The Pirates lost to the Orioles Thursday, 11-8, in Spring Training action. These Spring Training games don’t mean a whole lot, naturally, but it was nice to see some offense from the Bucs, who have struggled with their team batting average and offensive strikeouts. Matt Diaz had a double for the Pirates, as 11 Bucs collected one hit apiece.
Paul Maholm pitched four innings with only one earned run in a solid start, btu top relievers Joel Hanrahan and Evan Meek undid Maholm’s fine work, allowing seven runs in the fifth and sixth innings. Jeff Karstens then tacked on three more runs in the seventh for good measure. Jason Jaramillo, John Bowker, Pedro Ciriaco and Chase D’Arnaud all committed errors for the Bucs. Vladimir Guerrero and Ryan Adams homered for the Orioles.
The Bucs face Tampa Bay on the road on Friday, followed by split-squad games against the Blue Jays and Phillies on Saturday.