Three observations from the Pirates' 7-1 exhibition win over Team Colombia here today at LECOM Park:
• José Urquidy said he felt as if he took a step forward in his second start of the spring, one in which he threw three scoreless innings and delivered strikes on 31 of his 42 pitches. He attacked the zone with confidence, generated five whiffs on 16 fastballs and looked like a guy determined to compete for an opportunity. Sure, it's an exhibition that doesn't count toward even the spring training stat line, but every start matters for a guy like Urquidy who is battling for a spot on the pitching staff and looking to put together a longer season after barely pitching the last two due to injury.
• It's not just Konnor Griffin's power that stands out. Like Jake Mangum, the hustle is hard to ignore. Whether he's hitting it out of the park or trying to turn a bloop hit into a double like he did today, Griffin's running out of the box with a purpose and using his speed to his advantage. The kid is no one-trick pony.
• There were two specific instances in the fifth inning where MasonMontgomery got behind hitters and found himself in 3-0 and 2-0 counts. He made the pitches necessary to end up getting the outs, allowing just one hit on an 0-2 fastball, but the command has to be there. Montgomery has the tools. His fastball averaged 98 today and he has a good slider that helped him punch out BrayanBuelvas to end the inning. He just has to keep from getting too erratic on a consistent basis.
THE ASYLUM
Three observations: Urquidy's early progress
Three observations from the Pirates' 7-1 exhibition win over Team Colombia here today at LECOM Park:
• José Urquidy said he felt as if he took a step forward in his second start of the spring, one in which he threw three scoreless innings and delivered strikes on 31 of his 42 pitches. He attacked the zone with confidence, generated five whiffs on 16 fastballs and looked like a guy determined to compete for an opportunity. Sure, it's an exhibition that doesn't count toward even the spring training stat line, but every start matters for a guy like Urquidy who is battling for a spot on the pitching staff and looking to put together a longer season after barely pitching the last two due to injury.
• It's not just Konnor Griffin's power that stands out. Like Jake Mangum, the hustle is hard to ignore. Whether he's hitting it out of the park or trying to turn a bloop hit into a double like he did today, Griffin's running out of the box with a purpose and using his speed to his advantage. The kid is no one-trick pony.
• There were two specific instances in the fifth inning where Mason Montgomery got behind hitters and found himself in 3-0 and 2-0 counts. He made the pitches necessary to end up getting the outs, allowing just one hit on an 0-2 fastball, but the command has to be there. Montgomery has the tools. His fastball averaged 98 today and he has a good slider that helped him punch out Brayan Buelvas to end the inning. He just has to keep from getting too erratic on a consistent basis.
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