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Troy Tulowitzki homers again in first at-bat, Yankees down Pirates 8-6

Another day, another first-inning home run from the erstwhile superstar.

By Jake Devin
MLB: Spring Training-Pittsburgh Pirates at New York Yankees Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

The Yankees actually completed a game today! After a rainout on Tuesday and a shortened game yesterday, the Yankees went all the way and defeated the Pirates by a score of 8-6 at George M. Steinbrenner Field in Tampa. J.A. Happ made his first start of the spring and struggled, recording four outs and yielding three runs before giving way to Stephen Tarpley. The Yankees eventually prevailed, with a two-run double in the seventh inning by L.J. Mazzilli providing the winning margin.

You can check out the full box score here. On to our three takeaways:

  1. Earlier this week, I reviewed the Yankees’ spring home opener with the Blue Jays. The first takeaway that day was easy; Troy Tulowitzki homered in his first at-bat. Well, here we are three days later, and again, Tulowitzki hit a home run in his first at-bat of the game. This one was a three-run bomb against Pirates starter Steven Brault. Quite the start to spring training for the 34-year-old shortstop as he continues to navigate the comeback trail.
  2. Greg Bird might really be the spring training god. He laced two more doubles today as he’s started off the spring strong. He’s done this before, and there’s still a long way to go before Opening Day. Yet it’s becoming clearer that the first-base competition probably won’t be a cakewalk in either direction.
  3. Tyler Wade also laced a home run to go along with a walk. Wade won’t have an easy time nudging his way onto the roster to start the season (barring injury), and would likely have to beat out Clint Frazier or one of the first basemen, or both. The 24-year-old has gotten off to a nice start, though, which is nice to see after he struggled mightily at the highest level last season.

Highlight of the game

Like yesterday, we’ve got nothing on video here. Here’s hoping that some day in the future we get more televised spring training games.

Tune in tomorrow, as the Yankees host the Orioles in an evening matchup. Probable starters have yet to be announced.

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