The Boston Red Sox and Pittsburgh Pirates met for the first time this spring today.
Pittsburgh Pirates Starting Lineup
CF – Jake Mangum
2B – Nick Golzales
1B – Spencer Horwitz
3B – Nick Yorke
DH – Enmanuel Valdez
C – Endy Rodriguez
SS – Knnor Griffin
RF – Jhonstynxon Garcia
LF – Billy Cook
RHP – Carmen Mlodzinski
Boston Red Sox Starting Lineup
LF – Roman Anthony
SS – Trevor Story
DH – Jarren Duran
1B – Willson Contreras
RF – Wiley Abreu
3B – Chad Durbin
CF – Ceddanne Rafaela
2B – Isiah Kiner-Falefa
C – Connor Wong
LHP – Ranger Suarez
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Pirates vs. Red Sox
Scoring
The Konnor Griffin Show
The Pirates got the scoring started in the top of the second when the top prospect in baseball for 2026, Konnor Griffin, hit a two-run home run. In the top of the third, Nick Gonzales singled home Jake Mangum to make it 3-0. Griffin was at it again, this time with a solo home run in the fourth. Mangum added to the Pirates’ lead with a single that drove home former Red Sox Jhostynxon Garcia. Nick Gonzales then doubled home Mangum to make it 6-0 Pirates.
The Red Sox got on the board in the bottom of the fourth with Ceddanne Rafaela hitting his first home run of the spring. Griffin continued to torment the Red Sox as he drove home a run on a groundout. Mangum drew a bases-loaded walk that brought home Endy Rodriguez to make it 8-1. Garcia also scored in the inning on a wild pitch, and then Termarr Johnson singled home Billy Cook to make it 10-1.
Red Sox Draw Closer
In the bottom of the fifth, the Red Sox started to chip away with Trevor Story scoring on a passed ball. Willson Contreras hit his first home run in a Red Sox jersey, a two-run bomb to make it 10-4. In the sixth, Shawn Ross drove home Yordany De Los Santos on a sacrifice fly. Mikey Romero for the Red Sox brought home Tsung-Che Cheng on an RBI groundout. De Los Santos drew a bases-loaded walk for the Pirates to make it 12-5.
Pirates Pull Away
The Red Sox continued to chip away as Allan Castro doubled home Mickey Gasper, then Cheng singled home Castro to make it 12-7. Every time the Red Sox would get closer, the Pirates would pull away. This time in the eighth, Dominic Fletcher lines out to Romero, but Callan Moss would score on a throwing error to make it 13-7. De Los Santos was at it again as he continued to torment the Red Sox. He hit a two-run home run, his first home run of the spring, which made it 15-7. The Pirates weren’t done in the top of the ninth. Shawn Ross doubled home Derek Berg to make it 16-7.
Pitching
Pittsburgh
Carmen Mlodzinski went two innings, allowing just a hit and striking out three in his first start of the spring. Thomas Harrington was first out of the bullpen. He went two innings, giving up a run on a hit and two walks. Antwone Kelly was next. He went 1.1 innings, giving up four runs on three hits and walking two. Emmanuel Chapman went 0.2 innings, giving up two walks and striking out one. Khristian Curtis went one inning, giving up two runs on two hits; he walked one and struck out one. Justin Meis went one shutout inning, striking out one. Cy Nielson got the ninth; he issued a walk but shut the door for Pittsburgh.
Boston
Ranger Suarez got the start in his Red Sox debut. He went 1.2 innings, giving up the home run. He allowed three hits and struck out two. Max Carlson came in for Suarez and got the last out of the inning. Ryan Watson got the third, giving up a run on three hits; he struck out one. Seth Martinez was next out of the bullpen, going one inning. He struggled, giving up three runs on four hits; he did strike out two. The next reliever for Boston also didn’t fare so well. Vinny Nittoli went 0.2 innings, giving up four runs on three hits.
Steven Brooks came in and allowed a walk and a hit. Alec Gamboa would be next, going 1.1 innings, giving up two runs on two hits and walking one. Joe Vogatsky was next, but he went 0.2 innings and walked two. Jacob Webb was next out of the pen. He went 1.2 innings, giving up three runs, two earned, on three hits; he struck out one. Griffin Killander came in, and he allowed a run on two hits and a walk.
Next Up:
The Red Sox will face the Minnesota Twins tomorrow, who they faced the other day and won on Sunday, 7-2. First pitch is at 1:05 PM EST. The Pirates face the Atlanta Braves tomorrow with first pitch at 1:05 PM EST. Paul Skenes will be on the mound for the Pirates.
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