Control issues plague Andrew Heaney, bullpen in Pirates' blowout loss to Red Sox

Left-hander Andrew Heaney, who signed a one-year, $5.25 million contract with the Pittsburgh Pirates in late February, is the club’s biggest free agent acquisition of the offseason.

The 33-year-old made his spring training debut Tuesday against the Boston Red Sox on Tuesday at LECOM Park in Bradenton, Fla., and struggled with control in a 12-4 loss.

He allowed four runs on two hits and three walks in 1 2/3 innings. He recorded one strikeout.

Heaney enjoyed a quick first inning, requiring only 10 pitches to retire the side in order, but was pulled in the second inning.

Back-to-back walks had put Heaney in a jam, and the Red Sox capitalized, with Nick Sogard collecting an RBI single to make it 1-0.

Heaney, after issuing a third walk to load the bases, battled back to get two outs, but a blooper by Abraham Toro just managed to evade a diving Bryan Reynolds at the right-field foul line, falling for a three-run triple to make it 4-0.

Heaney threw 41 pitches in the outing, 22 for strikes and was Tuesday’s losing pitcher.

“I feel good, physically,” Heaney said during a mid-game SportsNet Pittsburgh interview after his outing. “Honestly, just a little bit of nibbling around the zone. Need to be a little bit more through the zone. … Just need to get in there and throw some more strikes.”

Quinn Priester, whom the Pirates (6-5) traded to Boston last summer for Nick Yorke, started for the Red Sox. He pitched 2 2/3 innings, allowing one run on four hits with a walk and four strikeouts.

The Red Sox went up 6-0 in the third, when Trayce Thompson lifted a two-run homer to left field off Caleb Ferguson, scoring Vaughn Grissom, who walked.

The Pirates got on the board in the bottom of the third, with Ji Hwan Bae hitting a solo home run off Priester to make it 6-1. Bae went 3 for 3 with two runs.

Ferguson went 2 2/3 innings for the Pirates in relief but was removed in favor of Jaden Woods in the fifth with two men on.

After Woods walked Kristian Campbell to load the bases, Nate Eaton crushed a grand slam to left-center field, busting the game open and handing Boston a 10-1 lead.

Ferguson allowed four earned runs on three hits with a pair of walks and two strikeouts, and Woods was charged for two runs.

“The biggest thing (was) free bases,” Pirates pitching coach Oscar Marin said. “Free bases are basically it right now. We’re just missing in the zone. We’ve just got to commit to getting it over the heart of the plate a little more and getting ahead in counts.”

The Pirates found a bit of offense in the fifth against Luis Guerrero, with Andrew McCutchen (bases-loaded hit by pitch) and Nick Gonzales (single) collecting RBIs, making it 10-3.

But Boston got two back in the sixth and seventh, taking a 12-3 lead off Carmen Mlodzinski.

A solo shot by Pirates No. 17 overall prospect Tsung-Che Cheng in the seventh made it 12-4.

Mlodzinski pitched 2 2/3 innings, departing with two outs in the eighth having allowed two runs (one earned) on three hits. He struck out four and walked one.