Tagged: Hayden Penn

May 12: Reds (18-15) @ Pirates (14-19)

Jenifer Langosch/MLB.com

Attendance hasn’t been particularly good this series, and with more overcast skies and early start, I’m not thinking that Wednesday’s crowd will be much better. Well, there will be lots of school kids (field trip!), so that will help the numbers. The Pirates drew a combined 18,072 for the first two games of the series — and that was the announced crowd. Actual fans through the turnstiles was probably about half that total.

The weather hasn’t helped. I’ll give you that. The Reds are not typically one of the biggest draws, and neither are early week games. So the club has had a number of things working against it. But it’s impossible not to notice the difference between the energy of the Pirates’ opening homestand when the team drew 30,000+ for the first two games and now.

To put the numbers into some perspective, the Pirates have now drawn 278,507 fans in the first 17 home games of the season. That is 21,362 more than were here through 17 games in 2009.

TODAY’S NEWS AND NOTES:

  • Ronny Cedeno confirmed again this morning that he does not have a fractured wrist. His left wrist is very sore, however. Cedeno is not in the linup today and will be reevaluated for this weekend.
  • Making his starting debut for Triple-A Indianapolis, right-hander Hayden Penn allowed three earned runs on eight hits in six innings on Tuesday. He didn’t walk a batter, and he struck out six.
  • We sit less than a month away from the Pirates picking second in the June Draft. And if you’re someone who pays really close attention in the weeks leading up to the Draft, keep this site bookmarked. It will have all sorts of stories/player profiles leading up to the June 7 Draft. I’ll come out with some Pirates-related Draft content closer to that date, but in the meantime, here are three names to keep an eye on: high school RHP Jameson Taillon, high school SS Manny Machado and college LHP Drew Pomeranz. It seems like the consensus is that the Nationals will be taking Bryce Harper with the No. 1 pick.
  • How quiet has the Pirates’ offense been lately? Nearly silent. It has scored just once on six hits in two games this series and has combined for only 10 runs in the last five games. Now that the pitching has found some stability, the offense has gone missing.

Pirates lineup:

  1. Aki Iwamura (2B)
  2. Bobby Crosby (SS)
  3. Andrew McCutchen (CF)
  4. Garrett Jones (RF)
  5. Steve Pearce (1B)
  6. Lastings Milledge (LF)
  7. Andy LaRoche (3B)
  8. Jason Jaramillo (C)
  9. Zach Duke (LHP)

Reds lineup:

  1. Orlando Cabrera (SS)
  2. Brandon Phillips (2B)
  3. Joey Vott (1B)
  4. Scott Rolen (3B)
  5. Jonny Gomes (LF)
  6. Jay Bruce (RF)
  7. Drew Stubbs (CF)
  8. Ryan Hanigan (C)
  9. Homer Bailey (RHP)

Follow me on Twitter: @LangoschMLB

May 11: Reds (17-15) @ Pirates (14-18)

Jenifer Langosch/MLB.com

April showers bring May flowers… except in Pittsburgh, apparently. It’s cold. It’s rainy. It’s gloomy. And we’ll see if we have baseball.

Stay tuned.

TODAY’S NEWS AND NOTES:

  • Ryan Church took some swings this afternoon and is available to pinch hit. His wrist is still too sore to allow him to take a game’s worth of at-bats, but he is progressing.
  • Delwyn Young makes his second start of the season in right field tonight. It’s still quite interesting how Young seems to have much better success as a pinch hitter than he does starting. That was the case last year, and it’s shaping up to be the case again in 2010. He has five hits in his last six pinch-hit at-bats and six altogether this season. As a starter, Young is 6-for-28.
  • Hayden Penn, who was being stretched out in extended Spring Training, has been officially placed on Triple-A Indianapolis’ roster and is scheduled to start tonight.
  • So, we all made it through the G20 Summit here in Pittsburgh last September, but interestingly enough, Toronto has decided not to try. You’ll remember pictures of tanks and armed military personnel and helicopters during last year’s series against the Dodgers while the G20 took place across the river. Well, Toronto is hosting the Summit in June and has announced that it is moving its home series against the Phillies to Philadelphia instead of dealing with the same security issues.
  • The Pirates have brought back the “You Score as the Bucs Score” promotion. For every run the team scores in Chicago from Friday-Sunday, that’s $1 off a $24 left or right field box seat during the team’s home series against the Braves (May 21-23). There will be 2,500 tickets for each game set aside for this promotion. More information can be found here.
  • The Pirates’ recent offensive production doesn’t bode well for this promotion, though. Outside of the 11 runs scored last Thursday, the Pirates have totaled 17 runs in the other six games combined during this homestand. The offense ranks 14th in th league with a .240 batting average. The Pirates rank 15th with 114 total runs scored.
  • Pittsburgh pitchers have not allowed a home run in the last 57 innings pitched. Even still, the staff’s 38 home runs allowed this season is the league’s third-highest total.
  • Triple-A outfielder Jose Tabata now has 17 stolen bases in 28 games this year. He is also leading the International League with 42 total hits.

Pirates lineup:

  1. Aki Iwamura (2B)
  2. Andy LaRoche (3B)
  3. Andrew McCutchen (CF)
  4. Garrett Jones (1B)
  5. Ryan Doumit (C)
  6. Lastings Milledge (LF)
  7. Delwyn Young (RF)
  8. Ronny Cedeno (SS)
  9. Charlie Morton (RHP)

Reds lineup:

  1. Chris Heisey (CF)
  2. Brandon Phillips (2B)
  3. Joey Votto (1B)
  4. Scott Rolen (3B)
  5. Jay Bruce (RF)
  6. Jonny Gomes (LF)
  7. Ramon Hernandez (C)
  8. Paul Janish (SS)
  9. Johnny Cueto (RHP)

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Penn to go to extended Spring Training

Jenifer Langosch/MLB.com

Rather than going to Triple-A as expected, Hayden Penn has been sent to participate in the Pirates’ extended Spring Training program in Florida.

General manager Neal Huntington said the decision to send Penn to Bradenton, Fla., rather than Indianapolis, was a mutual one and done with the goal of getting Penn stretched out to start.

“Now that he’s back to being a prospect with us, we want to develop him as a starter,” Huntington said. “In talking through it with Hayden, we felt this was best.”

There is no set timetable as for when Penn might be ready to rejoin Indianapolis, though the Pirates want to have him build up to at least one five-inning start before plugging him into a Minor League rotation. That will likely take about four weeks.

Penn initially accepted the Triple-A assignment after being designated for assignment by Pittsburgh on April 12. He made three appearances with the Pirates and allowed eight earned runs on eight hits and three walks in 2 1/3 innings.

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Penn to report to Indy

Jenifer Langosch/MLB.com

Nothing major here, but right-hander Hayden Penn has accepted his assignment to Triple-A and will be reporting to Indianapolis. Penn cleared waivers last week and had until today to decide if he wanted to take the Minor League assignment or become a free agent.

Now that Penn is guaranteed to remain with the organization, the Pirates plan to work to make his delivery motion more consistent and encourage the addition of a third pitch. Penn made three appearances with the Pirates this season — 2 1/3 IP, 8 H, 8 ER, 3 BB — before being designated for assignment.

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04/16: Reds (5-5) @ Pirates (4-5)

Jenifer Langosch/MLB.com

Spent longer time than usual in the clubhouse, which has me a bit behind at this point. Since I’ve got plenty of non-blogging work to get done before this game gets underway (if it does…), I’m going to keep it short.

Before getting to the obligatory news and notes section, here are some thoughts from manager John Russell about how he feels these first nine games have gone so far…

“We need to settle down with our starting rotation. We need to pitch better. Through those games, I think we’ve shown the versatility of our offense. When we’ve pitched well, we’ve done some very good things offensively. The record is what it is, but there are a lot of good positives. We have realized that if our starting pitching settles down like we think it will, we really like the makeup of the club.

“Last year, I don’t know how we would have fared on that road trip. This year, we won two games against two very good pitchers. Last year we do well against a good pitcher and find a way to lose it late. I really like the makeup of the club. These guys have really pulled together. They continue to talk about that they’re a team. They’ve picked each other up. Even when we lose, guys come up to my door and say, ‘Hey, we’ll get them tomorrow.’ It’s good. They kind of back it up. It’s been fun to watch how they’ve grown together.

“It could have been a lot worse. These guys came in here today and are anxious to get going again. That’s fun to be around.”

The rest of your pregame info…

  • The Pirates didn’t make a roster move today, but you can expect not to see Ross Ohlendorf on Saturday. He threw long toss earlier before the rain started, but the right-hander still hasn’t thrown off a mound. Ohlendorf said he anticipates getting on the mound in the next few days, possibly before the end of the weekend. He added that he is feeling much better… and about 90 percent.
  • Russell said that it is not a guarantee that Ohlendorf will go on the DL if he doesn’t pitch on Saturday. Why wouldn’t he? Well, if the Pirates thought he could pitch early next week, that would be one reason to leave him off.
  • Brian Burres remains with the team, as does Daniel McCutchen (who is not even officially on the 25-man roster). You have to assume that the only reason McCutchen is still around is because he is going to fill in tomorrow. He was optioned to Triple-A last Monday, you might remember.
  • Hayden Penn has cleared waivers and been outrighted to Triple-A Indianapolis. He has until Monday to report, but can decide to be a free agent if he prefers that route instead.
  • MLB celebrated Jackie Robinson Day on Thursday, though the Pirates will have their own celebration today. The entire club will wear No. 42 jerseys, as will the Reds, who did it on Thursday already. There will also be an on-field presentation to recognize local winners of the annual Jackie Robinson Essay and Poetry contest.
  • Fans coming to Saturday’s game will be able to donate to the Montcoal Mining Disaster Fund before and during the game. Players and team personnel will be collecting donations at the gates beginning at 5:30 pm and staff will remain there until after the third inning. Also, Pirates Charities will be holding a silent auction outside the main guest relations office.
  • The Pirates might be having trouble pitching these days, but they are running with impressive efficiency and success. The team is 10-for-10 in stolen base attempts, with Andrew McCutchen accounting for half of those.
  • It is currently raining here at the park and doesn’t appear to be letting up soon. The forecast isn’t pretty, so playing tonight is by no means guaranteed.

Pirates lineup:

  1. Aki Iwamura (2B)
  2. Andrew McCutchen (CF)
  3. Lastings Milledge (LF)
  4. Garrett Jones (RF)
  5. Ryan Doumit (C)
  6. Jeff Clement (1B)
  7. Andy LaRoche (3B)
  8. Zach Duke (LHP)
  9. Ronny Cedeno (SS)

Reds lineup:

  1. Drew Stubbs (CF)
  2. Orlando Cabrera (SS)
  3. Brandon Phillips (2B)
  4. Jonny Gomes (LF)
  5. Miguel Cairo (1B)
  6. Jay Bruce (RF)
  7. Ryan Hanigan (C)
  8. Paul Janish (3B)
  9. Mike Leake (RHP)

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04/12: Pirates (3-3) @ Giants (5-1)

Jenifer Langosch/MLB.com

I’m back on the beat for those who were temporarily worried — meant to mention this on Thursday, but I had a family wedding to attend this past weekend, which was why I was not with the team in Arizona. Seems like I got back just in time for all sorts of news.

Obviously, this is the first time that the Pirates have been San Francisco since last July, and none of us who were here (and most of those Pirate fans who weren’t) will never forget that trip. July 29 was probably one of the draining day I’ve had on this beat.

It started with an early day game after a night game, which is always tiring enough especially with the time change element. I remember setting up the computer that morning only to find out Jack Wilson had just been traded. After getting reaction from him and other members of the club, I started writing. In the middle of the game, I spent time on the phone talking to Ian Snell, who had also been traded. I also started hearing that Freddy Sanchez was soon to be next.

I don’t think I watched a single pitch during the game, which if I remember right featured a terrific start by Zach Duke. Sure enough, after the game Sanchez was dealt, and all of us were ushered down to the press conference room at AT&T Park to watch him put on a Giants uniform. Absolutely surreal experience there.

Many more stories later, I finally boarded a red eye flight to Missouri, where I was to be in a wedding the next day.

Needless to say, let’s hope this visit to San Francisco goes a bit smoother. As for today’s news, and there is plenty…

  • As reported earlier, the Pirates made a handful of roster moves this afternoon. Ross Ohlendorf has been scratched from Monday’s start due to back spasms. He started feeling tightness in his lower back on Friday and he’s still not able to throw. The Pirates remain optimistic that Ohlendorf will be ready to go on Saturday, but realistically, he’d need to be able to throw a side session on Wednesday to be able to do so. We’ll see how the next 48 hours go. Not sure I’m as optimstic as the team is, but I’m no back expert either.
  • Pitching in Ohlendorf’s place tonight will be lefty Brian Burres. He was the call-up candidate primarily for two reasons. First, Monday was already his scheduled night to pitch so Burres doesn’t get messed up there. This was to be his first start of the season. Second, without placing someone on the disabled list, teams are not allowed to call up a player already on the 40-man roster until after April 14. The Pirates are not ready to DL Ohlendorf, which means starters Donnie Veal, Brad Lincoln, Kevin Hart and Chris Jakubauskas couldn’t have even come up if the Pirates had wanted.
  • In order to make a roster spot for Burres, the Pirates designated Hayden Penn for assignment. The Penn experiment failed miserably for now, though the Pirates hope they can continue working with him in the Minors. As manager John Russell noted again on Monday, the club sees potential there. Penn just needs much more work in a less pressurized setting.
  • The Pirates have 10 days to trade, release or waive Penn. If he can clear waivers, Penn could be outrighted to Triple-A. He is out of options.
  • Righty Joel Hanrahan is back with the team after spending an extra week getting ready for the season. Hanrahan made two Minor League rehab appearances (Thursday and Saturday) and is now set to be a fixture in the back end of the Pirates’ bullpen.
  • Daniel McCutchen has been optioned to Triple-A (clearing a 25-man roster spot for Hanrahan). The Pirates don’t plan on needing a fifth starter until April 24, so there was no need to have McCutchen remain with the club idle. He’ll stay on a normal pitching schedule in Indianapolis.
  • However, McCutchen was still with the Major League club in San Fran on Monday and he is the Plan B if Ohlendorf is unable to go on Saturday. As mentioned earlier, the Pirates should know by Wednesday if Ohlendorf can pitch this weekend. If not, the Pirates will hold off on having McCutchen start in the Minors and have him spot start in Pittsburgh.
  • Russell didn’t rule reliever Jack Taschner out on Monday, though I’m sure that would be the preference. The former Giant pitched on both Saturday and Sunday and logged 2 1/3 innings yesterday.
  • Hart has been suspended three games for throwing behind a batter in his start last Thursday. He was ejected after doing so. Teammate Brian Friday had already been plunked twice earlier in the night. The suspension began on Sunday, meaning that Hart will not be able to make his scheduled start on Tuesday. He’s now expected to make his second start of the season on Wednesday instead.
  • In other Triple-A news… Jeremy Powell is making the spot start for the Tribe tonight because of the need for Burres here in San Francisco. … If you missed it, third baseman Pedro Alvarez went deep three times in his first two games with Indianapolis. … Steve Pearce went deep for the first time this season in the fourth inning on Monday. That brought his average up to .500.
  • For those of you keeping an eye on what’s going on in Indy (and you should), Indians broadcaster Scott McCauley keeps a great blog. It’s a great source of information and quotes, and I recommend making it a daily stop for Pirates news.

Pirates lineup:

  1. Aki Iwamura (2B)
  2. Andrew McCutchen (CF)
  3. Lastings Milledge (LF)
  4. Garrett Jones (RF)
  5. Ryan Doumit (C)
  6. Jeff Clement (1B)
  7. Andy LaRoche (3B)
  8. Brian Burres (LHP)
  9. Ronny Cedeno (SS)

Giants lineup:

  1. Aaron Rowand (CF)
  2. Edgar Renteria (SS)
  3. Pablo Sandoval (3B)
  4. Aubrey Huff (1B)
  5. Mark DeRosa (LF)
  6. Bengie Molina (C)
  7. Juan Uribe (2B)
  8. Andres Torres (RF)
  9. Barry Zito (LHP)

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Ohlendorf scratched, Burres to make spot start; Penn DFAed, Hanrahan off DL, McCutchen optioned

Jenifer Langosch/MLB.com

Less than five hours before Monday’s scheduled first pitch between the Giants and Pirates, Pittsburgh announced that right-hander Ross Ohlendorf will be unable to make his scheduled start due to back spasms.

Ohlendorf has been bothered by the spasms for the past three days, and that will cost him the opportunity to take a second shot at picking up his first win of the season. The Pirates have said they are optimistic that the righty will be able to return to the mound for his next start, which will come at home on Saturday.

Taking Ohlendorf’s place on the AT&T Park mound on Monday will be lefty Brian Burres, who was initially slated to make his first start of the season for Triple-A Indianapolis on Monday. Burres has made 41 career starts in the Majors, the most recent coming April 30, 2009, with Toronto.

Pittsburgh opened a spot on the 40-man roster for Burres by designating reliever Hayden Penn for assignment. The Pirates claimed Penn off waivers during the final week of Spring Training and ended up giving him the final spot in the bullpen. However, Penn never found his footing.

He made three appearances during the first week of the season and allowed eight earned runs on eight hits and three walks in just 2 1/3 innings. The Pirates now have 10 days to trade, release or waive Penn, who is out of options. If the right-hander is able to clear waivers, the Pirates could outright him to Triple-A.

The Pirates made two other roster moves on Monday afternoon, both of which had been anticipated. Right-hander Joel Hanrahan was reinstated from the disabled list after making two Minor League rehab starts last week. Hanrahan was just a week behind schedule leading up to the season because of a right elbow strain that shut him down for most of February.

In order to make room on the 25-man roster for Hanrahan, the Pirates optioned starter Daniel McCutchen to Indianapolis. On Sunday, McCutchen gave up nine runs in 3 1/3 innings in his first start of the season. This demotion, though, was dictated more by the fact that the Pirates don’t need a fifth starter for almost two weeks than it was by Sunday’s outing.

With two off days in the next week, the Pirates plan to go with just four starters the next two times through the rotation.  In the meantime, McCutchen will continue starting on a normal schedule in Triple-A. He will obviously be under consideration to be called back up later in the month once the Pirates do need a fifth starter regularly.

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04/08: Dodgers (0-2) @ Pirates (2-0)

Jenifer Langosch/MLB.com

The Pirates are on pace to win 162. Garrett Jones is on pace to hit 243 home runs. D.J. Carrasco, Evan Meek, Brendan Donnelly and Octavio Dotel are on pace to appear in every game this season.

OK, I only say this tongue-in-cheek to remind you that we are only two days in. And obviously it’s hard to make any definitive conclusions after two games. I don’t say this to sap the excitement that two thrilling wins have provided the fan base. I say it just to make sure we all stay in reality.

As for what I do think we can conclude… here are three things:

1. This team has some resolve and fight in them. Now, we’ll see if that maintains through the downs that are inevitable. But for now, you have to like the way the team fights.

2. This bullpen has the potential to be pretty good. Dotel is not going to get out of a jam like he did Wednesday every night. No one does. But the mix of looks and the mix of experience in that ‘pen sure does seem better than what the Pirates have had in recent years.

3. These players are confident that they can compete with anyone. Call it being naive if you’d like, but they don’t feel outmatched. Certainly, that’s part of the battle.

OK, as for your pregame notes…

  • Forecast still doesn’t look exceptionally good for this afternoon. The rain has stalled a bit but is still on its way. A rain delay isn’t what the Pirates need for many reasons, one of which is that their bullpen has already been worked pretty hard these last few days. The Pirates’ freshest arm is Hayden Penn, and his ability to go multiple innings could be critical if the Pirates do endure a rain delay.
  • Manager John Russell did say all relievers are available today if needed, though, for at least a little work.
  • Bobby Crosby, Delwyn Young and Ryan Church get their first starts of the season with the day game coming after a long night game. They are replacing Lastings Milledge, Jeff Clement and Ronny Cedeno. It’s hard to see much of a drop off there, which is a plus.
  • Charlie Morton is preparing for his start in Arizona on Friday and since I didn’t mention it earlier this week, he did throw most recently on Sunday. Morton stayed behind in Bradenton to throw 60 pitches (four innings) in a Double-A intrasquad game on Sunday to give him one more tuneup before the regular season start.
  • Mike Greenberg and Mike Golic (aka Mike and Mike) will be throwing out today’s ceremonial first pitch.
  • The Pirates are 2-0 for the first time since 2007. That Pittsburgh club swept a three-game set with the Astros to start the season.
  • Though the Pirates are just 10-24 against the Dodgers at PNC Park, Pittsburgh has won five of the last six meetings here. That includes taking three of four against LA late last September.
  • Two Minor League notes of interest (repeats from yesterday): Joel Hanrahan begins his Minor League rehab assignment with high-A Bradenton today. Kevin Hart will make the Opening Day start for Triple-A Indy tonight.

Pirates lineup:

  1. Aki Iwamura (2B)
  2. Andrew McCutchen (CF)
  3. Garrett Jones (1B)
  4. Ryan Doumit (C)
  5. Ryan Church (LF)
  6. Delwyn Young (RF)
  7. Andy LaRoche (3B)
  8. Paul Maholm (LHP)
  9. Bobby Crosby (SS)

Dodgers lineup:

  1. Rafael Furcal (SS)
  2. Reed Johnson (LF)
  3. Matt Kemp (CF)
  4. James Loney (1B)
  5. Ronnie Belliard (3B)
  6. Garret Anderson (RF)
  7. Jamey Carroll (2B)
  8. Brad Ausmus (C)
  9. Chad Billingsley (RHP)

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04/05: Dodgers @ Pirates

Jenifer Langosch/MLB.com

Interestingly enough, the Pirates and LA Dodgers have never met in a season opener. Now, the Brooklyn Dodgers did beat the Pirates twice on Opening Day (1953 and 1955), so there is some history there.

But before the 2010 season kicks off with a pitch from Zach Duke, let’s hit some pregame notes…

  • The Pirates’ batting order is as expected. Duke is hitting eighth and Andrew McCutchen is batting behind leadoff hitter Aki Iwamura. And though the Pirates never officially announced it, Jeff Clement is your first baseman du jour. He’s going to have to keep improving defensively, though, to keep that spot.
  • Six Pirates are on an Opening Day roster for the first time: McCutchen, Garrett Jones, Clement, John Raynor, Daniel McCutchen, Charlie Morton.
  • Octavio Dotel’s nine appearances on an Opening Day roster represents the club high.
  • Manager John Russell reported continued progress with right-hander Joel Hanrahan (right elbow injury). Hanrahan is eligible to come off the DL as early as April 10, but Russell said that Hanrahan’s pitching schedule has him lined up to come off on April 12. The Pirates haven’t publically said this, but you can expect Daniel McCutchen (who is pitching on April 11) to be sent down when Hanrahan comes off. Those dates sure do conveniently match up, huh?
  • By sending McCutchen down, the Pirates can keep him starting regularly. You’ll remember that his next two turns in the rotation were going to be skipped anyways. The Pirates can then use an eight-member bullpen for two weeks until another starter (could very well be Kevin Hart) is needed. This would also give the Pirates a total of three weeks to evaluate Hayden Penn.
  • For now, the Pirates plan on keeping Penn and D.J. Carrasco stretched out. Both would be long relief options if a starter is knocked out early.
  • There are no limitations with Dotel, who ended up pitching five innings in Grapefruit League play this spring after being slowed early by an oblique injury.
  • For anyone coming to the park today, gates open at 11:30 and on-field festivities will begin a bit before 1 pm. That includes a presentation to Andrew McCutchen, who was named Baseball America’s Rookie of the Year in 2009. Team introductions will begin shortly after 1.
  • The USA Today came out with its annual listing of Opening Day payrolls and has the Pirates sitting at $34.9 million. That is a 28 percent decrease from last year and the lowest payroll in the league. The season-ending payroll is obviously the bigger deal, but I know many of you were curious as to the current figure.
  • The Pirates have won three straight season openers. A fourth would give the club its longest string of season-opening wins since the Pirates won six straight from 1935-40.
  • This is the first time the Pirates have opened up at home since 2005. Overall, it’s just the 28th time the team has opened at home. In comparison, the Pirates have played 96 season openers on the road.

Pirates lineup:

  1. Aki Iwamura (2B)
  2. Andrew McCutchen (CF)
  3. Garrett Jones (RF)
  4. Ryan Doumit (C)
  5. Lastings Milledge (LF)
  6. Jeff Clement (1B)
  7. Andy LaRoche (3B)
  8. Zach Duke (LHP)
  9. Ronny Cedeno (SS)

Dodgers lineup:

  1. Rafael Furcal (SS)
  2. Russell Martin (C)
  3. Andre Ethier (RF)
  4. Manny Ramirez (LF)
  5. Matt Kemp (CF)
  6. James Loney (1B)
  7. Casey Blake (3B)
  8. Blake DeWitt (2B)
  9. Vicente Padilla (RHP)

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Phillies 4, Pirates 2

Jenifer Langosch/MLB.com

Grapefruit League play is now in the books after the Pirates dropped another spring game on Thursday. We didn’t see very many wins — seven in total — down here over the past month. But more than anything, I’m ready to watch games that actually count again.

Usually I empty my notebook here on the blog after spring games, but you’ll find a notebook type story up on pirates.com later in the afternoon that will have all the notable game information — assessing Daniel McCutchen’s outing, highlighting Hayden Penn’s day, noting the dismal 7-19-1 spring record — in it. Today’s pregame blog should fill in the rest of the holes.

So for the sake of catching my flight out of Tampa, I’m not going to rehash all that here. I’ll catch you guys on Monday morning in Pittsburgh, where weather.com predicts it will be 70 degrees and sunny for Opening Day. That’s about 40 degrees warmer than Opening Day was in St. Louis a year ago. It’s also warmer than at least half of the days we spent down here. Go figure.

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