Spring training: Penn's pitching today pivotal
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Pirates pitcher Ross Ohlendorf allowed five runs in five innings to the Phillies Friday night, capping a poor spring. -
Phillies Chase Utley hits a home run in the fifth inning.
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PHILADELPHIA -- The Pirates, less than two days from the season opener, still have a roster in significant flux.
Or so it would appear.
Even though the team still was carrying four players above the 25-man limit after a 5-3 loss to the Philadelphia Phillies Friday night at Citizens Bank Park, even though management had not yet determined if it will carry 11 or 12 pitchers, and even though the roster must be set by 3 p.m. Sunday, the situation is not really that unsettled.
General manager Neal Huntington said before the game that he and his staff have set up scenarios based on multiple possibilities -- including any outside acquisition -- and that choosing a roster will be a simple matter of which possibility plays out ...
To start with the most pressing: Newly acquired reliever Hayden Penn will pitch again in the team's spring finale this afternoon, and his performance could be unusually pivotal given an exhibition setting.
"A lot of this is Hayden Penn," Huntington said. "But there are other factors, too."
Game: Pirates vs. Philadelphia Phillies, 1:05 p.m., Citizens Bank Park, Philadelphia. LHP Paul Maholm vs. LHP J.A. Happ.
Radio: WPGB-FM (104.7).
Camp roster: 29 players, including 14 pitchers, two catchers, eight infielders, five outfielders
Injuries: RHP Joel Hanrahan (elbow), RHP Jose Ascanio (shoulder).
Opener: Two days until the Los Angeles Dodgers at PNC Park.
Penn, a 25-year-old right-hander who once was a promising prospect in the Baltimore system, was claimed off waivers from Florida earlier in the week. He is out of options, so a decision to keep him must be made by Sunday, or the Pirates risk losing him to waivers.
In his first formal outing for the Pirates, Thursday in Clearwater, Fla., he pitched 1 2/3 scoreless innings with two strikeouts and two hits. More important in management's eyes, he impressed with dynamic breaking stuff, including what one team official called "12-to-6" action on his curve. But wildness has been a problem for Penn, and all eyes today will be on his command.
First Published April 3, 2010 12:00 am
