PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. — Jung Ho Kang and Pablo Reyes each had two hits during the Pirates’ 3-2 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays Friday at Charlotte Sports Park.
Here’s what you need to know about the game:
On the mound
Geoff Hartlieb got another crack at defusing a dangerous situation Friday. After replacing Francisco Liriano with two outs and the bases loaded in the third inning, Hartlieb got a groundout to end the threat.
“Here’s a guy that’s got some good stuff and is a young kid that’s learning,” pitching coach Ray Searage said. “He’s part of our future. To put him in situations like that against guys with single earflaps, and him not to back down, that’s great. It’s nothing but growth.”
On Feb. 28, Hartlieb entered with the bases loaded and nobody out against the New York Yankees, with Aaron Judge batting and Giancarlo Stanton on deck. He got Judge to ground into a double play and Stanton to ground out.
At the plate
Kang singled — his first single of the spring — and doubled off the top of the wall during Friday’s game. After singling and doubling, Reyes is now hitting .311 this spring.
In the field
Kang played shortstop for the first time this spring after winning the third-base job earlier this week. He had played there before, and the Pirates wanted to see how he adapted in case of emergencies.
“We talked about it with the manager, about the shortstop, and yeah, we can play if the team needed,” Kang said via interpreter Jeffrey Kim. “There should be no problem.”
Up next
Game: Pirates vs. Phillies/at Red Sox, 1:05 p.m.
Where: LECOM Park, Bradenton, Fla./JetBlue Park, Fort Myers, Fla.
TV, radio: AT&T SportsNet KDKA-FM (93.7).
Bill Brink: bbrink@post-gazette.com and Twitter @BrinkPG.
First Published: March 23, 2019, 1:55 p.m.
