The Pittsburgh Pirates gave Thomas Harrington the final start of spring training, even though they had decided that the 23-year-old right-hander wasn’t going to make their Opening Day roster.
Harrington made quick work of the Minnesota Twins in an 11-pitch first inning, sandwiching strikeouts of Matt Wallner and Byron Buxton around a Carlos Correa fly out.
The Twins punched back in a four-run second inning on their way to a 5-1 win over the Pirates in the Grapefruit League finale Monday afternoon at Hammond Stadium in Fort Myers, Fla.
The Pirates were outscored 18-5 in losing their final five games to finish Grapefruit League play with a 14-15 record. They open the regular season Thursday at the Miami Marlins.
Harrington gave up four consecutive hits in the second. Ryan Jeffers hit a one-out single to center, and Jose Miranda doubled to left before Edouard Julien sent a 1-0 fastball over the left-field fence for a three-run homer. Ty France followed with a double to right, prompting the Pirates to pull Harrington.
Jack Carey got Harrison Bader to fly out but hit Matt Wallner with a pitch, then gave up an RBI single to Correa that scored France for a 4-0 Twins lead.
The Pirates answered in the top of the third, as Ji Hwan Bae drew a one-out walk then advanced to second and third on a pair of wild pitches by Twins right-hander Bailey Ober. Bryan Reynolds, who went 2 for 2 with a double, hit a two-out RBI single to right to score Bae to cut the score to 4-1. Bae finished the spring batting .381 (16 for 42).
Harrington returned for the third and allowed four runs on five hits without a walk and two strikeouts, throwing 32 of 49 pitches for strikes in three innings.
In the fifth, Buxton hit David Bednar’s first-pitch 94.7-mph elevated fastball to left-center for a solo home run to give the Twins a 5-1 lead.
Note: The Pirates reassigned right-handed pitchers Harrington, Carson Fulmer, Burch Smith and Tanner Rainey and outfielder/first baseman DJ Stewart to minor league camp.
