BRADENTON, Fla. — Kevin Siegrist, one of the top left-handed relief pitchers in the National League not so long ago, began making his case for an opening day roster spot on Saturday.
Siegrist, making his Pirate debut after signing a minor-league deal two weeks earlier, struck out three consecutive Braves after allowing a double and a stolen base in the seventh inning of the Bucs' 15-1 loss to the Braves at LECOM Park.
At the very least, the 28-year-old proved that a late start to spring training, and last season's injuries that had him looking for a job in February, won't limit him in his bid to stick with the club beyond this month.
"It did feel really good," Siegrist said afterward. "I kind of — as weird as it sounds — felt like I was forcing things a little bit. I just needed to relax. After I gave up the hit, I kind of relaxed a little bit and kind of slowed things down."
Siegrist took over with the Pirates trailing by seven runs and immediately faced a difficult test in Braves center fielder Ronald Acuña Jr., the sport's top prospect according to Baseball America. Acuña, who went 2 for 2, doubled off the wall in left-center field.
He then stole third base with Johan Camargo at the plate. Siegrist proceeded to strike out each of the next three batters: Camargo, Jaff Decker and Dustin Peterson. He did so by pounding his four-seam fastball low and inside while catching Camargo and Peterson off-balance with a changeup on the outside corner.
Siegrist explained that he no longer needs to face live hitters in games early in spring training to be ready for the season and that became clear to Clint Hurdle as the inning progressed.
"I thought everything got better as he continued to pitch into the inning," Hurdle said. "The velocity, the angle, even the breaking pitches, all of it continued to get better as he pitched."
Although Siegrist's résumé is more illustrious than those of his competition, he enters spring training with as many question marks as any pitcher who received a non-roster invite. He had a 4.81 ERA, 1.60 WHIP and averaged a career-high 5.5 walks per nine innings in 39 appearances — his fewest since 2014 — in 2017.
Those struggles were the result of back and forearm injuries, which Siegrist said are no longer an issue. The Pirates, though, signed Siegrist for what he accomplished in four seasons with a division rival.
Siegrist went 17-9 with a 2.70 ERA, 1.15 WHIP and averaged 10.6 strikeouts per nine innings in his first four major league seasons with the Cardinals after making his debut in 2013.
He made a career-high 81 appearances for the Cardinals in 2015, and he even pitched against the Pirates in the National League Division Series as a rookie in 2013.
Siegrist has averaged 10.48 strikeouts per nine innings in his career while holding opposing hitters to a .206 batting average against, including .194 against right-handed hitters and .229 against lefties.
With Steven Brault expected to begin the season in the bullpen, Siegrist's competition includes Kyle Crick, Josh Smoker, Edgar Santana and Dovydas Neverauskas. The Pirates covet left-handed options in the bullpen — which they've lacked in recent years — and they took a low-risk gamble by signing Siegrist to a contract.
He can opt out of the contract if he's not on the major-league roster for opening day, but he still has nearly three weeks to prove his worth.
"I can only control myself, really, and whoever makes that decision makes that decision," Siegrist said. "That’s all I can say about that."
• Trevor Williams' spot in the rotation is secure, but his first two appearances this spring were out of the bullpen. His first start didn't come until Saturday against the Braves, and it was as uneven as his previous outing.
Williams pitched four innings, allowing three earned runs on two hits, including a two-run homer by Peterson on a slider high in the zone in the fourth, with one walk and a strikeout.
"Overall I think I did well," Williams said. "I made a few bad pitches at the end that hurt me. Other than that, I thought all of my pitches were working great today. I had a lot of consistent release points on all my pitches. We did a good job of moving the ball around the plate, moving up and down. Overall, I thought it was a great day, except for a few pitches at the end."
• Crick, Smoker, Felipe Rivero, Yeudy Garcia, Jordan Milbrath and minor-leaguer Sean Keselica also pitched for the Pirates against the Braves.
Rivero, making his fifth appearance this spring, allowed a two-run homer to Dansby Swanson in the fifth inning.
Crick, the 25-year-old relief pitcher acquired from the Giants in the Andrew McCutchen trade, had another difficult outing against the Braves. He was pulled after just 2/3 of an inning after hitting a batter, walking another and allowing one hit for three earned runs.
He now has a 9.64 ERA in 4 2/3 innings this spring, allowing at least one hit in four of his five appearances. Another candidate for a bullpen spot was far worse, though.
Milbrath, a Rule 5 draft pick, was pulled in the ninth inning after five consecutive batters reached without him recording an out. He allowed five runs, four of which were earned, with two walks, a hit batter and a throwing error. The 26-year-old right-hander has a 10.80 ERA in six appearances this spring.
• The Pirates have a 6.39 ERA in 14 Grapefruit League games (138 innings) this spring.
• Josh Harrison wasn't pleased after being hit in the ankle by a curveball from Mike Foltynewicz in the bottom of the third inning. Last season, Harrison was hit by 23 pitches, with the last ending his season in September.
"It never gets easier," Harrison said afterward.
• Against the Braves, Colin Moran went 2 for 2 with a double and is now batting .360 this spring with three doubles. Jordy Mercer hit a solo home run and David Freese went 1 for 2 with a double, although he was stranded at second.
The Pirates are now batting .254 as a team this spring. They left seven men on base and are now 28 for 144 (.194) with runners in scoring position.
• Chad Kuhl had yet another poor outing Saturday, when he was tagged for eight earned runs on seven hits, including three home runs in the first inning, in 2 1/3 innings of the Pirates' 13-5 loss to the Orioles in the split-squad game in Sarasota.
Kuhl, who made 31 starts for the Pirates last season, has a 14.85 ERA in seven innings this spring. Additionally,Tyler Eppler, a right-handed starting pitcher who spent last season at Triple-A Indianapolis, allowed five runs on five hits with two walks.
• Corey Dickerson, Austin Meadows, Starling Marte, Francisco Cervelli and Jose Osuna each drove in a run against the Orioles. Marte went 2 for 3 with a triple while Osuna hit a solo home run in the sixth inning.
• The Pirates announced Friday afternoon they agreed to terms with their 31 pre-arbitration eligible players for 2018, including Kuhl, Josh Bell, Elias Diaz, Michael Feliz, Austin Meadows, Joe Musgrove and Jameson Taillon.
• Here's Clint Hurdle's lineup against the Braves:
1. Josh Harrison, 2B
2. Jordy Mercer, SS
3. Colin Moran, 3B
4. David Freese, 1B
5. Jordan Luplow, LF
6. Christopher Bostick, CF
7. Todd Cunningham, RF
8. Ryan Lavarnway, C
9. Trevor Williams, P
And bench coach Tom Prince managed the other split-squad game with this starting lineup:
1. Austin Meadows, RF
2. Starling Marte, CF
3. Corey Dickerson, LF
4. Sean Rodriguez, SS
5. Francisco Cervelli, C
6. Jose Osuna, 3B
7. Max Moroff, SS
8. Erich Wood, 1B
9. Chad Kuhl, P
• The Pirates will play the Blue Jays in Dunedin, Fla., on Sunday at 1:07 p.m. Clay Holmes is scheduled to start with Jack Leathersich, Richard Rodriguez, Casey Sadler, Brett McKinney and John Stilson in relief.