Alvarez gets first spring hit

By Alan Dell

After going hitless in his first six at-bats this spring while striking out four times, Pedro Alvarez lined a triple deep into the right field corner that drove in a run off Twins starter Brian Duensing.

The second overall pick in the 2008 First Year Player draft, Alvarez is expected to join the big club sometime this year though the third baseman will likely start the season n Triple AAA.

Alvarez didn’t have the only big hit in the Pirates three run second inning. John Raynor smacked a run scoring triple that also saw singles from Ryan Doumit and Bobby Crosby.

It’s only spring, but the inning was a nice boost for the Pirates. They came into their fifth spring training game with a .177 team batting average and had put only 13 runs on the board.