Five innings into a Keystone State throwdown...

- Pirates beat writers have Tweeted it and Pirates honchos have said it: Outfielder Starling Marte is not breaking spring training with the big club. Makes sense. Pittsburgh's outfield is a crowded lot, with Andrew McCutchen, Jose Tabata and Alex Presley in the starting lineup and veteran Nate McLouth serving as their chief backup. And Marte, 23, has never played a game above Double-A. But he sure is exciting to watch: He leadoff today's game with a home run off Cliff Lee. It was Marte's third home run of the year.
- Remember when he Phillies stunk? No one has lost more games (1,092), and for a franchise that began playing in 1883, the Phightins have only two World Championships to their credit. That's as many as the Florida Marlins, who were hatched exactly 100 years after the Phillies.
Well, those days are gone. The Phillies have won six straight NL East crowns, won a championship in 2008, went back to the World Series in 2009 and boast one of baseball's best starting rotations. Perhaps that's why red is the color of the day today at jam packed McKechnie Field.
- Pirates starter Kevin Correia tossed four shutout innings today and has not allowed a run in nine innings this spring. Does that count as a shutout?
- Oh, the Pirates lead the Phillies 3-0 after six innings.