Glasnow sharp in Marauders' debut

Tyler Glasnow battled his emotions on Friday night. The opposition proved to be less of a battle.

The Pirates' No. 3 prospect gave up two hits and struck out six over five scoreless innings in his season debut before Class A Advanced Bradenton dropped a 13-4 decision at St. Lucie.

Also making his Florida State League debut, Glasnow issued three walks. All six of his strikeouts were swinging.

"I did a good job preparing before the game and really focused on my warmups," the 20-year-old right-hander said. "The bullpen [session] felt better than usual, better than how I remembered it last season. Kind of going into the game with more of an approach."

Since Friday's outing was the first time Glasnow had pitched in a game in a while, there were some nerves out there, he admitted.

"It's nervousness too, but it's more excitement, the whole melting pot of emotions," he explained. "It's a good feeling, throwing in front of some fans."

Glasnow suffered a back injury during Spring Training, causing him to miss the first three weeks of his second full Minor League season. The down time proved to be helpful as well as frustrating.

"I hurt my back and I didn't want to rush to get back," he said. "I didn't get to go through the full Spring Training, so that extended was pretty much was my Spring Training. I needed those rehab starts to get my mind right and remember how to throw to batters."

Glasnow, a 2011 fifth-round pick, broke out in a big way last year, going 9-3 with a 2.18 ERA in 24 starts for Class A West Virginia. He led the South Atlantic League with 164 strikeouts over 111 1/3 innings and limited opponents to a .142 batting average. While those numbers were impressive, Glasnow is focusing on the mental aspect of pitching.

"I realized that lately," he said of preparing for each game. "I've been working with the coaches on separating competition and preparation. Before, I would go on the mound and not really compete as well as I should have. I'd throw a ball and worry 'What am I doing wrong?' instead of just putting it behind me. I feel like I did a really good job of that today and I just have to stick with that the rest of the year."

Glasnow exited a scoreless game, but Eric Wood capped a four-run seventh with a three-run homer -- the Marauders' first since April 8 -- to give Bradenton a 4-3 lead.

St. Lucie responded with a 10-run eighth as Aderlin Rodriguez slugged a grand slam to finish off a six-RBI night. Brandon Nimmo, the Mets' No. 7 prospect, went 2-for-2 with three walks and two runs scored, raising his average to .380.

Robbie Rowland (0-2) was tagged with the loss after surrendering five runs on four hits in one inning.

Randy Fontanez (2-1) picked up the win, despite allowing two runs on three hits over 1 1/3 innings.