Wandy Rodriguez pitched four strong innings in his third spring training start and the Pittsburgh Pirates held slumping David Ortiz hitless Wednesday night in beating the Boston Red Sox 4-2.
Ortiz went 0 for 3 with a strikeout. He is hitting .067, going 2 for 30 with 10 strikeouts this spring.
Rodriguez gave up one run on four hits and a walk with two strikeouts
Red Sox right-hander Jake Peavy, in his second start after recovering from a cut on his finger, went 4 2-3 innings, giving up one run and four hits. He walked one and struck out five.
Travis Ishikawa had two hits, including his second home run for the Pirates. Travis Snider went 2 for 4.
Dustin Pedroia led off the fourth with a double, scoring on a single by Xander Bogaerts.
STARTING TIME
Pirates: Rodriguez has been making steady progress this spring. He went 6-4 with a 3.59 ERA in 12 starts for Pittsburgh last year, but did not make a start after June 5 because of forearm discomfort.
“He’s making pitches. A little bit up at times, but the fact that he’s out there, there’s no reservation,” said manager Clint Hurdle. “You don’t see any reservation. You don’t see any holding back. Throwing the curveball, all of it, the competitive nature. I’m real pleased with the direction he’s headed and the effort he’s given us from the first day he showed up until now. He’s made a lot of progress.”
Red Sox: Manager John Farrell was happy with Peavey’s performance.
“In the outings that he’s made for us he’s showing good life to his fastball, decent power to it,” Farrell said. “And while he’s still trying to refine the touch and feel to his changeup, there were a lot of positives here tonight.”
Peavy was delayed in camp after cutting his left index finger with a fishing knife on March 1. But, he is happy with his progress.
“You’re trying to figure out your body and maybe it was going a little bit fast there early but things fell into place and I was able to calm down and get some good work in,” Peavy said. “I still got a lot of work to do, but another step in the right direction.”
TRAINER’S ROOM
Pirates: Chris Stewart underwent arthroscopic surgery on his right knee on Wednesday by Dr. James Andrews. In a release, the Pirates said the typical recovery time for a meniscal debridement is approximately four to six weeks. … Chase d’Arnaud, a middle infielder who was playing center field in the eighth inning, attempted a diving catch of a flyball. But the ball bounced, striking him above the right eye. “Right eye contusion on the eyebrow, right above it, ” Hurdle said. “We’ll know more tomorrow.”
Red Sox: Left-hander Craig Breslow, who has been delayed this spring after a heavy workload last season, threw a bullpen session Wednesday. He is scheduled to throw batting practice for the first time on Friday and could get into a game on Monday. … Middlebrooks was back in the lineup after missing the last two games, and four of the last five, with a hyperextended right middle finger.
REPLAY
The Pirates hit into a double play to end the seventh. Hurdle challenged the ruling, but it was upheld after a video review by the umpires.