Pirates notes

By MIKE HENRY
mhenry@bradenton.com

BRADENTON -- Pirates manager John Russell isn't sweating Ian Snell's performance in today's 4-1 loss against the Tigers at McKechnie Field.
The right-hander allowed three runs in three innings, two on a third-inning home run by Marcus Thames, as the Pirates dropped their sixth in a row.
"He wasn't as sharp today. He got some balls up and went deeper in the count, but I thought the ball came out of his hand well. There was some crispness to his breaking ball," Russell said. "His location probably wasn't what he would have liked."
Relievers Sean Burnett, Matt Capps and Masumi Kuwata each pitched a 1-2-3 inning for the Pirates, with Kuwata striking out two, but the bats were quiet against a Tigers split-squad. The only run came in the third against 19-year-old first-round draft choice Rick Porcello on singles by Luis Rivas and Nate McLouth and a Jack Wilson force out, coupled with a throwing error.
Rivas was 2-for-3 with a triple and Chris Gomez had two hits against one of his former teams.

LaRoche wows with glove
Pirates first baseman Adam LaRoche continues to show why he is regarded as one of the game's top defensive players.
In the top of the fourth, LaRoche reached three rows into the stands to catch Mike Hessman's foul pop. For a big man, LaRoche's hand-eye coordination is exceptional. He's also hitting .375 after going 1-for-2.