Ke’Bryan Hayes was happy to see his name in the leadoff spot on the lineup card for his first spring training game in 10 days. The Pittsburgh Pirates third baseman knew exactly what to expect after a long layoff.
“I always joke that when you lead off, you know you’re getting a first-pitch heater,” Hayes told SportsNet Pittsburgh. “It helps slow some things down, knowing what you’re going to get in that first at-bat.”
Even if he didn’t swing.
With his team trailing by a run in the bottom of the first inning, Hayes drew a four-pitch walk and scored the tying run on Oneil Cruz’s single and played error-free defense at third in a game that was otherwise sloppy.
The Pirates pounded out 13 hits, including an eighth-inning grand slam by Henry Davis, to roll to a 15-5 win over the Baltimore Orioles on Saturday afternoon in a Grapefruit League game at LECOM Park in Bradenton, Fla.
Hayes, who hadn’t played since March 5 because of left side tightness, went 0 for 1 with two walks and a run scored. He said the Pirates took every precaution, given his history of chronic back issues, in bringing him back to game action so he would be ready for Opening Day.
“Everything was good,” Hayes said. “It wasn’t really anything too serious. We just wanted to be cautious. If it were up to me, I would’ve been in there a couple of games ago. We still have a good amount of games left to where it kind of was no rush. The main goal is to be ready for March 27.”
Dylan Carlson led off the game by sending a 2-0 fastball 357 feet to right-center for a leadoff home run to give the Orioles a 1-0 advantage. Ramon Laureano reached on an errant throw by shortstop Nick Gonzales, then advanced to third on a groundout but Pirates starter Carmen Mlodzinski responded by striking out Gary Sanchez and Nick Gordon.
The Pirates drew leadoff walks who ended up scoring in each of their first three innings. Hayes drew a walk, advanced to second on Sanchez’s throwing error on a pickoff attempt, to third on a groundout by Endy Rodriguez and scored on a single to right by Cruz.
DJ Stewart walked to start the second, went to third on a double by Gonzales and scored on an Adam Frazier groundout for a 2-1 lead.
Rodriguez walked, went to third on a Cruz single and scored on an error by Orioles pitcher Thaddeus Ward’s pickoff attempt to make it 3-1. Jack Suwinski doubled, but Cruz tagged and was stuck at third, then scored on a grounder to short by Gonzales for a 4-1 lead.
Mlodzinski allowed one run on two hits and two walks with three strikeouts in three innings before he was replaced in the fourth by David Bednar, who was a victim of some bad luck.
Coby Mayo led off with a double to right and scored when Vimael Machin’s grounder up the middle bounced under the gloves of Frazier and Gonzales to cut it to 4-2. Machin advanced to second on a balk, to third on a single to short by Luis Vazquez and scored on a passed ball by Rodriguez to make it 4-3. Suwinski made a diving catch on Carlson’s fly ball to right, but the sacrifice fly tied the game at 4-4.
The Pirates took a 5-4 lead in the fourth, when Gregory Soto made an errant throw on Ji Hwan Bae’s bunt, walked Hayes and Rodriguez before Cruz drove in Bae on a groundout to third. They pulled away with a three-run sixth. After Bae doubled and scored on a single by Abrahan Gutierrez, Suwinski battled back from an 0-2 count by fouling off six pitches and hitting a full-count fastball for a two-run single to right in a 12-pitch at-bat to extend the lead to 8-4.
The Pirates got a two-run double from Nick Cimillo followed by an RBI double by Jase Bowen in a three-run seventh. The Orioles cut it to 11-5 when Yohan Ramirez hit Anthony Servideo with a pitch with the bases loaded in the eighth, but Davis sealed it with his grand slam.