The Pittsburgh Pirates announced Monday that despite the governor’s allowance for 50% of capacity at outdoor venues in the latest COVID-19 regulations, the club will stick with 25% of capacity for the first two home-stands.
The Pirates open their season in Chicago a week from Thursday. Their home opener is Thursday, April 8th.
The Pirates defeated the Baltimore Orioles 6-5 in Grapefruit League play Monday. Kevin Newman had another three-hit day. He is now 14 for 20 this spring, which is a .700 batting average over eight games. Mitch Keller started for the Bucs, and allowed three earned runs on seven hits over 3-1/3rd innings. Veteran Trevor Cahill threw with a pair of 1-2-3 innings and threw just 17 pitches.
The Bucs host the Minnesota Twins today.
After Monday’s game, the Pirates sent reliever Edgar Santana, outfielder Jared Oliva and infielder Kevin Kramer to their minor league camp.