Pirates Split Squad Finishes Day 2-0
PITTSBURGH (93-7 The FAN) - Vance Worley and Gerrit Cole became the first Pirates' pitchers to complete 5 innings as the Bucs beat the Phillies, 6-5, in Bradenton and the Twins, 4-2 in Fort Myers.
But the news of the day was the revelation that catcher Tony Sanchez "is on the club," according to manager Clint Hurdle.
Hurdle says he's "not too big on math," but the 2-week timetable on Stewart's recovery from a strained hamstring takes him to the end of spring training creating a necessity for Sanchez on the 25-man roster. I spoke with Stewart earlier and says the team is being conservative and his timetable calls for a quicker return. "I can hit and I can catch," Stewart says, adding that running is the issue.
Hurdle says that Sean Rodriguez, Jung-Ho Kang and Corey Hart are also on the team, leaving one spot open – then listed a half-dozen players who have a shot at it.
One is the switch-hitting Steve Lombardozzi who played LF today, had 2 hits and is quietly batting .346. Starling Marte and Jordy Mercer also had 2 hits. Marte is now hitting .387 while Mercer has 5 hits in his last 2 games.
Pedro Alvarez had 3 hits – an RBI double, a 2-run homer and then another double off lefthander Jake Diekman.
"Anytime you can put good contact on the ball it's encouraging no matter who's on the bump," said Alvarez who then scored on an RBI double by Sanchez whose average actually dropped after going 1-for-3 and is now hitting just .500.
Back to Worley who allowed 3 runs on 2 HRs and was not help by a steady wind blowing out to right field. "The first one (Brian Bogusevic) was hit hard," Worley told me walking off the field, "but the other one to (Cody) Asche was up and in on his hands and I was, like, he got it up in the air; it is going to come down isn't it?" It did – in the Pirates bullpen. Otherwise, Worley says he felt great and certainly has done nothing to NOT be in the starting rotation.
Cole allowed 2 runs on 4 hits against Minnesota and also "drove in" a run with a bases-loaded walk. Francisco Cervelli hit 2 solo HRs. Josh Harrison had an RBI single and is hitting .333. Jung-Ho Kang was 0-3 with 2 strikeouts dropping his average to .130.
Andrew McCutchen didn't play in either game today and is not in the line-up posted for Saturday's game versus the Red Sox at McKechnie Field.
Francisco Liriano's turn to try to go 5 innings tomorrow against the Red Sox in Bradenton ab dob 93.7 The Fan.
NOTES: ESPN's Buster Olney – one of the more prominent national correspondents – picks the Pirates to not only win the NL Central but to win the World Series over Seattle.