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Pittsburgh Pirates: Takeaways from Game 2 of MLB Spring Training

By Derek Snyder

BRADENTON FL- MARCH 3: Third baseman Josh Harrison #5 of the Pittsburgh Pirates makes the throw to first base during the first inning of the Spring Training Game against the Toronto Blue Jays on March 3, 2016 at McKechnie Field in Bradenton, Florida. The Blue Jays defeated the Pirates 10-8. (Photo by Leon Halip/Getty Images)
BRADENTON FL- MARCH 3: Third baseman Josh Harrison #5 of the Pittsburgh Pirates makes the throw to first base during the first inning of the Spring Training Game against the Toronto Blue Jays on March 3, 2016 at McKechnie Field in Bradenton, Florida. The Blue Jays defeated the Pirates 10-8. (Photo by Leon Halip/Getty Images) /
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The Pittsburgh Pirates and New York Yankees squared off on Saturday, February 24th in the Bucs’ second game of their 2018 MLB Spring Training schedule.

Looking to rebound from their first loss of 2018 MLB Spring Training on Friday, the Pittsburgh Pirates squared off with New York Yankees on Saturday afternoon. However, even with most of the Bucs’ starters in the lineup, Pittsburgh wasn’t able to break through in the win column thanks to another solid outing from the Yanks’ pitching staff.

It’s pretty darn clear that the Yankees organization has been adding and developing some elite talent throughout their farm-system, which they put on display Saturday afternoon. Needless to say, it looks like New York’s immediate baseball future is in good hands.

With that said, take a look at the box score from the Pirates’ match-up with the Yankees below:

Box Score:

For the second-straight day, the Pirates will be hanging up their cleats without a victory, but again, the most important part about these games is that Pittsburgh keeps improving. It’s the time of the year where hitters are getting back in groove and the coaching staff is learning everything they can about their pitchers. At the end of the day, there’s zero reason to be concerned over an 0-2 record.

Highs:

Gregory Polanco easily had the best game of any Pirates hitter, as he finished the afternoon with two hits on three tries. Pittsburgh’s line-up will be needing Polanco to have a ton of games like this in 2018, which is why seeing him smack a home-run in his first appearance of Spring Training is extremely encouraging.

If the 26-year-old can stay healthy this season, I wouldn’t be surprised at all to see him surpass his home-run total from 2017. Needless to say, that would be definitely be a welcomed result for a team playing without Andrew McCutchen for the first time in many years.

Lows:

Pittsburgh pitcher, Richard Rodriguez, had a terrible day at the ballpark on Saturday, as he gave up three earned-runs on three hits; however, the worst part was that he gave up those three runs in only one recorded inning. In a ballgame that finished with a 4-1 final, it’s not hard to figure out where it all went wrong for the Bucs.

Next: Corey Dickerson trade was huge move for Pirates

Regardless of Saturday’s outcome, the Pirates will have another opportunity to improve on Sunday against the Detroit Tigers. Take a look at MLB’s preview of Pittsburgh’s Sunday match-up against Detroit here.

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