FORT MYERS, Fla. — The Pirates fell by a final of 2-1 Friday evening to the Red Sox at JetBlue Park in Grapefruit League play. Adam Ottavino was the game’s winning pitcher while Wilkin Ramos suffered the loss.
Pirates pitchers held Boston to just one hit through seven innings, but a two-run bottom of the eighth was enough to give the Red Sox the win. Will Taylor drove home the Pirates’ lone run in the top of the ninth inning with a two-out single.
Here are the Post-Gazette’s three takeaways from the contest.
Ready to go
All-Star right-hander Mitch Keller showed he is ready for the regular season to arrive, throwing three shutout innings of one-hit ball Friday evening. Keller was dominant in his brief outing, striking out five of the 10 batters he faced.
"I felt really good,” Keller said. “It was my last one, just trying to dial it in and it felt really good. Probably the best I've felt all spring."
Keller threw 48 pitches total, 28 for strikes. The lone hit he surrendered came in the bottom of the second inning against Triston Casas, who tagged him for a single to right field. In five outings this spring, Keller logged 15 total innings, going 1-1 with a 2.40 ERA.
"I was just trying to keep it around 50 pitches,” Keller said. “I threw 90-plus on the back field in my last one, so this one was just kinda a reload to get fresh for the regular season."
Entering his seventh season at the game’s highest level, the veteran right-hander says he is ready for the road ahead.
"Really happy with it,” Keller said of his spring. “Worked on changeups a lot, that was really good. Really happy with where everything is at, especially after this last start. I felt really crisp. Everything was working well. I'm excited for the year."
Bednar rolling
Coming off his best outing of the spring, David Bednar kept the ball rolling Friday night, throwing another 1-2-3 frame of relief. Bednar’s first out recorded came via some loud contact, on a deep fly ball to center field from Connor Wong.
After that, however, the two-time All-Star had no further issues, getting Wilyer Abreu to bounce out to first base, and then ending the frame with a strikeout against top 100 prospect Kristian Campbell.
Bednar has now thrown seven innings this spring, striking out nine batters. His ERA, heading into the weekend, is 10.29, largely due to a poor showing against the Twins on March 13, where he surrendered five runs in just ⅓ of an inning.
Cruz update
Oneil Cruz was once again out of the lineup, making it three straight games of no action for the Pirates center fielder. Manager Derek Shelton informed reporters before the game that Cruz, rather than making the trip to play Boston, instead participated in a minor league spring training contest Friday afternoon, with the goal to get him at-bats against left-handed pitching.
“He got six at-bats,” Shelton said. “He hadn’t got any at-bats against left-handers, so we were able to make that happen today.”
Cruz has played 12 Grapefruit league games this spring, going 7-for-31 at the plate with three home runs, 12 RBIs and six stolen bases. Shelton said Cruz will be back in the lineup Saturday against the Orioles, for the club’s final spring training contest at LECOM Park.
Shelton did not have an update on Jared Jones, who on Wednesday, was said to be experiencing right elbow discomfort. Jones, as Shelton mentioned that day, will not pitch in his final scheduled start this spring.
Up next
The Pirates return to Bradenton on Saturday, where they will host the Orioles at LECOM Park in their final home contest in Grapefruit League play. Paul Skenes will start for Pittsburgh, while Zach Eflin will start for Baltimore. First pitch is scheduled for 1:05 p.m. Fans can watch the game on SportsNet Pittsburgh.
First Published: March 22, 2025, 12:52 a.m.
Updated: March 22, 2025, 1:52 a.m.
