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Thanks to strong pitching and three home runs by the offense, the Pittsburgh Pirates downed the Tampa Bay Rays, 6-2, on Friday in Bradenton.
The offense sparked early in the game as Ji-Man Choi took a Luis Patiño fastball over the right field wall to drive in a pair, marking his first home run with the Pirates.
Ji-Man Choi’s first homer in a Pirates uniform! pic.twitter.com/g8WVHJWTd6
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) March 17, 2023
After Ji Hwan Bae and Jack Suwinski added two more in the second, Canaan Smith-Njigba tallied his second home run of the spring in the third.
Canaan Smith-Njigba does it again.
— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) March 17, 2023
Second homer in the past three games for the @Pirates' No. 28 prospect. pic.twitter.com/6GPAkghC6x
Mason Martin capped off the slugfest by sending a hanging curveball over the batter’s eye in center in the bottom of the eighth.
Mason Martin - Pittsburgh Pirates (1)* pic.twitter.com/IE4SwY5ULS
— MLB HR Videos (@MLBHRVideos) March 17, 2023
Osvaldo Bido started for the Pirates on the mound and earned the win after throwing two innings of near perfect ball. The 27-year-old struck out four while allowing no hits and one walk.
Chase De Jong, Dauri Moreta, Daniel Zamora, and Cody Bolton also threw scoreless innings, while Yerry De Los Santos and Angel Perdomo allowed one run each.
The Bucs are back in Bradenton tomorrow as they host the Minnesota Twins at 1:05 p.m.
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