Mercer homers as Pirates rout Yankees
BRADENTON, Fla. – Jordy Mercer homered for Pittsburgh and former first-round pick Austin Meadows hit a two-run double as the Pirates routed the New York Yankees. 13-1, Monday.
New York starter Bryan Mitchell was ineffective, allowing four earned runs in 2 1/3 innings. He is competing for a spot in the rotation.
Ivan Nova pitched three innings for the Pirates against his former teammates. Nova, traded from the Yankees to the Pirates last August, allowed one run on two hits and a walk while striking out two. The only run he allowed came when he sandwiched a wild pitch, the first of two in the third inning, between two errors.
“I had a little emotion going on, facing my former team,” Nova said. “Sometimes you’re trying to do too much. I wasn’t throwing strikes as usual, I wasn’t hitting my spots. After that I kind of picked it up and threw strikes, tried to throw my pitches, tried to work on my changeup, my sinker and my curveball.”
With the Pirates’ usual starting outfielder away for the World Baseball Classic, Meadows got the start in center field hit a two-run double down the left-field line off Mitchell to open the scoring.
After New York scored its lone run, Mercer slammed his second spring homer in the third inning to put Pittsburgh ahead by three runs.
Minor league outfielder Casey Hughston, the Pirates’ third-round draft pick in 2015, hit a three-run double in Pittsburgh’s seven-run seventh inning.