TAMPA, Fla. -- Garrett Jones hit a three-run home run that left George M. Steinbrenner Field, and the Pirates beat the New York Yankees, 12-7, this afternoon.

The Pirates opened the game furiously against New York ace CC Sabathia: Andrew McCutchen lined a single, Ronny Cedeno doubled, and Lastings Milledge's single brought a run. Next, Jones launched a fastball high and over the small seating section beyond right field for a 4-0 lead.

Jones generated the next run, too, when he doubled off Sabathia in the third and came around on Andy LaRoche's single for a 5-2 lead.

It was Jones' second home run of the spring, and his 2-for-3 day raised his average to .214 after a slow start.

"I'm getting there," Jones said. "The main thing has been shortening my swing, staying within that and just looking for good contact. That's all I did in both of those at-bats. They were a couple fastballs, and I just went with them."

Starter Charlie Morton was charged with three runs and four hits in three innings, most of that damage done on two home runs by New York's Nick Johnson. Morton struck out two, walked two and fell behind nine of his 14 batters.

It looked more uneven than how Morton described it.

"Actually, it felt really good, especially after how all over the place I was last time," he said, referring to a two-inning, three-walk mess last week against the Atlanta Braves. "The stuff felt fresh, and I was mostly down."

Brian Burres, a left-hander bidding for long relief duty, failed to compete one inning, giving up four runs in the New York fourth, after which the Yankees led, 7-6.

D.J. Carrasco, the favorite for the long role, pitched two scoreless innings and struck out four while stranding a leadoff triple in the fifth.

Bobby Crosby's RBI double in the eighth tied the score at 7-7, and Steve Pearce's aggressive baserunning from third to home on Doug Bernier's groundout gave the Pirates the lead back.

Three more runs came in the ninth on John Raynor's RBI chop up the middle, Pedro Alvarez's RBI single lashed into right-center, and Pearce's sacrifice fly.

The Pirates, 3-4-1 in Grapefruit League play, will face the Baltimore Orioles tomorrow night in Bradenton, Fla.

Find more at PBC Blog.

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