Marco Gonzales made his best start of spring training, one that showed why the left-hander has a spot in the Pittsburgh Pirates’ starting rotation.
Gonzales limited the Baltimore Orioles to one run on one hit and two walks while striking out four batters, throwing 48 of 74 pitches for strikes and drawing eight whiffs and 11 called strikes in becoming the first Pirates starter to go five innings in spring training.
But Baltimore rallied with a four-run seventh inning highlighted by a Kyle Stowers home run to beat the Pirates, 5-2, on Thursday afternoon in a Grapefruit League game at LECOM Park in Bradenton, Fla.
The Pirates took a 1-0 lead in the first inning, when Connor Joe doubled to left field, advanced to third on a Bryan Reynolds groundout and scored on a Ke’Bryan Hayes groundout.
The Orioles tied the score in the second, when Gonzales hit Austin Hays with a pitch and walked Ramon Urias before Jorge Mateo followed with an RBI single.
Designated hitter Billy McKinney, who replaced Andrew McCutchen (illness) in the lineup, drove in Henry Davis with a single to right field in the bottom of the second to give the Pirates a 2-1 lead. McKinney extend his on-base streak to an MLB-best 13 games.
The Pirates maintained the one-run edge until the seventh, when Urias reached on an error by shortstop Mike Jarvis and Mateo drew a walk. Both runners advanced on a passed ball by catcher Grant Koch, and Tyler Nevin singled to score Urias and tie the game. Stowers then hit a three-run homer off lefty Ryan Borucki for a 5-2 Orioles lead.
It marked the first runs allowed by Borucki this spring.
Note: Right-hander Quinn Priester is scheduled to start Friday against Clarke Schmidt when the Pirates visit the New York Yankees at 6:35 p.m. Friday at George Steinbrenner Field in Tampa. The game will be televised on SportsNet Pittsburgh.
