Recap: Pirates 3, Yankees 1

Chris Capuano gave up two earned runs in two innings and Carlos Beltran failed to record a hit in his first start of the spring as the Yankees fell to the Pirates, 3-1, Friday night at Steinbrenner Field.

Beltran's Exhibition Debut: Beltran played right field and hit third in this contest -- making three plate appearances in six innings. He went 0-for-2 with a walk, but struck out in both of his official at-bats. 

Capuano Struggles in Return to Mound: Capuano got through this one's top of the first with relative ease, but when the Pirates' half of the second came around, the lefty found himself in trouble. After giving up a one-out single to Pedro Alvarez, Capuano was taken deep to right by Pittsburgh's Tony Sanchez -- putting the Yankees in an early hole they would ultimately never escape.

A-Rod's Hitting Streak Ends at One: Alex Rodriguez was a solid 1-for-2 against the Phillies on Wednesday, but the veteran's fortunes evidently weren't as good this time around. Rodriguez, like Beltran, went just 0-for-2 with a walk in this loss -- lining out sharply in the bottom of the fourth.

Notable Relievers: Former Brave David Carpenter shutout the Pirates for an inning, as did bullpen candidate Chris Martin and youngster Chasen Shreve. Jacob Lindgren, who had some issues with his command on Tuesday, kept the visitors off the board for 1 1/3 frames -- walking one and striking out two.

Other Starters: Jacoby Ellsbury and Brett Gardner both went 1-for-3 -- the first hits of the week for the duo. Interestingly, Ellsbury and Gardner's knocks were the only ones the Yankees had prior to the bottom of the eighth -- when New York collected three more and scored on a Jake Cave single.

Next Up: The Yankees will head up to Kissimmee Saturday for a 1:05 p.m. meeting with the Astros -- the first of two trips they will take to the Orlando suburb this month. In it, they will give right-hander Scott Baker the nod when they face off with Houston's Dallas Keuchel -- Baker's first ever outing in a Yankees uniform.