The Pittsburgh Pirates defeated the Boston Red Sox 6-2 in Bradenton Tuesday. Mitch Keller had another strong outing, not allowing a run over four innings of work. He has not allowed a run in 8-2/3rds innings this spring. Kevin Newman, Hoy Park and Daniel Vogelbach hit home runs for the Bucs. They now have 24 round-trippers this spring, second-most across all of spring training. The Pirates visit Minnesota today in Fort Myers.
The Pirates have decided to send one of their top prospects to the minor leagues to begin the season. Oneil Cruz was optioned to Triple-A Indianapolis Tuesday. The team is looking to get the shortstop more time in the outfield. He has played just eight games above the Double-A level, but the 6-foot-7 inch prospect has hit six home runs in those games.