Toronto smashes 4 homers, routs Bucs
Pittsburgh Pirates DH Joey Terdoslavich (88) gets tagged out at third base by Toronto Blue Jays third baseman baseman Jon Berti (60) during second inning baseball spring training action in Bradenton, Fla., on Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2017. (Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press via AP)
Pittsburgh Pirates second baseman Josh Harrison (5) throws out Toronto Blue Jays second baseman Jake Elmore (21) at first base during fourth inning baseball spring training action in Bradenton, Fla., on Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2017. (Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press via AP)
The Toronto Blue Jays pounded out four home runs to go with 16 hits in a 12-0 win over Pittsburgh on Tuesday at LECOM Park.
Joshua Palacios, Mike Ohlman, Jonathan Diaz and Matt Dean all homered for Toronto.
Blue Jays starter Lucas Harrell, the first of eight Toronto pitchers, tossed two no-hit innings and Toronto held Pittsburgh to four hits. Gregorio Petit and Dwight Smith added two RBI apiece.
Pirates starter Ivan Nova breezed through two perfect innings in his first spring start
Toronto scored three in the third, two in the sixth, three in the seventh, one in the eighth and three in the ninth.
The Blue Jays roughed up Pirates closer Tony Watson in the third inning. With two outs, Petit doubled home Jon Berti and Ezequiel Carrera, and Kendrys Morales plated another run with a single off Watson.
“I feel good. Results weren’t what we wanted today, but kept going back to it. Got to get that fastball command going,” Watson told MLB.com. “Some pitches were there today; some weren’t there. Execution will come with reps. That’s what spring’s for.”
Nova retired all six batters he faced in two perfect innings. The Blue Jays only sent two balls out of the infield against Nova, who is already scheduled to start Pittsburgh’s home opener on April 7.
The Blue Jays added two runs in the sixth inning off Juan Nicasio. Palacios put the Jays ahead, 8-0, with a two-run drive to left field in the seventh off Pittsburgh reliever Antonio Bastardo.
Ohlman, Diaz and Dean each went deep off Pirates reliever A.J. Schugel in the ninth inning.
“That’s why you see a lot of younger guys on road trips early,” Blue Jays bench coach DeMarlo Hale told MLB.com. “You want them to see as many games as they can at this level and be able to draw on that.”
The Pirates didn’t get their first hit until the fourth inning, when Josh Harrison singled off Glenn Sparkman.