McCutchen homers, Pirates tie

Associated Press

SARASOTA, Fla.

Andrew McCutchen hit a ninth-inning home run and the Pittsburgh Pirates and Baltimore Orioles played to a 7-7, 10-inning tie on Sunday.

McCutchen, who also doubled, is batting .529 this spring.

Gerrit Cole allowed six runs and eight hits in 62/3 innings.

Cole, who will probably be Pittsburgh’s No. 2 starter this season, allowed three home runs among his eight hits: a leadoff homer to Nick Markakis in the first, a two-out blast to Chris Davis, his fourth this spring, and a two-run shot by Ryan Flaherty in the sixth.

“It’s not fun giving up six runs and three bombs. A game like that, there are a lot of glaring negatives and sometimes you’ve got to look for the positives,” Cole said.

“I made an adjustment halfway through the game, about the third inning. I started for find my delivery again, went on some really good runs. I would’ve liked to have not gotten just destroyed on my mistakes, but that’s the nature of the game.”

In three spring starts, Cole has allowed eight earned runs in 112/3 innings.

“I went seven innings against one of the best lineups in the American League. Being to get through that, to grind through it, making the adjustments ... overall, I was pleased,” Cole said.

Kevin Gausman allowed a leadoff homer to Starling Marte in the first.