Morning Rundown: Quinn Priester pitches two shutout innings, Pirates lose to Tigers

Pirates blow a lead, drop fourth of fifth game this Spring.

The Pittsburgh Pirates jumped out to a 3-0 lead against the Detroit Tigers, only to allow five unanswered runs, losing another Spring Training game by the score of 5-3.

Quinn Priester got the start and pitched two very effective innings, striking out a batter and needing only 19 pitches (13 strikes) to get through his day. His slider was already in mid-season form, getting whiffs on four of the six swings it faced.

Following him up was Jared Jones, who lit up the radar gun as expected and struck out two while walking two in 1.2 innings of work.

Aroldis Chapman allowed a home run to former Pirate Bligh Madris but also struck out the other three batters he faced. Josh Fleming and Dauri Moreta allowed two earned runs a piece in their inning.

Connor Joe and Tsung-Che Cheng got the Pirates on the board, launching each their first home run of the Spring. Joe’s home run had an expected batting average (xBA) of .030 and would have only been a home run in one major league ballpark (Minute Maid Park).

Termarr Johnson picked up another hit, this one a double that came off the bat at 106.6 mph.

Former first-overall pick Paul Skenes will make his Spring debut on Thursday against the Baltimore Orioles. He will face former NL Cy Young Corbin Burnes, with first pitch scheduled around 1:05 pm ET.

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Top Exit Velocity

1. Termarr Johnson - 106.6 mph - Double

2. Gilberto Celestino - 106.6 mph - Single

3. Tsung-Che Cheng - 101.7 mph - Home Run

4. Joe Perez - 99.7 mph - GIDP

5. Jason Delay - 99.6 mph - Flyout

Top Pitch Velocity

1. Jared Jones - 99.6 mph

2. Aroldis Chapman - 99.4 mph

3. Aroldis Chapman - 99.3 mph

4. Aroldis Chapman - 99.2 mph

5. Jared Jones - 99.2 mph

Most Whiffs (Whiff%)

1. Aroldis Chapman - 6 (54%)

2. Colin Holderman - 4 (57%)

3. Quinn Priester - 4 (36%)

4. Josh Fleming - 3 (33%)

5. Jared Jones - 2 (20%)

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