LAKELAND, Fla. -- The two biggest questions about the Pirates’ lineup are still unresolved.
Clint Hurdle said Saturday before a 6-3 loss to the Tigers in an exhibition game at Publix Field at Joker Marchant Stadium that the Pirates have not made decisions yet on who will be the starting third baseman and shortstop.
Hurdle hinted that he may have already picked a winner in the competition between Erik Gonzalez and Kevin Newman at shortstop. However, the manager gave no clues.
“I may have seen it already and we’re just waiting to make decisions until we move forward,” Hurdle said when asked what he needed to see from the two players. “You want to have conversations (at the right time), you want to look at the nucleus of your club, you want to give guys time to play.
“We will be having our second meeting to pare down our roster soon. Then we may look to give some of the guys who’ve been in competition for one spot another glove to move around a little bit more. We’re seeing what we need to see.”
Newman is 8-for-29 (.273) with two doubles and a home run. Gonzalez has gone 6-for-28 (.214) with a homer.
Hurdle said the Pirates are looking for reliability in their shortstop.
“I remember sitting down with a chalkboard when I was an 18-year-old player in my first minor league camp and they talked about the backbone of your team defensively being your catcher, shortstop, second baseman and center fielder,” Hurdle said. “To have a guy who is dependable and who can be extraordinary at the ordinary is important with a (pitching) staff as we have contracted it. We have more swing and miss than we’ve had in a long time, (but) we also have a lot of two-seam fastball guys who get the ball on the ground.
“Last year, our defensive dependability was OK. This spring, it’s been kind of come and go. We haven’t had our nucleus together. One thing I was impressed by is we had back-to-back games in which we turned seven double plays. To see what our guys have done individually and now to put them together, I am very optimistic about what we’re going to be able to do in the future.”
Colin Moran is the incumbent third baseman, but Jung Ho Kang has been one of the biggest stories of camp. Kang has hit a team-high five home runs after missing almost two full major-league seasons because of his well-documented legal woes, as well as wrist surgery.
The home runs are Kang’s only hits — he is 5-for-25 (.200) with 13 strikeouts in 29 plate appearances. Moran is 6-for-28 (.214) with a double and a homer.
However, Hurdle does not sound like he is counting Moran out.
“I see a guy who’s working hard on both sides of the ball,” Hurdle said. “I don’t put as much emphasis on results in spring training. I’ve seen it too many different ways. I’ve seen guys have tremendous springs and when the season starts, nothing happens. I’ve seen guys do nothing in spring and everybody is throwing their hands up in the air and when the season starts, they’re good players or pitchers.
“I love the fact he’s been intentional in his work, he’s playing at a deeper depth defensively, he’s doing all the things he can to be a better defender and he’s working just as hard on offense.”
• Chris Archer had his first rough outing of the spring, giving up four runs (three earned) in three innings. He had not allowed a run in five innings over his first two Grapefruit League starts.
The Tigers got six hits off Archer, who struck out four, walked one and hit a batter.
Archer, who had hernia surgery in November, said he feels good physically and mentally and is right on schedule to pitch the April 1 home-opener against the Cardinals. Archer has two exhibition starts remaining.
Michael Feliz surrendered two runs in two innings while Jake Barrett, Clay Holmes and Geoff Hartlieb finished with one scoreless inning apiece.
Barrett made his first appearance since being claimed off waivers from the Giants on March 1.
The Pirates were held to just four hits as they fell to 8-12. Outfield prospect Bryan Reynolds hit a two-run single.
• The Pirates had a brief team meeting in the dugout prior to batting practice. Hurdle went over the new rules implemented by Major League Baseball earlier this week.
The most important one as far as spring training is concerned deals with extra-inning games. Both teams will begin each extra inning with a runner on second base in exhibition games.
Both teams must agree to the extra-inning rule before the game starts, which explains why Friday night’s game between the Pirates and Rays at Bradenton, Fla., was called after nine innings with the score tied 6-6.
That game was delayed 15 minutes at the start as the Rays got caught in traffic traveling north on Interstate 75 from their camp in Port Charlotte, Fla. In the rush to get the game started, Hurdle and Rays manager Kevin Cash did not have a chance to meet.
• With a day road game following a night game, the Pirates sent a watered-down lineup on the 75-minute trip. Moran and Newman were the only potential regulars in the lineup, beside Archer.
The position players were given the option of playing Friday night and having Saturday off or vice versa. They all chose the former.
• The Pirates play the Red Sox at 1:05 p.m. Sunday in Bradenton, with Jameson Taillon starting against Marcus Walden. Also expected to pitch for the Pirates are Francisco Liriano, Nick Burdi and Brandon Maurer.
PERROTTO’S VIEWS
Hurdle says the Pirates’ starting left side of the infield has yet to be determined. But it says here that Kang and Gonzalez are the likely starters. The feeling I keep getting in listening to Hurdle and talking to other people in the organization is that is the way they are leaning.
However, don’t totally count out Newman. The Pirates thought highly enough of him to make him their first-round draft pick in 2015 and that carries some weight.
Archer wasn’t sharp and the problem was fastball command. When Archer knows where the heater is going, he’s a potential No. 1 starter. When he doesn’t, he is ordinary at best.
Feliz continues to confound. He has a great arm and throws hard, but scouts say he doesn’t have enough deception in his delivery, which allows the hitters to get a better look at the ball.
Barrett was shaky in his debut as he gave up two hits. It was also his first outing of the spring, so not much stock can be put into his performance.
