SARASOTA, Fla. -- Chris Archer had one goal in his first start of the exhibition season.
“I just wanted to get off the mound in a game situation and be healthy," the right-hander said.
Archer did just that Tuesday in the Pirates’ 10-4 victory over the Orioles at Ed Smith Stadium.
Not only did Archer show he is over the hernia surgery he underwent in November, but he was quite effective in pitching two scoreless and hitless innings. After walking the leadoff batter, he retired the final six hitters he faced in a 29-pitch outing, striking out four.
“That’s just baseball,” Archer said of the walks. "I was just getting used to the surroundings, the elements and everything. Those things happen.”
The Pirates had held Archer and the other three pitchers assured of rotation spots — Jameson Taillon, Trevor Williams and Joe Musgrove — out of Grapefruit League games until Tuesday. While Archer said he had taken the simulated games seriously, it was good to face hitters from another team.
“I definitely have that energy every time I pitch, and I had it today,” he said. “Some people call it nervousness. Some people call it anxiety. I just call it excitement. Every time I toe the slab — whether it’s on the back fields or a spring training game or the 28th (start) of the regular season — I feel it.”
Josh Bell had some excitement about hitting his first home run of the spring. It was a three-run shot to center field off closer Mychal Givens that capped a five-run fifth inning and pushed the Pirates’ lead to 6-2 as they evened their record at 5-5.
In fact, Bell was so excited that he almost missed first as he was rounding the bases. Bell hit 26 homers as a rookie in 2017 but just 12 last season.
“It doesn’t count,” Bell said when I asked him if there any importance of hitting a spring home run, “but Clint (Hurdle) says it matters, so it's one of those things.”
Non-roster outfielder J.B. Shuck had a solo home run, his second of the spring, among his two hits and second base prospect Kevin Kramer also went deep for the Pirates. Melky Cabrera had two hits, too, and the Pirates had 13 in all.
First base prospect Will Craig hit a two-run double in the ninth inning and scored on third base prospect Ke’Bryan Hayes’ triple. Hayes is 6-for-14 this spring with three doubles, a triple and two home runs.
Adam Frazier made his first start of the spring and hit an RBI double.
In his bid to win the fifth starter’s job, Steven Brault followed Archer and allowed two runs on five hits in three innings. Brault struck out two and walked none and has given up six runs in six innings in three Grapefruit League appearances.
“I know it’s a broken record but when I get ahead in the count, I have success and when I fall behind in the count, I get hurt because I have to come in with more hittable pitches,” Brault said. “I got ahead in the count more often today and I was pleased with that.”
Michael Feliz served up a pair of home runs while Keone Kela, Dario Agrazal and Alex McRae pitched one scoreless inning each.
Felipe Vazquez was supposed to pitch but was scratched because of an upper-respiratory infection. He is listed as day-to-day.
• Cabrera started in center field as the Pirates want to see if he could handle the spot on a temporary basis if something would happen to Starling Marte. Cabrera played five innings and had no chances.
Cabrera, 34, last played center field in a regular-season game in 2014, appearing once there for the Blue Jays. That also represents Cabrera’s lone start in center since 2011 when he played 144 games there for the Royals.
“It’s something we talked about during the entrance interview (at the start of spring training),” Hurdle said. “We would like to see him there and he would like to give it a try. You don’t know if someone can do something unless you let them do it.”
• Jake Barrett took part in a workout Monday in Bradenton, Fla., as the right-handed reliever joined the team after being claimed off waivers from the San Francisco Giants on Friday. The Giants acquired him from the Diamondbacks on Feb. 5 for cash considerations.
Hurdle said Barrett will be eased into game action. The 27-year-old did not pitch in any exhibition games for the Giants.
One of the factors that makes Barrett attractive to the Pirates is that Barrett has one minor-league option remaining. Thus, they can shuttle him back and forth to Triple-A Indianapolis this season without exposing him to waivers.
• Francisco Cervelli is expected to make his first start at catcher Thursday when the Pirates host the Orioles in Bradenton. He started at designated hitter Tuesday and has seen action at first base this spring.
The Pirates want to keep Cervelli’s workload light behind the plate during exhibition play. He turns 33 tomorrow and was also on the injured list a combined five times during the last two seasons.
• The Pirates play the Red Sox at 1:05 p.m. tomorrow at Fort Myers, Fla. The game will be televised by ESPN.
Nick Kingham is scheduled to start and be followed by Kyle Crick, Richard Rodriguez, Tyler Lyons, Dovydas Neverauskas and Jesus Liranzo. Kingham and Brault are competing with Rookie Davis and Jordan Lyles for the one open spot in the rotation.
Josh Smith will start for the Red Sox.