Sunday: Bucs at Birds, Lineup, Notes; Yesterday's Games & Notes

Game: Pittsburgh is on the road to Sarasota and Ed Smith Stadium to visit Baltimore at 1:05, with the game being aired by 93.7 The Fan. It’s the last Grapefruit League contest, followed by a pair of warm-ups against Houston at Minute Maid Park before showtime on the 28th at Cincinnati.

Lineup: Adam Frazier 2B, Jung Ho Kang 3B, Corey Dickerson DH, Josh Bell 1B, Melky Cabrera RF, Pablo Reyes CF, Jose Osuna LF, Erik Gonzalez SS, Jake Stallings C (Trevor Williams P).

Pitchers: RHP Trevor Williams takes on RHP Andrew Cashner, with Nick Kingham and Steven Brault penciled in to follow Willy.

Yesterday’s Games: Philly: Jordan Lyles gave up three runs in five innings, surrendering seven hits and fanning five, and that apparently was enough to nail down the last rotation spot if NH is to be believed. The last four innings were a breeze behind the A-Team bullpen, Corey D & Oneil Cruz went long (Corey had two knocks while Cruz started two DP’s from short), and the Pirates won their last home spring outing 5-3 over the Phils.
Boston: The BoSox threw the Bucs a little changeup by starting Chris Sale instead of Nathan Eovaldi, and it went downhill from there. Jamo wasn’t real sharp, giving up four runs in four frames on eight hits with three K, a couple of young guys got a rude welcome to the bigs, and Boston took a 12-3 laugher. The Pittsburgh highlight was a three-run jack by Ke’Bryan Hayes off Heath Hembree.

Notes:

• Neal Huntington said the Bucs final roster decisions will be made after camp, during the final two-game tune-up series in Houston against the ‘Stros.
• Jung Ho Kang is still a wild card, per Adam Berry of MLB.com, but he is at least in great shape. The site selected JHK as the Pirates great unknown for the 2019 campaign.
• Get used to J-Bell at cleanup; Clint said that’s his lineup spot coming out of camp.
• The Mets released SS Adieny Hechavarria and OF Rajai Davis, and the Jays let RHP John Axford walk. 1B Pedro Alvarez didn’t make the Miami cut and has opted out of his deal, making him a free agent. The Giants picked up another former Bucco, trading with the Brewers for C Erik Kratz, who was also a late camp casualty.