Mar 20, 2023 2 min read

FORT MYERS, Fla. – Miguel Andujar homered and Canaan Smith-Njigba continued to swing a hot bat as the Pittsburgh Pirates defeated the Boston Red Sox 7-5 Monday in a Grapefruit League game in Fort Myers, Fla.

Smith-Njigba drove in two runs with opposite-field singles, giving him nine RBI this spring. The outfielder went 3-for-4. Smith-Njigba has driven in seven runs in his last nine games as he makes a strong bid for an opening day roster spot.

Travis Swaggerty followed the second of Smith-Njigba’s two run-scoring hits with an RBI-single in the fifth inning. Swaggerty has a team-leading 10 RBI.

The Pirates broke a 2-2 tie in the fourth against Boston reliever Kensley Jansen. Mark Mathias drew a walk, stole second base and scored when Kevin Plawecki reached on an error by left fielder Raimel Tapia.

Smith-Njigba and Swaggerty had run-scoring hits in the fifth inning. After a Swaggerty triple in the sixth, Andujar hit a two-run shot off Ryan Blasier for his first home run of the spring. The home run made the score 7-2.

Pittsburgh pitcher Luis Ortiz allowed two runs on three hits and two walks with two strikeouts in three innings. It was Ortiz’s first outing since returning to the Pirates from the World Baseball Classic.

The Pirates jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning after Ji Hwan Bae, who started in center field, singled and advanced to second on a throwing error by Kike Hernandez, and scored when Jack Suwinski reached on an error by center fielder Adam Duvall. Smith-Njigba singled to score Rodolfo Castro.