits and K'ed six in his 5-1/3 inning stint. The Pirates went quietly in the seventh; Stratton got the first two batters and Robbie Erlin came on to nail down the third. Another Bucco goose egg in the eighth. Dovy climbed the hill with an out, and a walk & double later, it was 4-1. Pittsburgh again had no response and that was the final.

Derek working on that fifth spot - photo via MLB.com

Tomorrow: Wednesday is a free date for the Bucs. Chris Archer, Michael Feliz and Ric Rod will throw a sim game to keep them on schedule. They'll pick it back up again Thursday by hosting the Jays with Big Joe on the slab.

Notes:

• It was pretty much a sub day for Sheltie; the only regular in the lineup was Redbeard, and he's playing first base. That's been his spring MO - starters play at Bradenton, the rest get a seat on the bus. JT Riddle did good with two hits; the Pirates only had four on the day.
• Per The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal's sources, "...the Pirates have approached at least four players - RHP Joe Musgrove, OF Bryan Reynolds, SS Kevin Newman and 3B Ke’Bryan Hayes - about extensions."

Lock up Ke'Bryan before he reaches the show? - 2019 Bowman

• Not much news on the injury front - Steven Brault and Clay Holmes will be reevaluated later in the week; the other active roster guys are a go.
• MLB announced that it will close clubhouses to the media temporarily and only "players and essential personnel will be allowed in" during the closure.They're in wait-and-see mode to determine if further Coronavirus actions are needed.
• RHP Nick Mears was assigned to minor league camp this morning. And just in case you missed it, we added the late cuts yesterday as an edit after posting. They were 1B/OF Will Craig to Indy, SS Oneil Cruz to Altoona and C Jason Delay, C Arden Pabst & RHP Blake Weiman to minor league camp after the game. The Pittsburgh active roster is now at 47 players; it needs squeezed to 26 by Opening Day.