The Pittsburgh Pirates’ bats broke out with their best performance of spring training Saturday.
Behind a spring-best 14 hits, including seven doubles, and a five-run fourth inning, the Pirates posted an 8-7 win over the New York Yankees in a Grapefruit League game at LECOM Park in Bradenton, Fla.
Corey Dickerson led the offensive attack with a double, triple and two RBIs, while catcher Steven Baron added two hits and one of the Pirates’ five stolen bases. Ke’Bryan Hayes added a double and stolen base, while Kevin Kramer went 1-for-2 with an RBI.
Felipe Vázquez earned the win in relief, pitching a scoreless fourth inning with two strikeouts. Keone Kela pitched for the first time this spring, striking out two of the four batters he faced in a scoreless fifth inning. Richard Rodriguez pitched a scoreless seventh.
Jordan Lyles started, yielding three runs — all earned — on seven hits in three innings of work, walking two and striking out one. Dovydas Neverauskas gave up three runs on four hits in 1 1/3 innings, striking out two.
The Pirates (4-4-1) will host the Tampa Bay Rays at 1:05 p.m. Sunday.
