Konnor Griffin hit his fourth home run of spring training in the ninth inning to spare the Pittsburgh Pirates a shutout loss.
The Tampa Bay Rays got three-hit performances from Jake Fraley and Cedric Mullins, who homered and had four RBIs in a 6-1 win over the Pirates on Sunday afternoon in a Grapefruit League game before 5,744 at Charlotte Sports Park in Port Charlotte, Fla.
Pirates starter Jose Urquidy allowed three runs on six hits and one walk with four strikeouts but struggled with his command in the third inning.
Fraley hit a line drive to center to score Gavin Lux, stole second base and reached third on a wild pitch. When Urquidy threw another wild pitch, Fraley scored to give the Rays a 2-0 lead. Mullins followed by sending a 2-2 changeup at the bottom of the strike zone 387 feet to center field for a solo home run and 3-0 lead.
Mullins singled to right field to drive in Jonathan Aranda and Fraley in the fifth inning as the Rays stretched their advantage to five runs. In the seventh, Mullins singled to pitcher Jaycob Deese to score Tre Morgan to make it 6-0.
Griffin led off the ninth by smoking an 0-2 sweeper from Luis Guerrero 403 feet to center at an exit velocity of 102.5 mph to make it 6-1. His four homers were tied for the Grapefruit League lead at the conclusion of the game, and his nine RBIs lead the Pirates.
Jhostynxon Garcia singled in the ninth to record a hit in each of his past nine games, which is tied with Colorado’s Troy Johnston for the longest hitting streak of any player this spring. Dominic Fletcher singled and Enmanuel Valdez drew a two-out walk to load the bases, but Endy Rodriguez struck out on a foul tip to end the game.
Note: Noah Davis is scheduled to start for the Pirates against Joe Ryan and the Minnesota Twins at 1:05 p.m. at Lee Health Sports Complex in Fort Myers. The game will be televised on SportsNet Pittsburgh.