PIRATES HANDLE THE ORIOLES

Josh Bell stumbled a little bit after rounding first base in the fifth inning of the Pirates’ 10-4 win against the Orioles on Tuesday at Ed Smith Stadium. Fortunately, he could jog the rest of the way.

Bell homered in the Pirates’ last game of the 2018 season, so it hasn’t been that long. But his three-run shot off Orioles reliever Mychal Givens was his first of the spring – and, the Bucs hope, the first of many he’ll slug this year.

Bell ripped a high fastball with the wind and out to center field. It was a good sign for the switch-hitting slugger, who committed last September to stick with an approach and focus on driving the ball to left-center field.

After hitting 26 homers and posting a .466 slugging percentage during his rookie season, Bell went deep only 12 times and slugged .411 last year. The 26-year-old worked extensively this offseason with hitting consultant Joe DeMarco, and he began forging relationships with new hitting coaches Rick Eckstein and Jacob Cruz.

Bell still has three weeks to get ready for Opening Day, but he is pleased with his work so far this spring.

GAME REPORT

Bell’s three-run homer punctuated the Pirates’ five-run fifth inning. Non-roster outfielder JB Shuck hit his second homer of the spring, and Melky Cabrera picked up one of his two hits with an RBI single to center. Bell then homered to chase Givens and give the Bucs a 6-2 lead.

Coming off a rough outing in which he walked four batters, left-hander Steven Brault gave up two runs on five hits and struck out two over three innings. All of the damage came in Brault’s second inning of work, when he allowed two doubles and an RBI single.

Kevin Kramer homered in the seventh inning, and then reliever Michael Feliz allowed two homers. Pittsburgh padded its lead in the ninth, when Will Craig ripped a two-run double to left and scored on Ke’Bryan Hayes’ triple to left-center. Hayes is 6-for-14 with two homers, three doubles, a triple and seven RBIs this spring.

AROUND THE HORN

• Pirates closer Felipe Vazquez did not make his scheduled appearance on Tuesday due to an upper respiratory infection. He is day to day.

• Adam Frazier made his first Grapefruit League appearance, went 1-for-3 with an RBI double from the leadoff spot and played four innings at second base. Frazier has been staying sharp by facing his teammates in simulated games.

“That was just like being in a game, facing Trevor [Williams], Jameson [Taillon] and Joe [Musgrove] – three of the better guys you’re going to face in the league,” Frazier said. “I got a lot out of that.”

• Looking to make the team as a non-roster invitee, Cabrera started in center field but did not have a chance to make any plays. The last time Cabrera played center in a regular-season game was April 6, 2014. The Pirates don’t have a backup center fielder if Starling Marte needs a day off, so their in-house options for that role on Opening Day include Cabrera and super-utility man Pablo Reyes.

“I want to see if he can go play center field,” manager Clint Hurdle said. “We talked about it in the entrance interview, and I’m still not smart enough in this game to tell somebody they can’t do it until I put them out there and give them a chance to do it. We’ll see where it takes us.”

• Catcher Francisco Cervelli will get behind the plate in a game later this week, Hurdle said. The Pirates have been easing Cervelli into action this spring, limiting his in-game work thus far to first base and designated hitter.

UP NEXT

The Pirates will head south to Fort Myers for a 1:05 p.m. ET game against the Red Sox at JetBlue Park at Fenway South. Right-hander Nick Kingham is set to start for Pittsburgh against Boston’s Josh Smith. Also scheduled to pitch for the Bucs are Kyle Crick, Richard Rodriguez, Tyler Lyons, Dovydas Neverauskas and Jesus Liranzo. The game will be televised nationally on ESPN.

SCORING SUMMARY

INNING				PIT	BAL
Pirates		3rd	Frazier doubled to deep center, Kivlehan scored.	1	0
Orioles		4th	Wilkerson hit sacrifice fly to right, Rickard scored.	1	1
Orioles		4th	Peterson singled to right, Escobar scored.	1	2
Pirates		5th	Shuck homered to center.	2	2
Pirates		5th	Cabrera singled to center, Kivlehan scored, Stallings to second.	3	2
Pirates		5th	Bell homered to center, Stallings scored and Cabrera scored.	6	2
Pirates		7th	Kramer homered to center.	7	2
Orioles		7th	Pérez homered to center.	7	3
Orioles		7th	Reinheimer homered to left.	7	4
Pirates		9th	Craig doubled to left, Delay scored and Pabst scored.	9	4
Pirates		9th	Hayes tripled to deep left center, Craig scored.	10	4