Noah Davis was dealing through four scoreless innings against the Baltimore Orioles, recording four strikeouts and drawing seven whiffs while allowing one hit and one walk in his first start of spring training.
With two outs in the fifth, the right-hander ran into trouble. He gave up a single to Weston Wilson and hit Jose Barrero with a pitch before leaving a belt-high 2-1 cutter over the plate that Taylor Ward sent over the left-center wall for a three-run home run.
Barrero added another three-run shot off Jacob Bimbi in the seventh as the Orioles pounded the Pirates, 7-2, on Wednesday afternoon in a Grapefruit League game at Ed Smith Stadium in Sarasota, Fla.
It was a rough ending to an otherwise strong start for the 28-year-old Davis, who signed a minor-league contract with the Pirates and received a non-roster invitation to big league camp. Davis is 0-6 with a 9.53 ERA and 2.05 WHIP in 27 appearances (six starts) over four seasons in the majors, three with the Colorado Rockies and last year split between the Minnesota Twins and Los Angeles Dodgers.
But he needed only 17 pitches to navigate the first two innings, then struck out the side in the third by getting Leody Taveras swinging at a curveball and Wilson and Barrero at sweepers. Davis is now 0-1 with a 6.52 ERA and 1.03 WHIP in three appearances this spring, with 11 strikeouts against one walk.
The Pirates had several other notable performances.
Right-handed reliever Justin Lawrence pitched a perfect sixth inning, recording a pair of strikeouts, and has not allowed an earned run in three appearances this spring.
Outfielder Jhostynxon Garcia doubled in the ninth inning off Chris Bassitt for his seventh consecutive game with a hit, a streak that started Feb. 27 against Baltimore. Garcia is 8 for 14 (.571) during that span, and his 12 total hits rank third in the Grapefruit League and are tied for fifth this spring.
Ronny Simon replaced Jake Mangum in center field in the seventh inning, marking his first game since dislocating his left shoulder while sliding into home plate against the Boston Red Sox on Aug. 29. Simon grounded into a forceout in his only at-bat.
Nick Cimillo pinch-hit for Marcell Ozuna in the ninth inning and hit a leadoff home run off Bassitt.
Note: Bubba Chandler is scheduled to start against Grant Holmes and the Atlanta Braves when the Pirates play at 6:05 p.m. Thursday, their first night game at LECOM Park this spring.
