Pirates continue hot start to spring
BRADENTON, Fla. – Yordany De Los Santos and Javier Rivas hit back-to-back home runs in the bottom of the seventh inning to power the Pittsburgh Pirates to a 4-1 victory over Tampa Bay in a Grapefruit League spring training game Monday afternoon.
The win continued a hot start to the spring for the Pirates, who improved their record to 9-2.
The game was tied 1-1 when Pittsburgh catcher Hendry Davis led off the seventh with a double off Tampa Bay reliever Kodi Whitley. De Los Santos, a 21-year-old shortstop, then hit a tiebreaking two-run homer to right centerfield.
Rivas made it 4-1 when he followed with a home run to left centerfield. It was his first hit of the spring.
Pitcher Mike Clevinger, who is trying to make the Pirates as a non-roster invitee to spring training, started and tossed three scoreless innings in his spring debut. The former Cleveland starting pitcher allowed only one hit. He walked two and struck out three.
Clevinger had a 41-20 record with a 2.96 ERA with the Guardians and San Diego Padres from 2017-20 before his ’20 season was cut short by a right elbow injury that required Tommy John surgery.
He has been injury-riddled since 2020. Clevinger landed on the IL twice in 2022. In 2023 it was right wrist inflammation and right biceps inflammation that put on the IR. Then, in 2024, he made only four starts before undergoing disc replacement surgery in his neck. He pitched briefly in the majors as a reliever last year with the Chicago White Sox.
Clevinger is battling Jose Urquidy and rookie Hunter Barco for a spot in the rotation. Starter Jared Jones will begin the season on the 60-day IL while he recovers from elbow surgery last year.
Pittsburgh took a 1-0 lead in the third inning. Alika Willims hit a lead off single and moved to third base on a single by Jake Mangum. Mangum then broke for second base before a pitch and Tampa Bay starter Mason Englert stepped off the rubber but his throw to second sailed into center field, allowing Williams to score.
Tampa Bay pushed across its only run in the fourth inning on an RBI single by Logan Davidson off reliever Carmen Mlodzinski. Mlodzinski yielded two hits and two walks in 2⅓ innings.
Four Pirates relievers followed Mlodzinski and allowed only one hit over the final 3 ⅔ innings.
Pittsburgh outhit Tampa Bay 8-4. Mangum went 2-for-3.