BRADENTON, Fla. -- Brian Bixler doubled, singled and walked in three plate appearances this afternoon in the Pirates' first game action of the spring, a 5-0 blanking of Manatee Community College before 2,102 at McKechnie Field in Bradenton, Fla.

Bixler, the shortstop at Class AAA Indianapolis last season and likely again this season, had an RBI double to left as part of a four-run first inning. Ryan Doumit, Steve Pearce and Doug Mientkiewicz followed with one-out RBI singles.

Pearce and Mientkiewicz each had two hits.

Yoslan Herrera pitched the first two scoreless innings and allowed one hit while striking out two.

The seven pitchers that came after him each threw one scoreless inning, with Jesse Chavez and Marino Salas striking out two each in theirs.

"It was nice to get out there and face someone else's pitchers, college or otherwise," manager John Russell said. "We swung the bats OK, and I thought our pitchers did a nice job of throwing strikes. That's what you look for in a game like this."

Danny Moskos, the Pirates' first-round draft pick last summer making his first appearance in the parent club's uniform, had a 1-2-3 eighth, retiring all of his batters by groundout.

"I thought I'd be a little more nervous than I was," Moskos said. "I just wanted to throw strikes and go right at them."

The Pirates have won all 10 meetings with Manatee.

Tom Gorzelanny will start the Grapefruit League opener against Philadelphia tomorrow in Clearwater, Fla. Bryan Bullington, Phil Dumatrait, Jaret Wright, Juan Perez, John Grabow and Matt Capps will follow. The Phillies' starter will be Kyle Kendrick.

More details in tomorrow's Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.