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Pirates falter late in loss to Indians

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PITTSBURGH – Christian Arroyo hit a two-run double and Francisco Lindor added a go-ahead double in the eighth inning as the Cleveland Indians rallied to beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 5-3 in an exhibition game Saturday night at PNC Park.

Guillermo Heredia, who will start in right field for the Pirates while starter Gregory Polanco recovers from the novel coronavirus, drove in two runs for Pittsburgh.

The teams will play tonight in Cleveland and again Wednesday in Pittsburgh.

The Pirates led 3-0 entering the eighth.

Pittsburgh starter Joe Musgrove tossed three scoreless innings in his final tune-up before getting the ball on opening day in St. Louis Friday. Musgrove struck out five against one hit and one walk in his final tune-up before things start to count.

The 27-year-old Musgrove tried to block out the weirdness of it all and just go about his business. Pearl Jam’s “Evenflow” blared over the speakers during his warmup before the top of the first and after that, the artificial crowd noise and the seas of empty seats faded away.

“It felt like a game,” Musgrove said. “For me, as a pitcher you only see, everyone talks about how intense the crowd might be … but you’ve got tunnel vision, you see the hitter, the catcher and the umpire … that visual for me was pretty much the same.”

The Pirates announced they have lost backup catcher Luke Maile for the season following surgery Friday to repair a fractured right index finger. The injury, which occurred on Thursday, will keep Maile out of action for at least 10 to 12 weeks. Normally that would be around half a season. In 2020 that means Maile’s year is done.

John Ryan Murphy figures to be the primary backup behind Jacob Stallings when the season begins next week.

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