BRADENTON, Fla. -- “And with real people sitting in the seats…”
LECOM Park public announcer Mike Collins’ words just before the first pitch between the Pirates and Tigers Tuesday drew applause from the announced crowd of 1,507. While the Pirates would go on to lose, 6-1 in five innings, it was a different scene than last year.
Concession stands were open. There were cheers when Ke’Bryan Hayes doubled. Boos when Collins came on to explain that the game was over in the fifth inning, as previously arranged between the two managers.
It was an interactive crowd, not just artificial noise blared through a speaker and cardboard cutouts.
“The last time we had fans in this ballpark seems like forever ago,” Derek Shelton said. “It was nice to see a lot of black and gold out there.”
It was almost a year to the day since the last time the Pirates played in front of a home crowd, with the last one coming on March 12, 2020.
There are going to be more games with fans to come since the state loosened restrictions on mass gatherings Monday, meaning that the Pirates can welcome up to 20% capacity to PNC Park this season.
“Just to hear the oohs and ahh, the emotion from the crowd, is huge,” Mitch Keller said Monday after the news broke. “It’s what we feed off of. Definitely plays a home-field advantage, no matter how many fans you have in the stands or where you’re at.”
Tuesday was just a taste of what’s to come.
“Just to have fans in the stands, actually real crowd noise instead of the audio crowd noise in the stadiums, [it] felt good,” Tuesday’s starter JT Brubaker said. “Felt like a piece of normal, being normal.”
So much more fun with you guys in the stands! Thankful to have you @Pirates fans back in the seats!!!
— Kevin Newman (@OfficialKBN) March 2, 2021
MORE FROM THE GAME
• Brubaker’s one blemish of the day was a slider that didn’t fall off the plate and was walloped by Willi Castro for a home run. He retired the other three batters he faced, including getting a strikeout on a slider.
“I felt really good,” Brubaker said. “Felt like the ball was coming out good. Body felt good out on the mound. Everything was just kind of in sync.”
His fastball was sitting 92-93 mph and he got two whiffs with the sinker.
Brubaker will be stretched out as a starter and is one of the guys competing for the fifth starter spot, but he could wind up either in the rotation, the bullpen or even the minors to start the year.
“I’m just trying to be myself,” he said. “That’s all I’m doing. Just go out there and attack hitters how I know how to attack, and then let the decisions be made by the staff."
• Cody Ponce is another pitcher who will be stretched out as a starter this spring, but could wind up in either the majors or minors. He pitched a scoreless inning in the second, as did Braeden Ogle in the fourth.
Sean Poppen allowed four hits and three runs in the third inning, and Max Kranick walked two, struck out a batter and allowed a long double in the fifth. Kranick’s fastball was missing high, but he got four whiffs on seven swings against it, and it touched 97 mph.
• Make that two home runs in two games for Todd Frazier, who turned on a Bryan Garcia fastball in the fourth inning to put the Pirates on the board.
He also turned a 3-6-3 double-play in the second, with shortstop Erik Gonzalez being on the other end.
“We’ve been working specifically on that play and him getting back,” Shelton said. “He did a nice job and Gonzo made a nice turn. So, two games and he’s done some good things.”
Frazier does have experience at first base, but he has spent most of his career at the hot corner. There isn’t much playing time available there with Hayes in the lineup, so he is going to get most of his reps at first there year.
“We know he can play,” Shelton said. “It’s just a matter of he transitioned over to first, making sure he’s in the right spot and doing the right things. He’s a baseball player. He knows what he’s doing and he did a nice job with it.”
• Jared Oliva was a late scratch after his back tightened up during batting practice. Shelton said they were being cautious and that Oliva hadn’t experienced that before. Travis Swaggerty took his spot and was hitless in his two at-bats.
Outfielder Dustin Fowler, who the Pirates traded for last week from the Athletics, is now in camp after going through the intake process.
“He is in camp and working out,” Shelton said. “It’s just a matter of the conversations with him on how he feels. We don’t want to rush him because of the downtime.”
• The Pirates will be traveling to Port Charlotte Wednesday to take on the Rays. Steven Brault will start, followed by right-handers Miguel Yajure, Nick Mears, Carson Fulmer, James Marvel and Shea Spitzbarth. First pitch is set for 1:05 p.m.