PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Pirates needed production from their best prospects and they got exactly that in their most recent Spring Training game.

The Pirates outlasted the Detroit Tigers in a 5-3 win at Publix Field at Joker Marchant Stadium in Lakeland, Fla., thanks to some important hits from their best young talent.

Pittsburgh finally ends their surprising three-game losing streak, as they lost both games in the split squad day on March 6, 9-2 to the Toronto Blue Jays at TD Ballpark in Dunedin and then 14-10 to the Philadelphia Philies at LECOM Park in Bradenton, plus a 3-2 defeat to the St. Louis Cardinals at home on March 5.

The Pirates improve to 10-5 in the Grapefruit League and the Tigers fall to 3-7, tied for the least wins.

How the Pirates Got the Victory

The Pirates got going in the top of the second inning, as left fielder Jhostynxon Garcia singled and then center fielder Dominic Fletcher got hit by a pitch, before right fielder Esmerlyn Valdez singled to score both runners and made it to second base on the error.

Designated hitter Termarr Johnson made it his second straight day with an RBI-single, scoring Valdez and putting the Pirates up 3-0.

Pirates left-handed pitcher Hunter Barco made his second Grapefruit League start and threw two scoreless innings before struggling in the third inning.

Barco loaded the bases and then gave up a ground-rule double and a ground out, scoring all three runners to tie the game up at 3-3.

Both teams struggled to score runs before the Pirates got things going in the top of the sixth inning, with catcher Henry Davis walking and then first baseman Enmanuel Valdez singling, putting runners on the corners.

Garcia grounded into a double play, but scored Davis and put Pittsburgh up 4-3 over Detroit.

The Pirates loaded the bases after this, but third baseman Duce Gorson popped out and they held onto their one-run game.

Mitch Jebb led off the top of the eighth inning with a triple and Yordanny De Los Santos would single soon after to bring him home and double the Pirates lead at 5-3.

De Los Santos, a minor leaguer, has had a great showing in the Grapefruit League for the Pirates, slashing .556/.600/1.667 and an OPS of 2.267 in six games, with a league-high eight RBI and also three home runs.

Pirates Get Good Pitching to Take Down the Tigers

Right-handed relief pitcher Michael Walsh, a ninth round pick out of Yale in 2022, threw a scoreless fourth inning and then fellow right-handed relief pitcher Justin Lawrence continued his solid spring with a scoreless fifth inning

The Pirates then went with right-handed pitcher Thomas Harrington in the sixth inning and he would put on his best showing of the Grapefruit League, throwing four scoreless innings to get the save.

Harrington hardly faced any trouble in his outing, with just two hits and a walk allowed, with two strikeouts, getting a number of groundballs and mixing up his vast arsenal of pitches.

This isn’t the first time Harrington got a four-inning save, doing so last year in his PNC Park debut in an 8-4 victory. Harrington became the first Pirates pitcher that earned a four-inning save since Jason Christiansen did so in a 5-1 win over the Montreal Expos on July 17, 1998.

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A West Deer Township woman captured video of an Amazon driver illegally passing a school bus on Saxonburg Boulevard, saying it’s not the first time it has happened. 

“They act like it’s a racetrack,” Carley Gavulich said of Tuesday’s incident. “What if there was multiple children? What if you were to hit my child, anyone’s child?”

It felt too close to home for Gavulich. She was waiting for her son to come off the bus from Curtisville Primary Center when it happened on Tuesday. 

“He actually was getting his new dirt bike delivered, so that’s why we were even recording,” she said.

She wanted to get his reaction to the dirt bike. Instead, the bus driver pulled up, and the Amazon Prime truck blew past the stop-arm.

“The Deer Lakes School District’s top priority is always the safety, security, and wellbeing of its students,” a spokesperson for the district said on Friday. “The District is aware of the situation and is taking all steps to address any concerns.”

A spokesperson for Amazon told KDKA it is looking into the incident and will take appropriate actions after a review.

“Amazon should hold him 100% accountable,” Gavulich said.

But whoever was driving is not the only person Gavulich believes needs a bus safety refresher. She said her husband has witnessed vehicles blowing by the stop-arm at least seven times.

Both are grateful that the bus driver saw the delivery truck coming and stopped her son from getting off.

“She is amazing, 100 percent props to her. If she would have let him off that bus, we would be having a different conversation,” Gavulich said.

The chief of the West Deer Police Department told KDKA that someone in the community had notified him about this. He added that all the district’s buses have cameras and that an officer will review the video and approve the violation.

That video from the bus has not come in yet, though, the chief said on Friday, adding that it can take a few days.