Early surge lifts Phillies over Pirates 9-7

For the second straight game, the Pittsburgh Pirates suffered a 9-7 loss in Bradenton. This time at the hands of the Philadelphia Phillies.

J.T. Brubaker struggled in the first inning, walking Brandon Marsh to open the contest then coughing up a two-run home run to Alec Bohm, but he rebounded by striking out the final five hitters he faced.

Edmundo Sosa added a three-run homer in the third off Yohan Ramirez, and the Phillies capped it off by notching four runs in the fifth and sixth innings.

Yet again, the Pirates’ offense was sluggish to start but found its rhythm in the middle-to-late innings. Ke’Bryan Hayes got the Bucs on the board in thee bottom of the fifth with his first home run of the spring.

The Pirates garnered two more in the eighth off a single by Cal Mitchell and double by Endy Rodriguez, then three more in the ninth thanks to a single by Drew Maggi and fielder’s choice by Liover Peguero. That was all they could muster, though, as Mitchell grounded out a few batters later to end the game.

Maggi and Rodriguez each went 2-for-2 at the plate, while Hayes went 1-for-2 with the aforementioned home run. Pitching highlights include Rule 5 selections Jose Hernandez and Wei-Chieh Huang (minors) firing scoreless frames.

Action continues tomorrow as the Pirates host the Baltimore Orioles at LECOM Park. First pitch is scheduled for 1:05 p.m.