BRADENTON, Fla. -- There has been no middle ground with Nick Kingham this spring.
The right-hander has either been very good or very bad in his attempt to win the fifth starter’s job.
Monday, he was bad as the Pirates lost 6-2 to the Atlanta Braves in an exhibition game at Champion Stadium in Kissimmee, Fla. He was rocked for five runs and six hits in 3 2/3 innings while walking four and striking out two.
Kingham has made four Grapefruit League starts. He has not allowed a run in two of them and has given up five runs in each of the other two. Overall, he has surrendered 10 runs in 12 2/3 innings.
The Braves jumped on Kingham early, scoring three runs in the first inning when Josh Donaldson hit an RBI single and Ronald Acuna Jr. followed with a two-run homer.
Steven Brault, also in the running for the one open spot in the rotation, pitched much better. In four innings, the left-hander gave up one run and three hits with one walk and one strikeout.
After getting nicked for a run in the fifth inning, Brault held the Braves scoreless over his last three innings. He has allowed seven runs in 10 innings.
• Non-roster outfielder Patrick Kivlehan continued his strong spring by going 3-for-3 with an RBI single. He is hitting .370 (11-for-27) but his chances of making the opening-day roster still appear to be slim.
The Pirates scored both their runs in the fourth inning to draw within 5-2. Colin Moran hit a run-scoring single.
• The Pirates pulled the rare spring-training triple play in the second inning.
With Dansby Swanson the runner at first base and Charlie Culberson at second, Ender Inciarte hit a grounder to shortstop Kevin Newman. Newman stepped on second base to force Swanson and threw to first to retire Inciarte.
When Culberson rounded third base too far, first baseman Jose Osuna threw across the diamond and Moran tagged him out.
• Rennie Stennett is in the Pirates’ camp as a special instructor and has a seemingly endless supply of funny stories from his playing days. He was a second baseman for the Pirates from 1971-79.
One of those stories involves Hall of Famer Bill Mazeroski, who was in camp earlier as a special instructor.
Stennett was called up to the major leagues for the first time by the Pirates midway through the 1971 season. Mazeroski told the rookie he wanted to test his reflexes and had him close his eyes and stick out his left hand.
“Maz told me he was going to put a ball in my hand three times and see if I was quick enough to hold onto it,” Stennett, now 67, recalled to me recently. “The first time, I dropped the ball. The second time, I dropped the ball again. The third time, he wrapped the ball in a big wad of chewing tobacco and stuffed it in my hand. I’ll never forget it.”
• The Pirates host the Twins at 1:05 p.m. Tuesday in Bradenton, Fla.
Jameson Taillon will make his first start of the Grapefruit League season after pitching in simulated games. It will be the first of three outings before he starts the opener March 28 against the Reds at Cincinnati.
Also scheduled to pitch for the Pirates are Jordan Lyles, Michael Feliz and Tyler Lyons. Lyles is also in consideration for the fifth starter’s job, as well as Rookie Davis.
Rookie left-hander Stephen Gonsalves will start for the Twins.
The game will be televised by AT&T SportsNet Pittsburgh.