BRADENTON http://www.marlinsfanproshop.com/authentic-starlin-castro-jersey , Fla. (AP) — grove and Chris Archer give them a good start to their rotation.The next move is figuring out who will take the fifth slot after Ivan Nova was traded to the Chicago White Sox in the offseason. Four pitchers are contending for the job: left-hander Steven Brault and right-handers Nick Kingham, Jordan Lyles and Rookie Davis.Brault and Kingham both pitched two scoreless innings in their first starts of the exhibition season while Lyles allowed one run in two innings. Davis has yet to pitch as he signed a minor league contract Feb. 18, a week after pitchers and catchers reported to spring training.Brault had made 16 starts and 48 relief appearances for the Pirates over the last three seasons, going 7-6 with a 4.68 ERA. He was the International League Pitcher of the Year in 2016 at Triple-A Indianapolis but has yet to gain a foothold in the major leagues.During the offseason, Brault overhauled his pitching mechanics and altered his throwing program. He then threw 19 of his 23 pitches for strikes against the Philadelphia Phillies last Saturday.“You take all that time in the offseason and you obviously want to do well,” Brault said. “It doesn’t mean everything was perfect or anything like that. It’s just one outing. But it’s nice to get the results I want. It’s a step in the right direction.”Kingham’s career started off in the right direction when he made his major league debut last April 29 and retired the first 20 batters on his way to beating the St. Louis Cardinals. He faded as the season wore on, however, and finished with a 5-7 record and 5.21 ERA in 18 games, including 15 starts.What could help Kingham’s cause is that he is out of minor league options. The Pirates would need to expose him to waivers if they try to send him down.Kingham, 27, realizes it is too early to get too excited about one start but was pleased to begin the exhibition season with a solid effort against the Miami Marlins.“I think any impression you make is going to stand on its own until your next one Nick Wittgren Jersey ,” Kingham said. “Anytime you go out to the mound, you want to make a good impression. It might be the last one you get, so you always want to be good and you always want to leave a good impression in the coaches’ minds, and the decision-makers’.”Signed to a $2.05 million, one-year contract as a free agent in the offseason, Lyles is the most experienced of the four candidates. The 28-year-old has pitched for the Houston Astros, Colorado Rockies, San Diego Padres and Milwaukee Brewers in his eight-year career, compiling a 31-52 record and 5.28 ERA.“You just continue to do what you think is best to get major league hitters out,” Lyles said. “Obviously, you’re trying to get outs. Nobody is going to stand out there on the mound and say, ‘Here’s the ball, hit it.’ Not giving up runs is the No. 1 goal obviously Julio Urias Jersey , but I’m also looking to work on things and find the right spots to work on them.”The Pirates have yet to schedule Davis’ first game appearance, though he pitched two innings in a simulated game Tuesday. The 25-year-old made his major league debut with Cincinnati in 2017 by making six starts but spent last season in the Reds’ farm system after recovering from hip surgery. PEORIA, Ariz. (AP) — Manny Machado’s debut in a Padres uniform was a lot less eventful than his free agency.The four-time All-Star spent the offseason being courted by every club with money to burn, and he wound up signing a $300 million, 10-year deal with San Diego late last month. But after a few workouts in Arizona, his Cactus League debut against the San Francisco Giants was rather underwhelming.The 26-year-old Machado popped out in his first at-bat and drew a walk in his second, and he came out of Saturday’s game after three innings at third base without getting any action.Then again, the Padres are paying Machado for what he will do when the game start counting.Not what happens on a sun-splashed field in Arizona.“Finally. Finally got to play some baseball,” Machado said. “It’s been good, getting to know my teammates and just getting my feet under me. It’s been a nice week, getting to know players a lot more. I finally got out there and played some baseball — makes it a lot better.”Machado batted second and started at third base, his primary position for most of his career. He played shortstop last year with the Orioles and Dodgers, but the Padres have one of the game’s top shortstop prospects in Fernando Tatis Jr.“It felt good. I have to get some more reps over there but I feel good http://www.dodgersfanproshop.com/authentic-max-muncy-jersey ,” Machado said. “Just to leave all that back-field stuff and be in a real game, it was exciting.”Tatis also got the start against the Giants along with first baseman Eric Hosmer, who signed a $144 million, seven-year deal last year and together form the Padres’ infield of the future.One that manager Andy Green expects to push his club well past its 66 wins of a season ago.“Look forward to it more in the season,” Green said, when asked about writing Machado’s name on his lineup card. “It’s good. Happy to get him out here. He’s worked hard on the back fields here.”Green said Machado has been spending most of his time bonding with his new teammates, and he thinks the former third overall pick has been especially helpful for the 20-year-old Tatis.“He knows what it’s like being a prospect who has high expectations,” said Green, himself a former third baseman. “I’m sure he can relate in a way nobody else really can.”Yet the expectations for Machado are similarly stratospheric.He’s coming off a season in which he hit .297, belted a career-best 37 homers and drove in 107 runs, and helped Los Angeles reach the World Series.That season, coupled with his track record, is why the White Sox and other deep-pocketed suitors spent the offseason wooing him. And lest he forget how much money the Padres ultimately invested in him Chris Taylor Jersey , Machado was reminded by a Giants fan during his second plate appearance Saturday.“You’re making $60,000 an hour!” the fan yelled. “Better not strike out!”So much for a pressure-free spring training game.“It’s an exciting day for him, I think, to get back on the field,” teammate Ian Kinsler said. “It’s an exciting day for the rest of the infield to be playing with him. It’s an exciting day for the Padres to see basically the new face or somebody that everybody’s going to relate to as far as being a Padres fan.”Machado said he normally takes 60 or 70 at-bats during spring training, and that means he has a little catching up to do after arriving late. But he said the work on the back fields has been helpful, even if it doesn’t come close to replicating game speed.He finally got a taste of that against Saturday.“It’s always worth it when you come out here and put on a uniform and step on that field,” Machado said, flashing a big smile. “It’s the best feeling you’ll ever have.”