Bucs’ Contreras roughed up again
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From Mirror, wire reports
DUNEDIN, Fla. -- Pittsburgh Pirates starter Roansy Contreras gave up four runs in two innings Wednesday in a 10-3 loss to Toronto in Grapefruit League action.
Contreras was making his fourth appearance this spring and got his second loss. He gave up six walks and two hits and struck out three. He was charged with four earned runs.
Working in relief, Carmen Mlodzinski gave up his first runs of the spring, five in the seventh inning, getting only two outs. He gave up three hits, walked two and struck out one.
Two Pirate relievers did work shutout ball as Hunter Stratton had a 1-2-3 fifth inning. He has not allowed a run this spring. Southpaw Cy Nielson faced four batters and got four outs.
Offensively, Oneil Cruz homered to lead off the sixth and has now gone deep in four straight spring games. The last Pirate to do that was Brad Eldred in 2007. Henry Davis started at catcher and went six innings. He went 1-foor-3 with a double. Gilberto Celestino collected his team-leading 11th hit of the spring.
The Pirates are scheduled to host Baltimore today at 3:05 p.m. Marco Gonzales is slated to start for Pittsburgh. The Pirates will play Baltimore again following the completion of the afternoon contest in a game featuring future stars of each team. That is set for a 7:05 first pitch. Paul Skenes is slated to start that game.
Yanks ace hurt
The topic before, during and after the spring training game between the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees on Wednesday revolved around ailing right elbows.
For Boston, the news wasn't a complete surprise with righty Lucas Giolito likely done for the season following surgery. It wasn't the Tommy John version, though, which could mean a quicker return.
For New York, things remain uncertain as ace Gerrit Cole continues to undergo tests on his elbow after experiencing issues in bouncing back following spring training starts. He flew to Los Angeles on Wednesday to see special Dr. Neal ElAttrache.
Yankees manager Aaron Boone didn't want to speculate on the extent of the injury in an interview during a 9-4 loss to the Red Sox. He didn't have a timeline after the game, either.
"I understand it's Gerrit Cole and it's a big story," Boone said. "But I'm not going to jump to a conclusion or speculate. We're still in the gathering of information, and then everyone's got to weigh in to determine what exactly we have."
Cole, the 2023 AL Cy Young Award winner, has been throwing fewer pitches in his spring training starts this year than other rotation members. The 33-year-old had an MRI exam on Monday and followed that up on Tuesday with X-rays and a CT scan.
The Red Sox announced before their game that Giolito underwent ulnar collateral ligament repair surgery Tuesday with an internal brace on his right elbow.
The typical recovery from the internal brace surgery, which uses an artificial material to make the repair, has allowed pitchers to return to the major leagues in as little as nine months. With Tommy John surgery, where a tendon replaces a torn ligament, it can require a rehab period of 12 to 18 months.