Pirates-Jays notes.

By JOHN LEMBO
jlembo@bradenton.com

BRADENTON - Forget his line.
At the end of his second start of the spring, Pittsburgh Pirate lefty Tom Gorzelanny felt fine.
Gorzelanny allowed six runs in 1 1/3 innings during the Pirates' 8-7 win over Toronto on Thursday, though three of those runs came when David Eckstein hit a grand slam off Pirate reliever Jesse Chavez.
The good news? The performance wasn't the result of anything health related - a pleasant sound for the Pirates, especially after Gorzelany was scratched from a start earlier this spring because of minor shoulder irritation.
He pitched a scoreless inning against the Tampa Bay Rays on Sunday, and looked impressive Thursday, when he needed seven pitches to retire the Blue Jays in the top of the first.
But Gorzelanny battled control problems in the second inning - he walked two and hit a batter -and was pulled after recording one out.
Manager John Russell said Gorzelanny was pulled because he reached his pitch count, and didn't worry too much about the result.
"Obviously, it was a little bit of a struggle. But you have those outings in spring training," Russell said. "Command, arm slot - but he feels good. And that's the main thing."
Gorzelanny couldn't pinpoint what happened after his efficient first inning of work.
"The second inning - I don't know," he said. "Just trying to throw too hard or do too much...It's something I look forward to working on."
His health a non-issue, the Pirates shouldn't be worried about Gorzelanny's spring line - he went 0-2 last March and wound up becoming the first Pittsburgh lefty to win 14 games in more than 10 years.

HEAD COUNT
Thursday's attendance was 3,854 - McKechnie's smallest crowed in the early goings of the spring. The Pirates entered the day averaging 5,220 fans per home game.

POWERFUL PEARCE
Steven Pearce blasted his third home run of the spring Thursday - a two-run shot in the first inning. Pearce is batting .333 this spring, and paces the Pirates in home runs and RBIs (six). Also homering for the Pirates was Xavier Nady, who hadn't had an RBI in his first 11 at-bats entering the game.

QUOTE OF THE DAY
"I would've taken me out." Pirate starter Tom Gorzelanny, who was pulled in the second inning.