Gonzales bounces back in spring finale
BRADENTON, Fla. — After how Marco Gonzales fared during his previous start, allowing nine earned runs via four homers against the Yankees in Tampa, the veteran lefty wanted to wash the bad taste out of his mouth with the regular season fast approaching.
If nothing else in what was even more of a meaningless game than usual, Gonzales accomplished that goal, faring markedly better during a 4-3 Pirates victory on Monday at LECOM Park. The victory ends their Grapefruit League season at 13-16-1. Although the Pirates didn’t hit one against the Blue Jays, the Pirates led all MLB teams with a franchiserecord 49 home runs during spring training.
This one, however, was more about preventing homers than hitting them, as Gonzales delivered three innings of one-run ball, walking none and striking out two.
Gonzales threw 45% cutters against Toronto and did a solid job keeping the ball on the ground.
“That was the goal,” Gonzales said. “Build some confidence, feel good, work on some things from the previous start, implement them and give myself some good momentum going into the year.
“The cutter was really doing what we wanted it to [Monday]. I think a little focused work this past week was really helpful. Then, with that, everything else was executed, too.”
After the Blue Jays forced a 2-2 tie on first baseman Damiano Palmegiani’s solo home run off Ryan Borucki in the fifth inning, Jake Lamb pushed the Pirates in front with his two-run single to right field.
It came on a 3-0 pitch that was left middle- middle. Lamb ripped it 107.1 mph.
It will be interesting to see what happens to Gonzales, who will obviously play a key role in the Pirates’ starting rotation.
Can he shake what has been a largely mediocre spring?
He’s done it before. Back in 2019, Gonzales had a 9.45 ERA in four spring starts for the Mariners.
That led to his best season as a pro, when he ended up making all 34 starts, going 16-13 with a 3.99 ERA in 203 innings, walking 56 and striking out 147.
“You’d like to think if you feel good in spring, you’re gonna carry that into the season,” Gonzales said. “You’d like to think if you don’t feel great in spring, you can flush it and move on. Either way, you’re looking for positives and to do well when the lights turn on.”
On the mound
Aside from Gonzales, the Pirates used Brent Honeywell Jr., Ryan Borucki and Ryder Ryan in the earlier innings. It was a surprise the Pirates didn’t break with Honeywell, who gave them a 1-2-3 fourth and dropped his spring ERA to 2.89 in 9 1/3 innings.
Also notable from this one: Eric Lauer’s Pirates debut. He looked sharp, too, delivering a pair of scoreless innings while not walking a batter and striking out three.
At the plate
Ke’Bryan Hayes has turned in excellent work for much of this spring, and it was no different in the finale. The Pirates third baseman finished with a pair of hits, both singles, to give him a share of the MLB lead in hits (21) during spring training. Hayes also finished with a .412 average and 1.081 OPS.
The Pirates grabbed a 2-1 lead in the fourth inning thanks to RBIs collected by Henry Davis and Rowdy Tellez. Davis doubled on a sinker up, lashing it to left at 100.6 mph. Tellez went the other way on a softer-hit ball (69.8 mph), but it counted just the same.
Lamb collected two hits to close a strong spring for him.
Although he was reassigned to minor league camp, Lamb hit .300 with a .783 OPS and seven RBIs in 19 games.
In the field
Pirates director of sports medicine Todd Tomczyk said before the game that Bryan Reynolds has been dealing with some minor mid-back tightness, hence why he was out of the lineup for a third consecutive day.
Tomczyk added that it was “out of an abundance of precaution” and that the Pirates expect Reynolds to be ready to go by opening day.
Appearing as a late-game sub, Lonnie White Jr. made a strong throw from the outfield to nail Rafael Lantigua in the sixth. Alika Williams made an outstanding play in the hole at shortstop in the ninth inning.
Up next
The Pirates are off on Tuesday before holding a full-team workout on Wednesday afternoon in Miami. They open the regular season on Thursday.