TAMPA, Fla. -- The Pirates got some good outings from their pitchers and made a couple nice plays in the field, but they could not crack into the win column for their spring schedule, tying with the Yankees, 3-3, in Gerrit Cole's debut Monday night at Steinbrenner Field.
It was supposed to be the spring opener for Chris Archer, too, but he was scratched Monday afternoon with neck tightness. The club described his status as day-to-day.
Archer doesn't exactly know where the tightness originated, but said it had been lingering for several days.
If this had been the regular season, Archer said he probably would have started.
"Figured it's not smart to go out there and force it Feb. 24," Archer said. "We have a lot of time."
The plan is to treat it and see how it progresses over the next couple days.
Derek Shelton isn't too concerned with scratching him.
"It's Feb. 24, so we're just very precautionary," Shelton said.
Archer was disappointed about not being able to get his season started, but didn't want to overcompensate for his neck and potentially hurt something else.
"I just would rather not expose myself if I'm not feeling 100-percent in February," Archer said.
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