PIRATES

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Spencer Horwitz gestures to the dugout after his RBI double in the second inning Friday night.

Spencer Horwitz is well aware of the success he's had against Nick Martinez over the course of his young major-league career. And, as he did when that particular topic was brought up following the Pirates' 5-1 win over the Rays tonight here at PNC Park, it's worth smiling about. 

After going 3 for 3 with a second-inning RBI double and two singles, Horwitz is now a perfect 10 for 10 against the Rays starter, who really kept the Pirates bats at bay through 5 1/3 innings of two-run ball in this one. He's had no answer for Horwitz, though. This one-sided matchup has resulted in Horwitz collecting three doubles, one home run and four RBIs. There's two walks mixed in there as well. 

So, why is this such a favorable matchup for Horwitz? 

"That's a tough question," he replied. "I'd say just something about his delivery. I guess I just pick it up really well. It's definitely an extra boost of confidence. I've seen him, it was what, nine times going into today? Whenever you can see a guy more than once, it makes the at-bat way easier. Now that I'm getting a little older, this is my second time, and this is my third season, I'm just seeing those guys and have that familiarity of what they want to do. Being able to see it in first-person helps a lot." 

There's a little bit of history involved in Horwitz's 10-for-10 showing against Martinez. Per the Elias Sports Bureau, the only other major-league player during the Expansion Era (since 1961) who started his career 10 for 10 or better against a single pitcher was George Brett, who went 11 for 11 to start against Ed Figueroa in 1975.

Perhaps continuing that historic success against Martinez can help Horwitz take that next step after beginning the season with a .174 average in his first eight games. Horwitz now has three multi-hit games this season and saw his average go from .217 to .265 with tonight's performance. 

"That's what it's been for me my whole career. It's ebbs and flows, but trust the work is gonna work and today it showed up," Horwitz said. "It's kind of just settling in. What are we, 20 games in? This year was my first opening day and I was so jacked up for that and so jacked up for this season that I think I was trying to do too much. And then it's just gradually as the season's started to progress, I've settled into myself."