The Pittsburgh Pirates got a taste of what Tommy Pham can offer when the 12th-year veteran left fielder threw out a runner and hit his first home run of spring training Sunday against the Detroit Tigers.
But they also dealt with the downside of having a 37-year-old penciled into the starting lineup, as Pham left the game after the third inning with left hip tightness and is listed as day-to-day. Pham provided a pair of highlights in a 5-3 loss to the Tigers in a Grapefruit League game at Publix Field at Joker Marchant Stadium in Lakeland, Fla.
After the Tigers took a 1-0 lead in the first inning on a sacrifice fly by Gleyber Torres to score Jahmai Jones, Pham threw out Kerry Carpenter at second base as Carpenter tried to stretch a single to a double.
In the top of the third, Pham took 2024 AL Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal deep. Pham went opposite field by sending a 2-1 fastball 356 feet to right field to tie the score at 1-1. Joey Bart delivered the go-ahead run with a line-drive single to right to score Endy Rodriguez. Bart went 3 for 4 and has produced an RBI in four consecutive games and six of his past seven.
The Tigers tied it in the bottom of the inning when Andy Ibanez hit a sacrifice fly to center to score Jones, then took a commanding lead when Javier Baez hit a three-run homer to center off Pirates lefty starter Andrew Heaney for a 5-2 advantage. Heaney allowed four runs on five hits and two walks with no strikeouts in 21⁄3 innings in his second start.
With the bases loaded, Ji Hwan Bae grounded out to first to score Liover Peguero to cut it to 5-3 in the fourth. Bae is batting .500 (8 for 16) this spring.
Lefty Caleb Ferguson provided 22⁄3 scoreless innings, marking the fourth appearance in which he has pitched at least two innings. Righty sidewinder Justin Lawrence, who was claimed off waivers from the Colorado Rockies on Tuesday, made his Pirates debut and had one strikeout in a scoreless eighth inning.
Notes: Mitch Keller is scheduled to start against Matt Bowman when the Pirates host the Baltimore Orioles at 6:05 p.m. Monday at LECOM Park. The game will be televised on SportsNet Pittsburgh and broadcast on 93.7 FM and the Pirates Radio Network.
