Hunter Barco made the final cut for the Pittsburgh Pirates, then showed why he’s ready for a relief role.
The 6-foot-4 left-hander tossed 2 1/3 scoreless innings to finish spring training with a 2.31 ERA after being scored upon once in five appearances.
It was the way the game started that proved problematic for the Pirates.
Matt Olson homered twice as the Atlanta Braves beat the Pirates, 5-2, Monday afternoon in their Grapefruit League finale before 4,620 at LECOM Park in Bradenton, Fla.
Carson Fulmer started and gave up two runs in three innings, both on solo home runs. Olson gave the Braves a 1-0 lead with a 396-foot shot to right field in the first inning, and Eli White hit a line drive to left-center to make it 2-0 in the second.
Mike Clevinger, who didn’t make the final cut, relieved Fulmer in the fourth and struck out the first two batters he faced before Michael Harris II reached on a fielding error by second baseman Brandon Lowe. Harris advanced on a disengagement violation by Clevinger, who then walked Ozzie Albies and hit White with a pitch to load the bases. With Jonah Heim batting, Harris scored when White was picked off at second base.
Nick Gonzales hit a two-out RBI double off Samuel Strickland to score Spencer Horwitz in the fifth and cut the Pirates’ deficit to 3-1.
Clevinger gave up back-to-back homers to Mike Yastrzemski and Olson to make it 5-1 in the sixth. He allowed three runs (two earned) on two hits and one walk while striking out three in 2 2/3 innings of relief.
Nick Yorke had an RBI double in the eighth to score Eddie Rynders to cut it to 5-2. Gonzales, who started at third base, went 1 for 2 with a double and RBI to finish .364 (12 for 33) in 12 games this spring. Catcher Henry Davis also went 1 for 2 to hit safely in five of his last six games. Billy Cook went 1 for 2 off the bench and batted .300 (9 for 30) in his final 13 games.
Paul Skenes will make his second consecutive Opening Day start against Freddy Peralta when the Pirates visit the New York Mets in the season opener Thursday at Citi Field. The game will be nationally televised on NBC and Peacock and broadcast on 93.7 The Fan.
It will mark the Pirates’ earliest start to the season, one day earlier than their March 27 opener at Miami last year, and the 10th consecutive season and 11th in 12 years that they open on the road.
The Pirates have a 74-65 record over their first 139 National League openers (57-50 on the road and 17-15 at home). This marks the eighth time the Pirates have faced the Mets on Opening Day. The most recent was April 1, 2002, when they lost 6-2 at Shea Stadium.