BRADENTON, Fla. -- Josh Bell, Gregory Polanco and Bryan Reynolds put on a show in batting practice before Friday’s 11-4 loss to the Orioles, each ripping first-pitch homers to right field and giving the early crowd reason to gasp. Up to close the group out came Jarrod Dyson, the Pirates’ newest addition.

The center fielder sent the next offering clanking high in the netting of the batting cage. But instantly, he flipped his bat with authority and strutted out with hands raised high, his batting group laughing all the while.

Dyson nearly had a reason to flip one later in the game, launching a long foul ball in his first at-bat as a Pirate, but he ended the day going 0-for-2 with a walk and a strikeout to round out his debut line with the team.

“I think if it were fair it would definitely be gone,” Dyson said of the first contact he made. “But that just shows you how anxious I was to get in the box. I hooked like four or five balls foul, and that’s a good sign for me if I’m hooking them foul that way rather than being late and going foul.”

The offseason acquisition’s only chance to show his trademark speed on the bases came with a four-pitch walk he drew in his second at-bat, an outcome that Dyson saw more frequently last season than any in his decade-long MLB career. Dyson induced 47 walks in 2019, which was 17 more than he’d drawn in any other, but he said his ability to hit will drive that success.

“I’m looking to get on base any way I can, but last year, I had a pretty good start, and I was hitting the ball really good,” Dyson said. “So I wasn’t chasing much. I wasn’t chasing their pitch. I was making sure I got my pitch, and if I didn’t get my pitch, I let it go.”

Dyson started Friday’s game in the one hole -- a spot his speed and his ability to work at-bats would lend well to -- but manager Derek Shelton isn’t ready to commit to a spot for his new outfielder. However, the “by any means” mentality of getting on base that Dyson professes and displays is apparent to Shelton, as well as his work ethic.

“I think the fact is, as he continues to progress in his career, he continues to learn what his skill set can be and how it can be,” Shelton said. “And I think he’s continuing to realize the value of when he gets on base, how important he is on the bases.”

Maile scratched; Murphy launches another
• Before Friday’s game, the Pirates announced that Luke Maile was scratched with left hamstring tightness. Shelton said it was more precautionary than anything concerning.

“He came in a little stiff today, and there’s no sense in getting back there [stiff],” Shelton said.

In his place came John Ryan Murphy, who blasted a grand slam off Brian Gonzalez in the fourth inning. So far, Murphy has been the only Pirate to hit a homer in Grapefruit League action -- this being his second -- as he tries to make his mark in the starting catcher battle.

“If anything, it gives me confidence with the work that I did in the offseason,” Murphy said. “… I just tried to learn as much as I could about myself, as far as how my body’s moving. Once I did that, I paired that with all the data that I’ve put on tape the last two season, and then figure out a plan from there.”

Up next
The Pirates will head to Ft. Myers, Fla., on Saturday for a 6:05 p.m. ET contest with the Twins. Derek Holland will make his second start of spring, and he's expected to be followed by Richard Rodríguez, Dovydas Neverauskas, Clay Holmes, Robbie Erlin, Miguel del Pozo and Williams Jerez. Pittsburgh's lineup will get a look at Minnesota's best, with starter José Berríos being followed by Sergio Romo, Tyler Clippard and Taylor Rogers. Listen to the action with the Pirates' live webcast available through Gameday Audio.