FORT MYERS, Fla. — The Boston Red Sox showed some 2013-style fight Monday, rallying from a five-run deficit to tie their spring training game against the Pittsburgh Pirates in the eighth inning.
The Pirates ultimately prevailed 7-6, as former Red Sox farmhand Chris McGuiness delivered a go-ahead RBI double in the bottom of the eighth inning. But there were some positives for Boston, most notably the solid spring debuts of Koji Uehara and Junichi Tazawa.
The Red Sox will return to JetBlue Park on Tuesday to host the Tampa Bay Rays, with Clay Buchholz scheduled to make his first spring start. Let’s glance over some brief spring training notes from Monday before officially turning the page.
-Jake Peavy explained the fishing knife accident in which he cut his left index finger.
-Brandon Workman was knocked around against the Pirates, giving up five earned runs on five hits in 2 1/3 innings. The right-hander surrendered home runs to Pedro Alvarez and Russell Martin.
It wasn’t all bad for Workman, though. The 25-year-old showed an overpowering fastball at times, and it was simply a matter of the Pirates making the most of Workman’s mistakes.
“I thought he showed good definition with three different pitches, but when he mislocated or elevated a couple times, they made him pay for it,” Red Sox manager John Farrell said. “But we got him out for the start of the third inning, and as we continue to stretch him out, we got him to 45 or so pitches, it was a solid work day, even though the results might not be what we anticipated.”
-Uehara and Tazawa worked a scoreless fourth and fifth inning, respectively. Uehara’s frame was perfect and included two strikeouts.
-Henry Owens pitched two innings, allowing one earned run (the winning run) on one hit while striking out two.
-A.J. Pierzynski rolled his ankle while running the bases in the seventh inning. The veteran catcher said after exiting that he felt fine, and he isn’t scheduled to play again until Friday, anyway.
It is the second time this spring Pierzynski has rolled his left ankle.
-Ryan Lavarnway got his first game action at first base. He robbed Travis Snider with a diving play in the second inning.
-Mike Carp and Bryce Brentz connected on home runs. Brentz’s blast was his second of the spring.
-Garin Cecchini walked twice, continuing what has been a solid camp for the 22-year-old. Cecchini also showed great aggressiveness in the third inning while breaking up a potential double play.
-Matt Barnes was scheduled to follow Buchholz in Tuesday’s game, but the 23-year-old won’t pitch this week because of shoulder tenderness, manager John Farrell said.
-Rubby De La Rosa, Andrew Miller, Francisco Cordero and Jose Mijares are among those expected to join Buchholz in facing the Rays on Tuesday.
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Photo via Twitter/@TCB_DanKennedy
