David Bednar throws scoreless inning in 1st appearance of spring, as Blue Jays beat Pirates

The Toronto Blue Jays teed off on left-hander Bailey Falter for a pair of home runs in a three-run first inning, and the Pittsburgh Pirates answered with two of their own.

But the Pirates were focused less on rallying for a comeback than on who was coming back. The game marked the Pirates debut of center fielder Michael A. Taylor, the first appearance of spring training for two-time All-Star closer David Bednar and the first time Andrew McCutchen has played in right field since May 30.

Justin Turner and Kevin Kiermaier homered to lead the Blue Jays to a 3-2 win Thursday night in a Grapefruit League game at LECOM Park in Bradenton, Fla.

The Pirates got solo shots from Bryan Reynolds and Jared Triolo to set a new record for spring training home runs with 48, breaking the mark they set in 2006 and tied in 2018. They lead the majors in homers this spring.

Bednar, who has been out with a lat strain, replaced Ryan Borucki in the fifth and allowed two hits but held the Blue Jays scoreless while throwing nine of his 15 pitches for strikes. Spencer Horwitz led off with a single to right, but Rafael Lantigua followed by grounding into a double play. After George Springer doubled to left, Bednar got Bo Bichette swinging at a 1-2 curveball in the dirt.

Taylor, a 2021 AL Gold Glove winner, made his first start since signing a one-year, $4 million contract last week. The right-handed hitter went down looking at lefty Ricky Tiedemann’s 2-2 slider on the outside corner in his first at-bat, in the third inning. Taylor flied out to left on righty Paolo Espino’s first-pitch curveball in the fifth before being replaced by Billy McKinney in the seventh.

Toronto teed off on Falter in a three-run first inning. Springer drew a leadoff walk, and Turner sent a 1-2 curveball to left for a home run and 2-0 lead. Kiermaier added a 403-foot solo shot on a 2-1 sinker to give the Blue Jays a three-run advantage.

Falter, in an effort to earn a spot in the starting rotation, allowed three runs on three hits and one walk while striking out four in 3 2/3 innings. He retired eight of the final nine batters he faced.

Reynolds hammered a homer off lefty Ricky Tiedemann in the fourth, sending a 1-0 sinker 387 feet to center at an exit velocity of 109.6 mph to cut the Blue Jays’ lead to 3-1.

Triolo made it 3-2 in the bottom of the ninth when he hit a leadoff homer off Hayden Juenger, sending a 2-1 changeup 397 feet to center.

Note: The Pirates optioned infielder Nick Gonzales and outfielder Joshua Palacios to Triple-A Indianapolis. There are now 43 players in big-league camp.