CLEARWATER, Fla. -- Steven Brault didn’t take a break over the winter.
The left-hander continued a light throwing program once last season ended and he returned home to San Diego. He then spent much of the winter overhauling his throwing motion.
So Brault was quite pleased with how things went Saturday when he started in the Pirates’ exhibition opener. He pitched two scoreless innings, allowing one hit, hitting a batter and striking out two in the Pirates’ 3-2 victory over the Phillies at Spectrum Stadium.
“You take all that time in the offseason and you obviously want to do well,” Brault said. “It doesn’t mean everything was perfect or anything like that. It’s just one outing. But it’s nice to get the results I want.”
Brault threw 19 of his 23 pitches for strikes as he competes with Rookie Davis, Nick Kingham and Jordan Lyles for the fifth and final spot in the rotation.
The defense put Brault in a tough spot in the first inning. A fielding error by right fielder Patrick Kivlehan and a throwing error by third baseman Colin Moran allowed the Phillies to put runners on the corners with one out.
However, Brault escaped by getting Rhys Hoskins to pop out, then struck out All-Star catcher J.T. Realmuto.
“I was attacking the zone, getting ahead in the count consistently,” Brault said. “As far as getting the outs, the strikeouts, the quick outs and everything else, will come as a result of throwing first-pitch strikes.”
The first five Pirates pitchers held the Phillies scoreless through seven innings with Aaron Slegers pitching two innings and Clay Holmes, Michael Feliz and Brandon Maurer working one each. Geoff Hartlieb gave up single runs in the eighth and ninth innings but struck out former Pirates utility player Phil Gosselin to end the game.
• Jason Martin was the hero for the Pirates, hitting a two-run home run in the top of the ninth inning to break a 1-1 tie. It was a long blast over the center-field fence.
Martin could figure into the backup center-field mix at some point this year, though he seems certain to begin the season at Triple-A Indianapolis.
The Pirates acquired Martin as part of a four-player package from the Astros in the Gerrit Cole trade last year. Martin then hit a combined .274/.337/.429 with 13 homers and 12 stolen bases in 127 games with Indy and Double-A Altoona.
The Pirates had just three hits -- Martin's homer, a double by Kevin Newman and a single by Bryan Reynolds.
Newman, competing with Erik Gonzalez to be the starting shortstop, struck out in his other two plate appearances. Kivelhan also struck out in both at-bats, in addition to his error.
• The Pirates do not have anyone certain to make the opening-day roster who could serve as a true backup center fielder to Starling Marte. Rookie utility man Pablo Reyes got a chance to show what he could do at the position Saturday.
Reyes did not play center field during his initial 18-game stint with the Pirates last September. However, he played 63 games there in the minor leagues, including 55 starts.
"I like playing center field," Reyes told me. "I can run around and use my speed to catch fly balls. It's fun."
Clint Hurdle said Lonnie Chisenhall will also make some starts in center field during Grapefruit League play. Primarily a right fielder, Chisnehall has played 21 games in center during his eight-year career.
• Minor-league outfielder Tyler Gaffney retired Saturday.
Gaffney, 27, is better known for being a running back. He was the property of three NFL teams – the Panthers, Patriots and Jaguars – though he never appeared in a regular-season game.
The Pirates selected Gaffney in the 24th round of the 2012 amateur draft from Stanford. He hit .297/.483/.441 with 11 stolen bases in 38 games for short-season State College that summer but opted to enter the NFL Draft.
Gaffney returned to baseball last summer and batted a combined .244/.353/.388 with six home runs and 14 steals in 89 games for Altoona and high-A Bradenton. He was expected to begin this season in Altoona.
• The Pirates play their first home exhibition game at 1:05 p.m. Sunday in Bradenton when they face the Marlins. Kingham will start for the Pirates against Trevor Richards.
Also expected to pitch for the Pirates are Francisco Liriano, Dovydas Neverauskas, Nick Burdi, Alex McRae and Dario Agrazal.