Pittsburgh Pirates defeat Baltimore to open Grapefruit League play

Pirates record: 2-0

Key inning: In Bradenton, the fifth inning saw Gregory Polanco drive in Adam Frazier, who went 2 for 3, to arm Pittsburgh with a two-run lead. In Port Charlotte, the Pirates scored six runs in the fifth inning against Tampa Bay. The inning started with Jacob Stallings’ solo homer.

Pirates’ big bat: Polanco went 3-for-3 with two RBIs and two stolen bases in Bradenton. In Port Charlotte, Joey Terdoslavich went 2 for 3, with two doubles, including one that drove in two in the sixth.

Pirates’ starter watch: Steven Brault retired all three batters he faced and struck out one in Bradenton. In Port Charlotte, Josh Lindblom allowed one hit and struck out one in his one inning. The Pirates used 18 pitchers in the two games.

What Clint Hurdle said: “(Gerrit Cole’s) going to get the ball against whoever (the Red Sox) No. 1 is (on opening day). They’ve got three of them to pick from. So he can go from there. He’s in a very focused state of mind right now.”

Roster moves: None.

You picked up yoga this offseason. How did that come about?

“It’s something that really my sister started doing. I can remember her doing it in high school. I went to a couple classes, probably got 10 or 12 in across a couple of years, so I knew what it was, I knew what hot yoga was, but it didn’t really sink in until Kevin Young told me to knock out a couple years ago. I didn’t do it last offseason, but this past one I locked it in and kind of fell in love with it. It was something that really spoke to me. I saw the growth in my body. I saw an overall peace of mind, little bit of clarity show up in my daily life, so it’s something that I’m going to stick with for a long period of time.”

So it’s specifically hot yoga?

“That’s what I did this offseason, but as of right now I haven’t really gotten back to a studio. I know there’s Yoga Shack that I tried out a couple times during that mini-camp, which was a lot of fun, but right now I’m just doing it out — I have this little patio area, I’ve got my yoga mat out there and I just go on YouTube and follow somebody else’s flow for about 30 minutes. Nothing too, too strenuous while I’m still getting cleared from this rehab and this bone chip that I had, so it’s whatever I can get in to.”

Do you have other teammates who do it? Do you know other people around baseball who do?

“I know (Adam) Frazier and I were planning on doing something today, so we might go check out Yoga Shack. It’ll be good to get back in there. Normally I’m used to doing yoga with a mirror in front of me, but Yoga Shack it gets dark in there when the sun goes down and there’s no mirrors, so pretty much you internalize your balance. So it’s a pretty cool concept that I really like.”