Yohan Ramírez made a case for a spot in the bullpen with a strong start for the Pittsburgh Pirates, striking out two of the three batters he faced in a scoreless inning.
The right-hander has been scored upon only once in his last seven appearances this spring, giving up two runs in 7 1/3 innings. The Pirates got an early cushion when Jared Triolo tripled and scored on Nick Yorke’s sacrifice fly to right field.
But that was the only run they could manage as the Atlanta Braves rolled to an 8-1 win Friday night in a Grapefruit League game before 7,042 at CoolToday Park in North Port, Fla.
Matt Olson hit an RBI double and Austin Riley a two-run home run off Nick Dombkowski in a three-run fifth inning.
Triolo, who started at shortstop, is batting .308 (8 for 26) in 10 games this month. Nick Gonzales, who started at third base, went 1 for 3 and is hitting .357 (10 for 28) in 10 games this spring.
Note: Paul Skenes will make his second start of the spring — and first since returning from starring for Team USA in the World Baseball Classic — against Kevin Gausman when the Pirates play host to the Toronto Blue Jays at 1:05 p.m. Saturday at LECOM Park in Bradenton.