Samuel Basallo hit a pair of home runs as the Baltimore Orioles built a five-run lead the Pittsburgh Pirates couldn’t overcome.
Basallo hit a solo shot off Cam Sanders in the first inning and a two-run homer off Mike Clevinger in the third to boost Baltimore to a 5-2 win Thursday night in a Grapefruit League game before 5,734 at Ed Smith Stadium in Sarasota.
Jhonkensy Noel added a two-run homer off Gregory Soto in the second inning for Baltimore.
The Pirates cut it to 5-2 against Trevor Rogers in the fifth, when Jake Mangum scored on Ryan O’Hearn’s groundout to third and Jared Triolo scored on a Bryan Reynolds singled to right.
Clevinger had four strikeouts in two innings of relief, and lefty Hunter Barco had three strikeouts in two scoreless innings.
Billy Cook went 1 for 3 to improve his batting average to .350 (7 for 20) with three doubles, two homers and five RBIs in his last nine games.
Note: Yohan Ramirez is scheduled to start against Bryce Elder when the Pirates visit the Atlanta Braves at 6:05 p.m. Friday in North Port. Righty Seth Hernandez, the Pirates’ 2025 first-round pick, will start the Spring Breakout against the Detroit Tigers prospects at 7:35 p.m. at LECOM Park in Bradenton. The game will be televised on SportsNet Pittsburgh.