Morning Rundown: Gilberto Celestino hits grand slam, Pirates beat Rays
Non-roster Invitee drives in five runs in Pirates win
The Pittsburgh Pirates saw their offense explode for 12 runs on Friday, winning their second game of the Spring schedule.
Mitch Keller didn’t have the best outing, although the cutter did some strong work (47 CSW%), pitching 2+ innings with three runs on four hits and two walks while striking out two.
Wily Peralta pitched another two innings, striking out a batter in two innings pitched. Another non-roster player, Hunter Stratton, struck out a pair of batters in his inning of work.
It’s been a tough Spring for Sean Sullivan, who only recorded two outs in the ninth, allowing five hits and three earned runs. He hit 96 mph on the radar gun, but his control remains sporadic.
The Pirates hit three home runs - Jared Triolo, Bryan Reynolds, and Gilberto Celestino - the latter of which was a grand slam.
Triolo continues his case to be the primary second baseman, driving in three and making multiple fantastic defensive plays.
Alika Williams scored two runs after walking twice.
The Pirates will face the Detroit Tigers on Saturday, with Roansy Contreras expected to make the start.
It appears that Joshua Palacios is dealing with a lower leg injury, which is why he has yet to play in any Spring Training games.
It also sounds like he will find his way into some games in the next couple of days.
Palacios is looking to land a roster spot with the Pirates after hitting 10 home runs in 264 plate appearances last year.
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I'll repeat from an earlier post - Celestino just turned 25 a few weeks ago, and was in MLB for a very short period in 2021. In 2022 he played in 90 games for the Twins in CF, starting 68 games, 637 innings. Using 600 inn as a Qualifier on Fangraphs, he was 15th among 26 other CF's with a +1.7 Def. For comparison, Reynolds was 26th with a -7.8 Def. The Twins had Michael Taylor last year, and Celestino only played about 50 games at AAA, with a .781 OPS, BB% 18.0/K% 15.9. Possibly an injury?
Everything looks good except he has no Options remaining. Palacios and CSN are both LH hitters and not CF's. Olivares is a RH hitter, but not a CF either. He leads the team in AB (13), Hits (7), Tied for 1st in RBI (6), 1.307 OPS, which I think is second to TJ.
It's not only that Celestino hit a GS, it was the whole AB that he had. Must have been 7 or 8 pitches, fouling off some tough pitches, keeping the AB alive. It was a clinic on seeing more pitches and doing damage with the pitch you want. Thumbs up.