The Pirates lost to the Phillies 5-4 in 10 innings as a remarkable streak by Pirates minor-league outfielder Starling Marte came to an end.
Marte homered in the eighth to give him eight straight hits going back to Monday’s game. But he flied out in the 10th to end the streak. So far this Spring, Marte is 9-for-13 with two home runs. Spring Training stats aren’t particularly meaningful, and there’s almost no chance Marte will begin the regular season in the majors, given that he has no Class AAA experience and the Pirates have three regular outfielders in Andrew McCutchen, Jose Tabata and Alex Presley. But the start Marte has had has been something to behold.
James McDonald (who pitched three innings), Justin Wilson (who had a messy outing, walking in a run) and Jared Hughes gave up four runs in the first five innings, but the Pirates came back with three runs in the sixth. In the bottom of the 10th, minor-leaguer Michael Dubee — whose father is the Pirates’ pitching coach — gave up a walk-off homer to Lou Montanez.
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