Three observations from the Pirates' 6-1 loss to the Rays here today at Charlotte Sports Park: 

• Not entirely alarming because it's spring training, but maybe a little bit that the Pirates were hitless through six innings with a good bit of their expected regulars, plus Konnor Griffin, in the lineup. Bryan Reynolds led off the seventh with a single for the team's first hit and Griffin homered to break up the shutout bid in the ninth. They finished with four total hits. I know days like this will happen to any team, but this was a far too familiar sight. This team has to carry over the good they've shown offensively this spring. At least do it more consistently. Can't have more of what was on display today.

• It would be wise of any young kid to model their game after Griffin. We all know the power, pure hitting ability, glove, arm and speed he possesses. He's a true five-tool player. But the way he plays the game stands out, too. His ninth-inning homer, for instance, bounced off the top of the wall and wasn't initially ruled a home run. It would have been a triple regardless, though, because of the way Griffin hustled around the bases. Right out of the box, he was going. There are no guarantees in this game. If that wasn't a homer, he was making sure he got the best possible outcome. 

• Brandon Lowe's homecoming resulted in a nice ovation followed by a groundout on a slider right down the middle and two strikeouts. Lowe is only hitting .150 with a .492 OPS this spring and he did miss some time with that lower body tightness this past week. I wouldn't read too much into the stat line, though. Lowe hit .179 with a .472 OPS during spring training in 2021 and went on to hit 39 home runs that year. Not to suggest the same thing will happen this time around, but it's possible a rough spring could be followed by a more promising regular season, considering the history of success Lowe has had as a proven major-league hitter.