Pirates Spring Preview: Paul Skenes to Make Second Appearance Following Luis Ortiz

Paul Skenes will make his second spring appearance when the Pittsburgh Pirates face the Tampa Bay Rays in Port Charlotte on Monday afternoon. This time, however, it will look a bit different.

Skenes will come into the game in relief of Luis Ortiz. No, the Pirates are not shifting their prized prospect to the bullpen permanently, but he will follow Ortiz for their 1:05 ET spring training game.

Skenes threw a perfect 1-2-3 first inning against the Baltimore Orioles in his first outing of the Grapefruit League slate on Thursday. Skenes is the Pirates’ top prospect and is ranked the third-best prospect in the league according to MLB Pipeline.

Ortiz, meanwhile, threw two innings out of the bullpen against the Atlanta Braves last Tuesday. He allowed one unearned run on one hit and one walk and struck out two batters.

The red-hot Henry Davis will get another start at catcher. Oneil Cruz is in his usual leadoff spot while serving as the designated hitter.

Pittsburgh Pirates Lineup

1. Oneil Cruz DH
2. Jared Triolo 3B
3. Jack Suwinski CF
4. Henry Davis C
5. Nick Gonzales 2B
6. Billy McKinney LF
7. Canaan Smith-Njigba RF
8. Jake Lamb 1B
9. Alika Williams SS

Monday’s game will be available as a webcast on pirates.com.

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