Pirates drop spring finale to Phillies 5-1

Offensive production was hard to come by for the Pittsburgh Pirates on Tuesday afternoon as they ended their abbreviated Spring Training on a sour note, falling to the Philadelphia Phillies, 5-1, in Clearwater.

Phillies pitchers tallied 15 strikeouts against the Bucs’ lineup, with Yoshi Tsutsugo striking out three times in the game.

Bryan Reynolds provided the only beacon of light for the Pirates’ offense by going 2-for-3 with two RBIs, while Cole Tucker added a double in the third.

Zach Thompson pitched four innings in his final spring start and allowed one earned run and four hits while striking out three. Anthony Banda and Aaron Fletcher added two innings of spotless relief, while Jerad Eickhoff allowed two runs over the final two innings.

J.T. Realmuto and Kyle Schwarber combined for three hits and four RBIs for Philadelphia.

The Pirates finish the spring with a 7-7-4 record with a league-high 37 home runs and will open the regular season on Thursday against the St. Louis Cardinals.

J.T. Brubaker will start for Pittsburgh while veteran Adam Wainwright will start for the Cards.