BRADENTON, Fla. -- Jordan Lyles wasn’t concerned when he took the LECOM Park mound for a simulated game Monday morning but did admit to having peace of mind when it was over.
Favored to win the competition for the Pirates’ fifth starter’s job, Lyles pitched four innings and threw 60 pitches. He faced teammates Josh Bell, Adam Frazier, Jung Ho Kang and Gregory Polanco.
Lyles left his previous outing last Tuesday against the Twins after two innings because of cramping in his right side. However, he got through a bullpen session Saturday without pain and felt fine following Monday’s outing.
“Everything went well,” Lyles told me afterward. “It was good work. Overall, I was very pleased that nothing came about. Going into today, I had a good feeling there weren’t going to be any setbacks and there weren’t. It was very thorough, and it was good to get back into a game.”
Lyles stayed behind in Bradenton while the Pirates defeated the Rays 4-2 in Port Charlotte, Fla., in an exhibition game to raise their record to 10-12.
Though nothing is set yet, Lyles is expected to pitch one more time before the regular season begins March 28 against the Reds in Cincinnati. He would be in line to throw the Grapefruit League finale Sunday against the Orioles in Sarasota, Fla.
Because of two off days in the first six days of the regular season, the Pirates won’t need a No. 5 starter until April 7 against the Reds at PNC Park.
Lyles is competing for the fifth starter’s job with Steven Brault, Rookie Davis and Nick Kingham.
“Personally, I feel good with where I’m at,” Lyles said. “I got some good work in today. We worked on pitch sequences today and I was able to talk to the guys between innings and that’s always great for pitchers to get that kind of feedback from hitters. I think most of my pitches are where I want them to be, and I feel good about how I located them today.”
• Kingham did his part to stay in the running by pitching five scoreless innings against the Rays.
The big right-hander allowed two hits, walked two and struck out five. He also retired the first 11 batters he faced.
The exhibition season has been either feast or famine for Kingham. He has not allowed a run in three of his starts, totaling 11 innings, but has been raked for 10 runs in 6 2/3 innings in his other two outings.
Kyle Crick’s rough spring continued as he gave up an RBI double to Brandon Lowe in the sixth that drew the Rays to 2-1. Crick has been scored upon in five of his six Grapefruit League appearances and has allowed a total of six runs in 4 1/3 innings.
Tyler Lyons retired all four batters he faced, Richard Rodriguez pitched one scoreless inning and Jake Barrett was touched for a run in the ninth.
• Non-roster outfielder JB Shuck broke a scoreless tie with a two-run single in the sixth inning off former Pirate Casey Sadler. Shuck went 2-for-5 and is 13-for-35 (.371) this spring.
Non-roster infielder Alberto Reyes started in left field and went 2-for-3 with a walk. Jacob Stallings and Pablo Reyes hit RBI singles.
• Chris Archer donated $20,000 worth of athletic equipment to Bayshore High School in Bradenton on Monday. Good Sports and Pirates Charities helped with the donations.
Archer has partnered with Good Sports, a charitable organization that provides sporting equipment, footwear and apparel to community organizations, since 2014 when he pitched for the Rays.
“I think I get more out of it than the kids do,” Archer said. “When you walk into a school wearing your jersey, you do see eyes and ears open. But I really enjoy the innocence of the kids and trying to help them out in some way. Every kid should have the opportunity to play sports.”
• The Pirates host the Tigers at 1:05 p.m. tomorrow at LECOM Park. Brault will start against left-hander Matthew Boyd.
Also expected to pitch for the Pirates are Felipe Vazquez, Keone Kela, Francisco Liriano and Davis.
Meanwhile, Trevor Williams will start in a minor-league game at Pirate City and is scheduled to pitch six innings. Rodriguez and Crick will work one inning each.
PERROTTO’S VIEW
Lyles likely wrapped up the fifth starter’s job by getting through his simulated game healthy, even though Kingham pitched well against the Rays. It was also instructive that Ray Searage stayed behind in Bradenton to watch Lyles rather than make the trip to Port Charlotte.
I don’t think Crick is in danger of being sent to Triple-A Indianapolis, but he hasn’t looked sharp this spring. That is a bit of a concern for the Pirates, who are counting on Crick to form a solid set-up triumvirate with Kela and Rodriguez to pitch in front of Vazquez.
Shuck just keeps hitting, though he will likely be squeezed off the opening-day roster if the Pirates keep both Pablo Reyes and Kevin Newman as bench players.
Alfredo Reyes had a breakout season last year in the minor leagues and is building on it this spring. He won’t make the team, but it says something about his future that he is still with the Pirates less than a week before they break camp Sunday. They are taking a long look at a guy who began the spring in minor-league camp.