Notes from Pirates' 8-2 win

By JOHN LEMBO
jlembo@bradenton.com
BRADENTON — Upon reaching the pitcher’s mound at McKechnie Field on Wednesday, Donnie Veal had to do some adjusting.
The wall behind home plate is lower than most, and when he first peered in to the catcher’s mitt, Veal was blinded by a sea of t-shirts.
It was a distraction that didn’t last long, however, and hours later, he was awarded with the win as the Pittsburgh Pirates defeated the Philadelphia Phillies 8-2 during each team’s Grapefruit League opener.
“I couldn’t see anything,” said Veal, a 6-foot-4 lefty going through his first big-league spring training. “But you get locked in and get ready to go...Once the batter got in there, I was focused.”
Veal was one of nine pitchers to throw an inning for the Pirates (1-0). He allowed one hit in the fourth and kept the Phillies off the scoreboard.
“I was a little nervous, obviously,” he said. “But after I got in there and started throwing, I was over that and got it done.”
Veal, who went 5-10 with a 4.52 ERA with the Chicago Cubs’ Double-A affiliate in Tennessee, is relieved his first appearance as a Pirate is behind him.
“I’m trying to impress some people,” he said. “It was good to get it out of the way, the first one.”

READY FREDDY: Second baseman Freddy Sanchez looked comfortable Wednesday, going 2-for-2 with a single, double and an RBI.
Sanchez, who didn’t play in the field much last spring because of shoulder problems, made two assists and teamed with shortstop Jack Wilson to turn a pair of double plays.

NEW LOCAL LOOKS GOOD: New Bradenton resident Jamie Moyer started for the Phillies on Wednesday, allowing a hit in two innings, walking two and striking out two.
Moyer, who turns 47 in November, won his first World Series with the Phillies last year, and enters the regular season with 246 wins after making his major-league debut with the Chicago Cubs in 1986.

A LITTLE DOWN: Despite game-time temperatures of 77 degrees and no rain in the forecast, Wednesday’s opener drew 3,991 fans — nearly 2,000 less than last year’s record-setting average of 5,404 per game. Fans have chance to fatten this year’s total Friday, when the Pirates return to Bradenton to face the Atlanta Braves.

HOME SWEET HOME: After traveling to Fort Myers on Thursday and Kissimmee on Saturday, the Pirates play five of their next six games in Bradenton, including a run of four straight against the Detroit Tigers, the Cincinnati Reds, the Netherlands and the Minnesota Twins. After a short ride to Sarasota on March 5, the Pirates return home the next day to play the defending American League Champion Tampa Bay Rays.