Red Sox Recap Price, Red Sox tie the Pirates, 4-4

The Red Sox play to a 4-4 tie with the Pittsburgh Pirates in Bradenton this afternoon

The Red Sox played a split-quad game in McKechnie Field in Bradenton, against the Pittsburgh Pirates.  The field has been around since 1923, so all the Red Sox greats from that era forward have played at the field.   David Price made his last start of the Spring.  Six roster members were in today’s lineup.

The Red Sox started out fast in the top of the first.  Mookie Betts doubled to left field.  Josh Rutledge, playing second base today, beat out an infield hit to send Betts to third.  Chris Young followed with a ground out to put Boston on the board, 1-0, sending Rutledge to second.  An out later, Ryan Hanigan laced a single to right field off Pirates starter Jon Niese, to push the score to 2-0.

The Pirates struck back in the bottom of the first.  Josh Harrison singled to center, advanced to second on a wild pitch, then scored on a ground single to center by rookie Jason Rogers.  Price wasn’t looking sharp when he plunked Gregory Polanco on the instep of his back foot with a breaking ball.  Two groundouts ended the inning with the score still 2-1.

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The Red Sox added a run in the fifth inning.  Betts reached on an error, who was forced by Rutledge who reached first.  Chris Young hit a booming triple to the left centerfield warning track that just eluded the reach of the Pirates all-world centerfielder Andrew McCutcheon.  In the sixth, McCutcheon doubled and scored on a double by Starling Marte to make the score 3-2.

Betts reached on another error in the seventh inning, which allowed him to cruise into third base.  Rutledge drove him in with a double to make the count 4-2.  That man McCutcheon greeted Red Sox minor leaguer Rob Wort with a two run homer in the seventh to tie the game at four.  Wort, formerly of the Diamondbacks and Nationals organizations, will pitch for AA Portland this season.  Kyle Martin walked four over the last two innings but escaped trouble in each of his innings.  The bullpen was starting to warm up since he was over 40 pitches, but he induced a double play to end the ninth inning.

The game ended there at a 4-4 tie.

Game Notes

• Koji Uehara made his first appearance in two weeks, his third of Spring Training, twirling a perfect fifth, striking out one.  For those who might think he is going downhill, he also appeared in only three games in Spring Training in 2015.
• Of the Red Sox seven hits, four of them went for extra bases
• Matt Barnes allowed his first run of the Spring in 12.1 innings
• With his O-fer today, Sam Travis‘s Spring average stands at .469.  Maybe he can turn it around tomorrow.

Price allowed one run on four hits in his four innings of work, walking one and striking out three.  His next start will be the first game of the season on Monday afternoon in Cleveland.  Getting his work in and staying injury-free are the priorities for Price at this point in the pre-season.  He accomplished both those things and was able to work out of a jam to boot even though a double play should have been turned behind him, but a minor leaguer was at shortstop. The ball was not hit very hard, though.

While he was not terribly sharp, Martin managed to hold the Pirates scoreless despite four walks.  Barnes and Wort each gave up runs, so they were not considered.  Uehara’s scoreless inning was encouraging for next week, but Martin’s two innings get the nod.

Next: Wright has earned rotation spot

Rutledge gets the award today for scoring two runs, knocking two hits (including a double), and driving in a run as well.  He didn’t exactly light the world on fire with his .208 batting average this Spring, but he could be considered trade bait considering his major league experience. The team managed only seven hits today. Blake Swihart, today’s DH, had a double and a single in four plate appearances.