North Shore Nine

The Pirates kicked off their spring training slate with a 5-3 loss to the Minnesota Twins on the road in Fort Myers. Twins outfielder Dalton Shufflefield launched a three-run homer in the sixth inning off Kyle Nicolas to put the game away for Minnesota.

Saturday’s game was the first opportunity for Bailey Falter to earn a spot in the Pirates’ rotation, but the pitcher stumbled in his first opportunity. Falter gave up two runs in two innings of action, with the scoring occurring in the second inning. Falter surrendered four hits, but allowed no walks and struck out three. A wild pitch in the second inning allowed runners to advance to second and third.

Other noteworthy pitching performances included prospect Jared Jones, who followed Falter with one inning of action and one hit surrendered. Of the fifteen pitches thrown by Jones, nine were strikes. Jose Hernandez struck out the side in his one inning of action, walking one and allowing no hits. In addition to giving up a three-run home run, Kyle Nicolas allowed two additional hits and struck out two.

On the offensive side of the ball, Edward Olivares led the Pirates with two runs batted in. His two-run triple briefly tied the game in the third inning. Matt Frazier knocked in the team’s only other run, scoring Carter Bins in the top of the seventh. The Pirates also saw multi-hit games from Henry Davis, Jake Lamb, and Gilberto Celestino.

The Pirates return to Bradenton to host the Orioles on Sunday in their spring training home opener. Mitch Keller is scheduled to start for the Pirates, and the game will be televised on Sportsnet Pittsburgh.