Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Braxton Ashcraft hands the ball to bench coach Kristopher Negrón (41) as he is taken out of the game against the Philadelphia Phillies during the fourth inning of a spring training baseball game Friday, March 6, 2026, in Bradenton, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

The Pittsburgh Pirates played a split-squad exhibition twinbill on Friday in Florida, losing 14-10 to Philadelphia in a game played in Bradenton, while also losing 9-2 to Toronto in a game played in Dunedin.

In the loss to the Phillies, Pittsburgh, which gave up nine runs in the top of the fourth when it was up 3-0, got home runs from Ryan O’Hearn, Yordany De Los Santos, Derek Berg and Omar Alfonzo. De Los Santos has three homers this spring while O’Hearn hit some two.

On the mound, Braxton Ashcraft started and pitched into the fourth inning, working three shutout innings before getting pulled in the fourth after surrendering two runs. He struck out five of the 12 batters he faced.

In the loss to the Blue Jays, the Pirates (9-5) were done in by a big inning again, this time giving up five runs in the fourth when they were up, 2-0, at the time. Jake Mangum went 2-for-3 from the leadoff spot and is 8-for-20 there this spring. Dominic Fletcher homered and finished 2-for-3 with a double and two runs scored.

On the mound, starter Bubba Chandler struck out five of the 13 batters he faced while allowing one run in three-plus innings of work.

On Saturday, the Pirates will play Detroit and expect to start lefty Hunter Barco. On Sunday, Pittsburgh plays Boston.

Houston has a problem

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Houston Astros All-Star shortstop Jeremy Pena may miss opening day because of the broken finger that caused him to be sidelined for the World Baseball Classic.

Pena, who fractured his right ring finger after fielding a hard groundball for the Dominican Republic during a pre-WBC exhibition game on Wednesday, will be evaluated in two weeks. The Astros open on March 26 at home against the Los Angeles Angels.

“I feel like the last 48 hours have been very uncertain, but it is what it is,” Pena told reporters Friday. “Injuries are a part of the game. I wish I was out there playing with the guys.”

Pena is expected to continue baseball drills over the next week. The 28-year-old was a first-time Allstar last year, when he hit .304 with 17 homers, 62 RBIs, 20 stolen bases and an .840 OPS.

“The goal is to try to be ready for opening day,” Pena said. “I don’t know how it’s going to heal. I don’t know what the process is going to be like, but the goal is always to try to join the team for opening day.”

Declining numbers

GLENDALE, Ariz. — All those missing doubles and triples, well, Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts thinks he knows where at least some of them went.

Over the fence.

“I think that guys chase exit velocity and launch angle so that doesn’t lend itself to balls in the gap or down the lines,” Roberts said. “So I think that’s the whole crux for me.”

While singles and home runs were up in the majors last year, the number of doubles and triples continued to decline. There were 7,745 doubles, down from 7,771 in 2024 and 8,254 a decade ago in 2016, according to Sportradar. Triples dropped to 628, compared to 697 in 2024 and 873 in 2016.

In an effort to create more action on the basepaths, Major League Baseball made the bases bigger when it changed some of its rules before the 2023 season. There was an increase in doubles, triples and steals that same year before doubles and triples resumed their downward trend.

It likely means less of a particularly exciting moment in a baseball game, when a crowd collectively leans forward and cheers in anticipation as a player runs toward second or third with a throw on the way.

“I guess you could say yeah, it loses something, but I think there’s also a gain in some other things,” Chicago White Sox outfielder Andrew Benintendi said. “People like home runs and more stolen-base opportunities.”

The decline in doubles and triples can be traced to a variety of factors, beginning with defensive positioning.

While the 2023 rules package included limitations on infield shifts, there are no such restrictions on outfielders. And they are often playing deeper to guard against extra-base hits, helped by cards they keep in their back pockets that detail a hitter’s tendencies.

“When I was playing, it was kind of, you want to play shallow to take away the singles,” said Roberts, a former major league outfielder, “but nowadays you’re playing for damage, and so outfields play considerably deeper than they used to.”

Nolan Arenado remembers it like it was yesterday. The eight-time All-Star was playing for St. Louis on May 23, 2022, when he recorded the highest exit velocity of his career, a 111.4 mph liner on a 1-1 pitch from Toronto right-hander Jose Berrios in the bottom of the second inning. The ball went over the head of shortstop Bo Bichette before it was cut off by center fielder Bradley Zimmer.

“Yeah. Single,” said Arenado, who was traded to Arizona in January. “And you know a few years back that probably would have been just an automatic double. … So that was the first time I really noticed it. The defense alignment, it changes everything. You know you really got to hit a ball in the gap or you got to hit it down the line to get doubles.”