BRADENTON, Fla. -- If you go by official stats, the Pirates have a five-way tie for the most homers hit in Spring Training through Sunday’s 6-5 loss to the Phillies at LECOM Park.

But if you count his Little League home run on Friday, infield prospect Rodolfo Castro takes top honors -- and they’ve all come in his past three games.

Castro hit one way deep to left field in the seventh inning for a grand slam off Phillies reliever Jakob Hernandez. Statcast did not measure the home run distance, but it was a no-doubter, bouncing off the roof over the outfield grandstands.

“You don't see very many guys go up top on the [roof],” Bucs manager Derek Shelton said.

On Saturday, Castro hit a two-run homer off Chad Green in the eighth inning of the Pirates’ 7-5 loss in Tampa, Fla. Before that came the mad dash around the bases on Friday against the Blue Jays, as Lourdes Gurriel Jr. thought he’d caught the ball, but it caromed away and Castro sprinted home to score the winning run.

“I think the really important part for us was that Rudy Castro ran hard the entire time, because if you don't run hard, you don't score on that,” Shelton said at the time. “[Third-base coach] Joey [Cora] made a really good decision [to waive home Castro], but it comes down to Castro running hard from the get go.”

Castro is among a group of young players who will not break camp with the team, but who have impressed either at the alternate site in Altoona, Pa., last season or over their Minor League careers. The 21-year-old grew his homer rate at nearly every stop along his four-year career in the Minors, culminating in 19 dingers in 2019 across two levels of Class A ball.

The Pirates hope Castro can make more strides in his consistency and discipline at the plate -- he’s 3-for-17 with seven strikeouts in 11 spring games -- but he has the potential to become an infield option for the team in the coming years.

Not to be outdone

Jacob Stallings started the Pirates’ scoring with a long homer to left field in the first inning. Statcast distance projections were not available for the shot off of Phillies lefty Matt Moore, but it was a healthy blast, clearing the boardwalk in left field.

Stallings is not a consistent home run threat, but his power against left-handers is legit: He’s posted an .888 OPS against them in his career. Shelton has seen Stallings make strides to get his bat in a good position to add more power.

“I think it's just extending the contact point out front has been one of the things that stood out,” the skipper said.

Medical roundup

• General manager Ben Cherington said that Anthony Alford’s right wrist discomfort appears to be just a contusion. Cherington offered the update during the AT&T Sportsnet broadcast of Sunday’s game, one day after Alford was hit by a pitch from Yankees starter Corey Kluber.

“Looks like we dodged a bullet there, and he’s back out there soon,” Cherington said.

• Shelton said that Kevin Newman, who missed a week with left hamstring discomfort, responded well after serving as the DH on Sunday. The manager also said Tony Wolters completed baseball activities on Sunday after being pulled from Saturday's game after being hit by a pitch from Darren O’Day on his left leg.

Fulmer claimed

The Pirates announced that Carson Fulmer was claimed off waivers by the Reds on Sunday. Fulmer, 27, was designated for assignment when the club acquired Duane Underwood Jr. last week. Fulmer allowed two runs on three hits with four strikeouts in three appearances this spring.

Up next

The Bucs will make the short trip to Sarasota to take on the Orioles at 1:05 p.m. on Monday at Ed Smith Stadium. Tyler Anderson will start for Pittsburgh, and among the scheduled relievers to follow him is Quinn Priester, ranked as the No. 52 prospect in baseball by MLB Pipeline, who has drawn rave reviews after his work at the alternate training site. The game will be available via a free audio webcast on pirates.com.