Pirates pay Price in defeat
PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. — David Price’s longest outing of the spring was one of his best, too.
Price pitched seven strong innings and Luke Scott hit a two-run homer in the Tampa Bay Rays’ 6-4 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Wednesday night.
Pittsburgh scored once in the fifth and Andrew McCutchen hit a solo homer in the sixth.
Price gave up two runs and six hits with two walks and five strikeouts. He threw 92 pitches, 59 for strikes.
Neil Walker hit an RBI double off Rays reliever J.P. Howell to cut Tampa Bay’s lead to 6-3 in the eighth.
Pirates right-hander Charlie Morton, recovering from offseason hip surgery, struggled in his fourth spring start. Morton gave up six runs and eight hits in five innings, increasing his ERA to 7.07.
While Price has the luxury of knowing he’s Tampa Bay’s No. 2 starter, Morton isn’t sure where he factors into Pittsburgh’s rotation — if at all. The Pirates won’t need a fifth starter until April 15, and Morton’s spring has been slowed as he works his way back from surgery.
“It’s a gray area,” Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said. “I think he’s making progress. I think we saw him very clean and efficient early. Then I think you saw the one inning fatigued him.
“We didn’t get him to where we wanted to on his pitch count.”
