Pirates, Phillies fit to be tied in spring training finale
Pittsburgh’s Josh Bell hit a three-run homer in the first inning off Jake Arrieta and the Pirates used a solo homer by Adrian Valerio in the ninth to salvage a 5-5 tie with the Philadelphia Phillies in the final spring training game for both teams Wednesday in Clearwater, Fla.
The Pirates open the regular season Thursday afternoon in Detroit.
Pittsburgh starter Jameson Taillon pitched three shutout innings. He allowed two hits and struck out four.
Bell’s home run, his fourth of the spring, highlighted Pittsburgh’s four-run first inning. Philadelphia scored four times in the fourth inning against Chad Kuhl to tie the score. The Phillies took a 5-4 lead with a run in the eighth against Pirates reliever Brett McKinney, but Valerio, a shortstop who played last year with the Class A West Virginia Power, homered off Edgar Garcia in the ninth.
Colin Moran had a double and single among Pittsburgh’s 12 hits. Moran, a third baseman acquired from Houston in the Gerrit Cole trade, ended spring training with a .362 batting average.