{"id":602490,"date":"2026-03-02T23:20:15","date_gmt":"2026-03-02T23:20:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/602490\/"},"modified":"2026-03-02T23:20:15","modified_gmt":"2026-03-02T23:20:15","slug":"pirates-rising-prospects-power-past-rays","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/602490\/","title":{"rendered":"Pirates Rising Prospects Power Past Rays"},"content":{"rendered":"<p id=\"inline-text-0\" class=\"mt-[18px] md:mt-0 mb-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"6d\">PITTSBURGH \u2014 The Pittsburgh Pirates and Tampa Bay Rays were in a low-scoring ballgame, before the youth showed up in a big way.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-1\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"6g\">The Pirates got a two-run home run from shortstop Yordanny De Los Santos and a solo home run from third baseman Javier Rivas, as the two infield prospects hit back-to-back shots to give the home team a 4-1 victory over the Rays at LECOM Park in Bradenton, Fla.<\/p>\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Young Bucs go Back 2 Back. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/fn8GYzx87G\" rel=\"nofollow\">pic.twitter.com\/fn8GYzx87G<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Young Bucs (@YoungBucsPIT) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/YoungBucsPIT\/status\/2028568201185886719?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">March 2, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-3\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"6m\">De Los Santos has now hit two home runs in the Grapefruit League, as he hit another two-run home run in the 16-7 win over the Boston Red Sox at JetBlue Park at Fenway South in Fort Myers, Fla., on Feb. 24. This marks Rivas&#8217; first home run in Grapefruit League play so far.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-4\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"6p\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlb.com\/milb\/prospects\/2025\/pirates\/yordany-de-los-santos-703154\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">MLB Pipeline<\/a> ranks De Los Santos as the 15th best prospect and he <a href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/mlb\/pirates\/onsi\/news\/pittsburgh-pirates-promote-rising-infielder-yordanny-de-los-santos\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">joined<\/a> the Pirates for $1.2 million in the 2022 International Signing Class from the Dominican Republic. <\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-5\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"6s\">Rivas hails from Venezuela and was a part of the 2019-20 International Signing Class. He hit 21 home runs in 2025, 18 with High-A Greensboro. <\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-6\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"6v\">The Pirates have one of the best farm systems in baseball and now improve to 9-2 overall, the best record in the Grapefruit League.<\/p>\n<p>How the Pirates Got the Win<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-8\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"71\">Pirates shortstop <a href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/mlb\/pirates\/onsi\/news\/pittsburgh-pirates-reveal-six-more-spring-training-non-roster-invitees\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Alika Williams<\/a> and center fielder <a href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/mlb\/pirates\/onsi\/news\/where-jake-mangum-fits-pittsburgh-pirates-2026\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Jake Mangum<\/a> hit back-to-back singles to start the bottom of the third inning with runners on the corners.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-9\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"74\">Mangum then, initially, looked like he got caught trying to steal second base, but Rays right-handed starting pitcher Mason Englert threw the ball to far from his second baseman, with Mangum safe and Williams stealing home to put the Pirates up 1-0.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-10\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"77\">Pirates right-handed pitcher <a href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/mlb\/pirates\/onsi\/news\/pittsburgh-pirates-sign-former-white-sox-mike-clevinger\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Mike Clevinger<\/a> made his first Grapefruit League start and allowed a hit and two walks, while posting three strikeouts over three scoreless innings. <\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-11\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"7a\">Fellow right-handed pitcher <a href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/mlb\/pirates\/onsi\/news\/pittsburgh-pirates-carmen-mlodzinski-stretching-starting-pitcher\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Carmen Mlodzinski<\/a> came in relief, but loaded the bases and gave up a single, tying the game up at 1-1 in the top of the fourth inning. <\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/01kjr6f1rvemftwvj6cy.jpg\" alt=\"Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Carmen Mlodzinski\" title=\"Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Carmen Mlodzinski\" width=\"3600\" height=\"2025\" class=\"undefined w-full w-full blur-[5px]\" q:id=\"7k\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Sep 13, 2025; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Carmen Mlodzinski (50) throws during the seventh inning against the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park. Mandatory Credit: Daniel Kucin Jr.-Imagn Images | Daniel Kucin Jr.-Imagn Images<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-13\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"7o\">Mlodzinski limited the damage for the Pirates, as he struck out two Rays batters and got a force out at home to keep the game tied.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-14\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"7r\">Pirates catcher <a href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/mlb\/pirates\/onsi\/news\/why-pittsburgh-pirates-catcher-battle-isnt-as-open-as-it-looks\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Henry Davis<\/a> got his first hit of the Grapefruit League in the bottom of the seventh inning with a leadoff double and then scored on the home run from De Los Santos.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-15\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"7u\">The Pirates got a great showing from their bullpen, as Mldozinski went 2.1 innings and then fellow right-handed pitcher Cam Sanders closed out the sixth inning.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-16\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"7x\">Right-handed pitchers in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/mlb\/pirates\/onsi\/news\/pittsburgh-pirates-sign-former-mets-chris-devenski\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Chris Devenski<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/mlb\/pirates\/onsi\/news\/pittsburgh-pirates-avoid-arbitration-yohan-ramirez\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Yohan Ram\u00edrez<\/a> each threw a scoreless inning, while left-handed pitcher Evan Sisk got the save, as the Pirates held the Rays to just four hits in the victory.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-17\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"80\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/mlb\/pirates\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Make sure to visit Pirates OnSI for the latest news, updates, interviews and insight on the Pittsburgh Pirates!<\/a><\/p>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"PITTSBURGH \u2014 The Pittsburgh Pirates and Tampa Bay Rays were in a low-scoring ballgame, before the youth showed&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":602491,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2377],"tags":[5,4,297,2550,68,2551,2549],"class_list":{"0":"post-602490","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tampa-bay-rays","8":"tag-baseball","9":"tag-mlb","10":"tag-rays","11":"tag-tampa-bay","12":"tag-tampa-bay-rays","13":"tag-tampabay","14":"tag-tampabayrays"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/116162149436062093","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/602490","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=602490"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/602490\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/602491"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=602490"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=602490"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=602490"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}