Joel Wilson – Staff Writer

jnw5443@psu.edu

While the angle of the Earth may still indicate winter, the hearts of baseball fans know the truth. The truth is that spring has sprung with the opening games of the Grapefruit and Cactus League being played over the weekend.
On Saturday, the Toronto Blue Jays made the one-hour trip from Dunedin, Florida to Bradenton, Florida to take on the Pittsburgh Pirates at LECOM Park.

The skies over the ballpark were clear and the temperatures hit the low 80’s. It was a beautiful day for baseball.
As per usual with early spring training games, the starting lineups for each team were replaced with minor league
prospects around the 5th inning. Because of this, the most important information must be drawn from the early innings.
Mitch Keller was given the ball to start the game. In the middle of last season, Keller made adjustments to his pitching style. These fixes drastically improved his statistics. That theme continued Saturday when the right hander hurled 2 scoreless innings. The version of Mitch Keller that took the mound Saturday showed great promise for the upcoming campaign.
While Keller performed well, the same cannot be said for the members of the bullpen that were chosen to pitch in the
exhibition game. David Bednar, who was an All Star in 2022, pitched only 1 inning and allowed 2 hits and 3 runs. All 3 runs were home runs. Bednar, a native of Mars, PA, was solid last season as the Bucs’ closer. At this point, it is too early to tell if this subpar performance was a decline in talent, or just offseason rust which has not been shaken off.
Duane Underwood Jr. also had a disquieting outing. He, too, only pitched an inning, but gave up 3 runs on 4 hits. It
should be noted that one of the runs he allowed was unearned. Underwood Jr. was shaky in the bullpen last season, and that appears to have carried over to the new year. Like Bednar, fans should not be too quick to judge. There is a lot of time in the offseason for improvement, and those improvements are not always displayed during the first exhibition game.
The Pirates’ offense did well for their first game. The highlight of the game was a grand slam from Rodolfo Castro.
With the bases loaded and nobody out, Castro launched a sizzling line drive over the wall in right center field. He excitedly made his way around the bases and was heartily greeted at home plate by the three runners he knocked in.
Oneil Cruz managed to get a hit in 3 trips to the plate, and the newly acquired first baseman Carlos Santana and catcher Austin Hedges both got knocks.
Andrew McCutchen received a hearty round of applause as he made his first appearance in black and gold since 2017. He would, sadly, go 0-3.
The Pirates could not hold onto their grand slam-given lead. A 3-run 4th inning tied the game for the Jays, who went
on to score 2 more in the 5th. Another 3 runs came in the 7th inning for the Canadians.
The Pirates attempted to rally but could not manage to pull off a comeback. They were defeated 9-7.
Despite the loss, key players performed well, and gave a seed of hope for those who follow the team.