Spring training || Wednesday’s Indians and Pirates games

Indians 2, Giants 2 (10)

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz.

The Indians had to be encouraged by the strong four-inning effort from veteran right-hander Derek Lowe. Acquired in a trade with Atlanta on Oct. 31, the 38-year-old gave up a run on two hits with a walk. “I had a lot better command, a lot of quick outs, the majority on the ground,” said Lowe, who threw 42 pitches. Indians shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera had three hits, including a pair of doubles. San Francisco’s Buster Posey had his first hit of the spring, a home run, and closer Brian Wilson, shut down for the final six weeks of last season with a sore elbow, pitched a hitless, scoreless fifth inning in his second outing of the spring. Posey, who broke his left fibula and tore ankle ligaments in a collision at homeplate in May, served as the DH on Wednesday. He hit an opposite-field solo home run just inside the right-field foul pole off left-hander Tony Sipp with two outs in the sixth to tie the game. Wilson has given up one hit in two innings. “The motion feels good, another pain-free outing,” the right-hander said.

Pirates 11, Orioles 5

SARASOTA, Fla.

The Pirates scored four runs in the second off Orioles starter Jake Arrieta, who pitched 22⁄3 innings. They added three in the fifth and four in the seventh. Pittsburgh’s James McDonald allowed five runs and six hits in three innings. In three spring starts, McDonald has allowed eight runs and nine hits in eight innings. “You could tell by watching. I didn’t feel too good,” McDonald said. “Got to keep the ball down. They put good swings on the ball. I’ve got to execute better. I’ve just got to make better pitches. These are big league hitters. If you throw bad pitches, they’re going to make you pay — spring training or regular season — it didn’t matter.” Manager Clint Hurdle didn’t give McDonald a pass. “Today was mediocre,” Hurdle said. “The problems he had was he was behind in counts, the ball got up and flattened out. He didn’t have much command today and didn’t have any secondary pitches to go to.”

Associated Press