Spring Training Report 3.26.15
By Jacob Mayer
Potential Gwinnett Braves right-handed pitcher Aaron Kurcz threw only one pitch Thursday but got his first win of Spring Training.
Kurcz (1–1) got Pittsburgh Pirates catcher Francisco Cervelli to ground out to end the eighth inning with runners on first and third base and the game tied 5–5. The Atlanta Braves struck for two runs, including a run-scoring groundout by possible G-Braves catcher Jesus Flores, in the ninth inning and held on for a 7–5 victory in Bradenton, Fla.
Possible G-Braves infielder/outfielder Kelly Johnson also drove in one of the Braves’ five first-inning runs with a groundout that drove in third baseman Alberto Callaspo.
Flores finished the game 1-for-2, while Johnson ended the game 1-for-4.
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Other potential Gwinnett position players’ stats from Thursday against Pittsburgh:
Pedro Ciriaco (SS), 0-for-1, K.
Phil Gosselin (2B), 0-for-1.
Also, catcher John Buck, who could have played for Gwinnett if he did not make Atlanta’s Major League roster out of Spring Training, announced his retirement Thursday after an 11-year Major League career with seven different teams. He had signed with the Braves as a minor league free agent Jan. 26 and was a non-roster invitee to Atlanta’s Major League Spring Training camp.
The Braves will return to their home Spring Training complex to take on the Boston Red Sox at 1:05 p.m. Friday at Champion Stadium in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. Atlanta beat the Red Sox 11–3 March 17 in their only other 2015 Grapefruit League meeting.
-JM
