Morning Rundown: Pirates shutout by the Orioles, only manage three hits
Pirates drop their home Spring Training opener to the Baltimore Orioles
The Pittsburgh Pirates dropped their first Spring Training game in front of their home crowd on Sunday, losing to the Baltimore Orioles by the score of 2-0.
Fresh off his contract extension, Mitch Keller made his first appearance of 2024, pitching two innings, allowing a hit and two walks while striking out two.
The Pirates only picked up three hits on the day - Nick Gonzales had a double, Gilberto Celestino, and Connor Joe.
Oneil Cruz batted lead-off and played shortstop. He went 0-2 with a strikeout and started a 6-3 double play.
The Pirates will head back on the road on Monday, facing the Toronto Blue Jays in Dunedin, with first pitch expected around 1:05 pm ET.
Notes from the game
Although he walked a couple of hitters, Keller looked sharp. The fastball was getting up to 95/96, and he was placing the cutter in places he was going to have a lot of success with, even if they weren’t all strikes.
Termarr Johnson went 0-2 with two strike outs, as did Matt Gorski.
Jack Brannigan got into the game and hit the hardest ball of the day for the Pirates, driving a ball to left center.
A former top prospect with the Tampa Bay Rays, we got our first look at Brent Honeywell Jr., as well as his screwball that he threw a couple of times. I liked the location of his fastball, and it averaged 95 while picking up two whiffs on three swings.
He’s got an uphill climb as a NRI, but could be a multi-inning guy out the pen.
If you can have a ‘standout’ after two games, Celestino would be in the running for it. He picked up a hit and stolen base (while Ben Cherington was in the broadcast booth). He’s a NRI, but would be an intriguing option off the bench.
Liover Peguero made a fantastic play while playing second on Sunday, showing off his range. He’s got perhaps the most upside among those competing for the second base job, it’s just a matter at how much he can tap into.
Statcast Leaderboards
Top Exit Velocity
Jack Brannigan - 108.3 mph - Flyout
Ke’Bryan Hayes - 105.7 mph - Groundout
Ke’Bryan Hayes - 105.4 mph - Groundout
Top Pitch Velocity
Mitch Keller - 96 mph
Brent Honeywell Jr. - 95.9 mph
Mitch Keller - 95.9 mph
Most Whiffs (percentage)
Cam Alldred - 7 (50%)
Dauri Moreta - 4 (28.5%)
Mitch Keller - 4 (26%)
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The book was released on Friday, and I’ve seen some people posting on Twitter their pictures of the book, so hop on Amazon to get your copy now!
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Not only do you get access to the site’s very own top 25 prospect list for the Pirates, with in-depth scouting reports, but also my video breakdowns throughout the year, as well as some in person reporting when I travel to an affiliate.
Cruz made a good play on the 6-3 DP ball. The asterisk is that his size resulted in awkward footwork (stumbling a tiny bit) in fielding the grounder and getting to the bag. It was a good test of his formerly broken leg.
What was Oneil's exit velo on the ball he hit off the building past the boardwalk in right? That had to be the hardest hit of the day, even though it was foul.