BRADENTON, Fla. -- Joe Musgrove has been working on stuff in the bullpen with pitching coach Oscar Marin over the past week or so. They’ve talked about his delivery, his throwing mechanics, how he takes the ball out of his glove and so on. But Musgrove said he entered his Spring Training debut on Tuesday with a simple, overarching goal: “Just go out there and pitch.”

Musgrove did that quite efficiently on Tuesday afternoon, working two quick innings in the Pirates’ 6-2 loss to the Phillies at LECOM Park. The right-hander hit Philadelphia leadoff man Roman Quinn, who was eventually caught stealing, then retired the next five batters he faced.

Musgrove struck out Scott Kingery on a big breaking ball, didn’t walk anybody and needed only 25 pitches (18 strikes) to complete his first assignment in Grapefruit League play.

“I think that was a professional outing for a pitcher the first time out. Use of stuff was good. Use of breaking ball was good. When he had to hold a runner, it was good,” manager Derek Shelton said. “Everything he wanted to do, execution of plan-wise, he did. When you can see that this early in the spring, I think that shows that he had a plan and stuck to it.”

Musgrove displayed everything he’s worked to improve since last season, when he led the Pirates in starts (31), innings (170 1/3) and strikeouts (157) while posting a 4.44 ERA and 1.22 WHIP.

He threw all his pitches, with his curveball looking especially sharp. His fastball velocity sat at 93 mph and touched 94 mph -- “better than it was last year,” Musgrove noted, when he was returning from offseason abdominal surgery. He utilized the top of the strike zone with his fastball, which is one of his goals for this season, and let his curveball play off that.

Overall, Musgrove came away pleased with his first taste of game action in 2020.

“For the most part, I got them to hit my pitch just about every at-bat,” Musgrove said. “I got a lot of chases at the top of the zone, which has been the biggest priority for me this spring -- commanding the top of the strike zone with fastballs. I was able to get to the corners, and using the curveball more throughout the outing helped set that pitch up a lot.”

Game report
• Opening Day bullpen candidates Michael Feliz and Clay Holmes delivered scoreless appearances after Musgrove despite each right-hander hitting a batter. Feliz also gave up a hit and struck out two, while Holmes recovered from his early HBP to record two groundouts and a strikeout on a curveball. Lefty Williams Jerez gave up four runs while recording two outs in the seventh.

• Catcher John Ryan Murphy, who entered camp third on Pittsburgh’s depth chart behind Jacob Stallings and Luke Maile, hit the Pirates’ first home run of the spring – a two-run shot off righty Connor Brogdon -- in the sixth inning.

“Two really good at-bats, and I thought he received the ball well, too,” Shelton said.

• The Pirates have displayed sound fundamentals, something they sorely lacked last year, in the early going. Maile nailed Quinn on a delayed steal attempt in the first inning on Tuesday, and they have executed several rundowns in their first four games.

“We’ve been hammering that stuff in practice,” Musgrove said. “Shelty’s been really big on being productive in the time that we’re on the field and not spending 20-30 minutes on one play. Let’s spend five minutes and be really efficient and really good in how we’re working.”

• Center fielder Jarrod Dyson, the Pirates’ only healthy position player who hasn’t played in a Grapefruit League game yet, is scheduled to get into the lineup on Friday, Shelton said. Infielder Erik González and non-roster catcher Christian Kelley, who had two at-bats in the DH spot on Tuesday, are also easing their way into game activity after undergoing offseason surgery.

• Right-handers Kyle Crick and Chad Kuhl are the only pitchers who haven’t appeared in a Grapefruit League game yet, although both pitched in a simulated game on Sunday.

Up next
The Pirates will return to LECOM Park on Wednesday afternoon to host the Red Sox at 1:05 p.m. ET. Top prospect Mitch Keller will make his second Grapefruit League start, continuing his bid for a spot in the Opening Day rotation. Left-hander Martín Pérez will start for Boston.

Right-handers James Marvel, Richard Rodríguez, Dovydas Neverauskas and Nick Burdi and lefties Sam Howard, Robbie Erlin and Blake Weiman are also scheduled to pitch for Pittsburgh. The game will air on AT&T SportsNet Pittsburgh, MLB.TV, KDKA-AM and the Pirates Radio Network.