North Shore Nine

The Pirates continued their mastery of the long ball against the Rays, hitting three home runs along the way to an 8-4 victory in Bradenton.

The Pirates have blasted 43 home runs in spring training, eight ahead of the second-place Orioles.

Josh Fleming started the game with three innings of action, giving up one earned run on two hits, a walk, and three strikeouts. Chase Anderson had a difficult day but picked up the win, surrendering three earned runs in four innings. Anderson gave up five hits and a walk against six strikeouts.

In the bottom of the first, Connor Joe opened the scoring with a two-out single to right field that plated Ke’Bryan Hayes. The Pirates put together another two-out rally in the fifth inning, with three consecutive singles from Cruz, Reynolds, and Hayes to tie the game. The tie was short-lived, as Brandon Lowe hit a solo home run to start the sixth inning–the first run of the game scored with fewer than two outs on the board.

The lead continued to change until the seventh inning. In the bottom of the sixth, Connor Joe lead off with a single and Nick Gonzales hit a two-run homer to dead center. The homer put the Pirates ahead 4-3. Osleivis Basabe tied the game at four runs apiece with a two-out single in the top of the seventh, but Matt Gorski responded with a two-out homer in the bottom of the seventh to put the Pirates ahead. In the eighth inning, Shawn Ross knocked a two-run home run to right field, and Sergio Alcantara poked in an insurance run to increase the Pirates’ lead to 8-4.

The Pirates head to Clearwater on Monday to visit the Philadelphia Phillies.