TAMPA, Fla. – The Pirates scratched starter Chris Archer from his scheduled Spring Training debut on Monday due to neck tightness. He is day to day.

The right-hander had been listed to start against the Yankees on Monday night at Steinbrenner Field, but that changed a little more than five hours before first pitch. Manager Derek Shelton called the move “very precautionary” and said the club isn’t concerned about Archer’s status moving forward.

“I don’t know exactly what it was. It’s kind of been lingering for several days,” Archer said. “We’ve done some treatment. Just kind of figured it’s not [a good idea] to go out there and force it Feb. 24. We have a lot of time.”

With more than a month remaining before Opening Day, Archer didn’t want to try to pitch through the discomfort and risk sustaining a more serious injury. He noted that he “probably” would have taken the mound in the regular season, though.

“Since everything’s connected, you don’t want to overcompensate in some way and have something bigger happen,” Archer said. “Anytime I can’t do what I love, it’s disappointing. But we’ve got to be smart at this point. When guys step in the box, I’m not going to hold back. I would rather not expose myself if I’m not feeling 100 percent in February.”

Right-hander Chris Stratton, who had been scheduled to pitch in relief on Monday, assumed Archer’s spot as the Pirates’ starter against Gerrit Cole. Stratton walked Brett Gardner but struck out Giancarlo Stanton with a curveball during a scoreless, 18-pitch first inning in the Pirates’ 3-3 tie with the Yankees.

Stratton carved out a lower-leverage role in Pittsburgh’s bullpen last season, posting a 3.66 ERA with 47 strikeouts in 46 2/3 innings over 28 appearances, and he’s now competing for a spot on the Opening Day roster.

“I like to not prepare for anything, just so I’m ready for whatever. Just another day at the ballpark,” Stratton said. “I kind of had a game plan. You try to attack with some fastballs and curveballs. I thought we did a good job of that. Just got to get a little bit better command. But overall, I’d say it’s a good one to build on.”

Game report
• Cole threw 20 pitches in a scoreless first inning, walking Cole Tucker with two outs before striking out Josh Bell. The former Pirates pitcher’s fastball touched 98 mph in his Yankees spring debut.

“It's always fun, fun competition. He looks pretty ready to go,” said Bell, who was selected after Cole by the Pirates in the 2011 Draft. “He's got some serious ride on his heater right now. That's pretty surprising for February. Definitely excited to see him in a couple months, but I've got to get things going myself.”

• Several bullpen candidates, including Stratton, delivered encouraging performances on Monday night. Right-hander Geoff Hartlieb put together a scoreless second inning, and Edgar Santana – in his first game appearance since September 2018 – retired all three batters he faced in the third.

• Yacksel Ríos, Luis Escobar and Nik Turley all followed with scoreless innings before non-roster righty Nick Mears allowed three runs in the seventh.

• Catcher Jacob Stallings and third-base prospect Ke’Bryan Hayes led the way offensively with two hits apiece, and outfield prospect Jason Martin drove in the tying run on a ground-ball single up the middle with two outs in the ninth.

• Tucker flashed some leather under the lights. After a Gleyber Torres grounder bounced away from third baseman Phillip Evans in the first inning, Tucker quickly chased after the ball and teamed up with Stratton to make a heads-up play at third, forcing out Brett Gardner when he tried to take an extra base.

In the fourth inning, a diving Adam Frazier flipped Stanton’s grounder to Tucker, who caught the ball barehanded without breaking stride, stepped on second to force out Torres then fired a throw to Bell to complete the double play.

“That was sick,” Tucker said. “We always mess around in practice and try to make crazy, Web Gem-y plays. When they show up on the field, it’s really fun. I’d be lying to you if I said I didn’t feel pretty good about that one after the fact.”

Up next
The Pirates face a rare-for-Spring Training quick turnaround on Tuesday, as they’ll play host to the Phillies at LECOM Park at 1:05 p.m. ET. Right-hander Joe Musgrove is scheduled to make his spring debut against Philadelphia lefty Ranger Suarez.

Also scheduled to pitch are Michael Feliz, Clay Holmes, Blake Cederlind, Miguel Del Pozo and Williams Jerez. The telecast will air on AT&T SportsNet Pittsburgh and will be available on MLB.TV.