Just eight games into the exhibition schedule, the Yankees and Pirates met for the third time. The Yankees won the first two 6-3 and 6-0. This time the invading Pirates got their revenge with an ugly 12-7 win.

Lineup:

R – Derek Jeter (SS)
L – Nick Johnson (DH)
S – Jorge Posada (C)
R – Alex Rodriguez (3B)
L – Curtis Granderson (CF)
S – Nick Swisher (RF)
S – Randy Winn (LF)
L – Juan Miranda (1B)
R – Kevin Russo (2B)

Subs: Jorge Vazquez (1B), Reegie Corona (2B), Eduardo Nuñez (SS), Brandon Laird (3B), Jesus Montero (C), Greg Golson (RF), Reid Gorecki (CF), Colin Curtis (LF), Jon Weber (DH)

Pitchers: CC Sabathia (2 1/3), Dustin Moseley (1 2/3), Royce Ring (1), Romulo Sanchez (1 1/3), Boone Logan (1 1/3), Hector Noesi (1), Jeremy Bleich (1/3)

Big Hits: A pair of solo homers by Nick Johnson in his only two at-bats, both of Charlie Morton, a wall-scraper in the first and a bigger bomb in the third. A triple by Curtis Granderson (1-for-3) into the right-field gap off D.J. Carrasco (Granderson was stranded at third). Hitting for Johnson in the fourth, Jon Weber (2-for-3) delivered a two-RBI single and later doubled in the ninth. Jorge Posada went 2-for-2 with a walk, and RBI, and a run scored.

Who Pitched Well: Back from the birth of his daughter, Royce Ring pitched a perfect fifth, striking out one. Romulo Sanchez retired four men in a row striking out two before walking the last man he faced.

Who Didn’t: CC Sabathia gave up four runs before getting an out (single, double, RBI double, three-run homer by lefty-hitting Garrett Jones), and gave up another double before escaping the first. He then pitched a perfect second inning, but gave up another run on two hits and a walk in the third before hitting his pitch count with just one out in that frame. He later said he was collapsing his back side (said CC, “I have a big back side”) and thus leaving the ball up. That’s a typical and easily correctable mechanical issue he should be able to fix prior to his next start.

In the process of getting just three outs, Hector Noesi allowed three singles and a walk, with all four runners scoring, three on his watch and one after he was pulled for Jeremy Bleich with two outs in the ninth. Bleich should have stranded that runner, but Jorge Vazquez dropped a throw at first base and Bleich gave up a booming RBI double to the next batter before finally getting the final out of the inning. Boone Logan gave up two runs on a single, a double, and a walk i n1 1/3 innings of work.

Oopsies: For those who skipped the last section, first baseman Jorge Vazquez dropped a throw from Corona at second base for what would have been the final out of an ugly ninth inning. It was in his glove and he just dropped it.

Ouchies: Francisco Cervelli (concussion) worked out at 70 percent effort on Tuesday and said he felt “a little weird,” but better than Monday. He will have a full-speed workout on Wednesday with the goal of playing in Friday’s game.

Other: Those of you checking the box score might notice that the Pirates stole two bases with Jesus Montero behind the plate. They stole them both on the pitcher. Former Yankee farmhand Doug Bernier got a huge jump on Boone Logan, and Argenis Diaz’s steal came on a ball in the dirt. Montero didn’t make a throw in the latter case, but did make a nice, strong, accurate throw to second in the former only to find Bernier already standing on the bag. Throughout the telecast, John Flaherty spoke favorably of what he’s seen and was seeing of Montero behind the plate, feeding my optimism about Montero’ s ability to remain a catcher. My impression is that, with first base blocked, Montero would have to be a total disaster back there for the Yankees to move him off the position.

Finally, I’ve promised to lay off Michael Kay, but Bob Lorenz did play-by-play for YES for this game and it was so pleasant to listen to. Of course, I’m sure if I listened to Lorenz do 150 games a year for a decade and a half things about him would irritate me as well, but I’d be willing to take that chance . . .