BRADENTON, Fla. – A.J. Burnett got his final tune-up of the spring as the Twins beat the Pirates, 7-2, at McKechnie Field.
He was scheduled to throw 50-55 pitches and hit his limit after three innings. Burnett got to throw to Russell Martin for the first time this spring and said he worked on some pitches and some looks he wouldn’t normally, just so the catcher could get a sense of what Burnett can deliver.
He was most proud to get a curveball past Martin.
Burnett has a 7.36 ERA this spring, which doesn’t include some rough outings against the minor leaguers. But that should not be any reason for concern; Burnett had a 9.58 ERA in spring last year, rehab starts for Bradenton and Indianapolis.
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The Pirates have DFAd right-handed pitcher Hunter Strickland and infielder Clint Robinson to make room on the 40-man roster for LHP Jonathan Sanchez and infielder Brandon Inge. That is also a good indication the Pirates will NOT place Charlie Morton or Francisco Liriano on the 60-day disabled list.
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Clint Hurdle indicated the Pirates will probably bat Pedro Alvarez at cleanup Monday. So much for my chat answer yesterday...
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Here is your Good, Not-So-Good list:
The Good
Pedro Alvarez – Had a monster game, going 4 for 5 with three RBIs.
Starling Marte – He went 3 for 5 with one strikeout.
Andrew McCutchen – Went 2 for 5.
Josh Harrison – Hit a double to the gap in left-centerfield. He went 1 for 4.
Garrett Jones – Scored twice, going 1 for 4 with a walk.
Jeanmar Gomez – He allowed the go-ahead run, but he was pretty good in 3 2/3 innings of relief. He allowed the one run on four hits, striking out three and walking two.
The Not-So-Good
Chris Leroux – He allowed four runs, two earned, on four hits in one-plus innings of work.
Clint Barmes – Went 0 for 4 with one strikeout and two runners stranded.
Neil Walker – He went 0 for 5 and stranded four baserunners.
Russell Martin – He had two of the Pirates’ three errors.
First Published: March 24, 2016, 5:17 p.m.