Wednesday, March 7, 2012

Another one done

(photo by John Lembo)

The Pittsburgh Pirates hit three home runs Wednesday but still lost 8-6 to the Toronto Blue Jays in front of 4,446 fans at McKechnie Field.
The Blue Jays hit three home runs as well.
Pedro Alvarez, Garett Jones and Starling Marte all hit their first home runs of the spring for the Pirates (2-3), who got pair of doubles from Josh Harrison and two hits from Alvarez, who also added a single.
Travis Snider, Yan Gomes and Luis Valbuena all homered for the Blue Jays.
STAR OF THE GAME: Pirates starter Jeff Karstens needed just 35 pitches to get through three innings. The 29-year-old righty allowed two hits, no walks and struck out one. Karstens led the Pirates with a 3.38 ERA last year.
PROSPECT OF THE GAME: Marte gets it again. His two-run home run and ninth-inning single give him 7 hits in his last 7 at-bats. A Bradenton Marauder in 2010, Marte was named the Eastern League’s Rookie of the Year in ’11 while playing with the Pirates’ Double-A team in Altoona, Pa.
QUOTE OF THE DAY: “Seven straight hits is a lot. I never got seven straight hits.” – Pirates manager Clint Hurdle, referring to Marte’s streak.
UP NEXT: The Pirates head to Clearwater today for a 1:05 start against the Philadelphia Phillies. James McDonald is expected to start for Pittsburgh against Phillies lefty Cole Hamels. The Pirates next home game is Saturday against the Minnesota Twins.

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