The Pirates fell behind early and couldn’t catch up to the Nationals last night. Joe Block has the story.
Manager Donnie Kelly says the Pirates never stopped fighting.
Kelly says Mitch Keller struggled to locate his pitches.
Keller appreciated that the Bucs kept working to get back in the game.
It’s Jackie Robinson Day in Major League Baseball, honoring the great Dodger who broke the color line on this date in 1947. All players will wear Robinson’s iconic number 42 in Dodger Blue. The Pirates haven’t named their starter for the third game of the series. Right-hander Jake Irvin (1-1, 7.07 ERA) throws for the Nationals. Airtime is 6:15 with first pitch at 6:40 on WCCS.
Pitching coach Bill Murphy says Jared Jones “looked amazing” in a bullpen session yesterday and “it’s really exciting” to watch him throw. He says Jones wants to compete and is “ready to go,” but the team will keep to the timeline and keep building him up, with a targeted return to game action in late May or early June.
ALTOONA
The Altoona Curve suffered a franchise record tenth straight loss to start the season, 4-2 to Portland last night. Khristian Curtis took the loss after allowing three runs on five hits over six innings. Jesus Castillo and Derek Berg both hit home runs for the Curve, who will send Connor Wietgrefe to the mound tonight for the second game of the series.
One other minor league note, from the Pirates’ Low-A Bradenton club…Marauders third baseman Murf Gray hit a grand slam and a three-run homer in an 11-inning 14-9 win over the Yankees’ Tampa affiliate.
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