TAMPA, Fla. -- One of Garrett Jones' many small spring goals is to hit better against left-handers, and he began to address that in a large way Tuesday.

In the first inning of the Pirates' 12-7 victory against the New York Yankees, he launched a three-run home run off CC Sabathia, one of the game's premier lefties, and out of George M. Steinbrenner Field. Two innings later, he doubled off Sabathia.

Not a bad start.

"Yeah, he's pretty good," Jones said of Sabathia, laughing. "I'm getting there. I'm not there yet, but I'm getting there. The main thing has been shortening my swing, staying within that and just looking for good contact. That's all I did in both those at-bats. There were a couple fastballs, and I just went with them."

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Today

Game: Pirates vs. Baltimore Orioles, 7:05 p.m., McKechnie Field, Bradenton, Fla. LHP Zach Duke vs. RHP Brad Bergesen. Other scheduled pitchers: Daniel McCutchen, Vinnie Chulk, Brendan Donnelly, Chris Jakubauskas.

TV, radio: FSN Pittsburgh, FMNewsTalk 104.7.

Camp roster: 66 players, including 36 pitchers, six catchers, 13 infielders, 11 outfielders.

Injuries: RHP Octavio Dotel (oblique), RHP Joel Hanrahan (elbow).

Opener: 26 days until the Los Angeles Dodgers at PNC Park.

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It is not easy finding holes in Jones' 82-game rookie output in 2009, highlighted by 21 home runs and a .293 average. But the lefty issue was one: He batted .333 against righties, .205 against lefties, and the split in his on-base percentage was an equally ugly .426 and .243.

There was nothing ugly about the home run Tuesday, his second in three games.

Andrew McCutchen lined a leadoff single off Sabathia, Ronny Cedeno doubled, and Lastings Milledge's single brought a run. Next, Jones sent that fastball high and over the small seating section beyond right field for a 4-0 lead.

Yes, the Legend hit one out of what formerly was called Legends Field.

Next time up, Sabathia went away from Jones, but Jones stayed with the pitch and doubled to left. He would sprint home on Andy LaRoche's RBI single, and it was 5-2.

"That's part of staying within yourself," Jones said.

Hitting coach Don Long and Jones, in cage and video sessions all offseason, have emphasized being extra selective against lefties.

"With less than two strikes, Garrett needs to know that he doesn't have to cover the whole strike zone," Long said. "If a lefty throws a slider for a low-and-away strike, it's OK to let that go if you don't have two strikes. Wait for the pitch where you can do damage."

Evidence that Jones can hit lefties: Six of those 21 home runs came that way.

"The swing is fine," Long said. "He just needs to go after the right pitch."

The simple math projects Jones' 2010 output to 42 home runs, but the reality is that only five National League players last year topped 40: Albert Pujols, Prince Fielder, Ryan Howard, Mark Reynolds and Adrian Gonzalez.

"Honestly, I'm not looking at any number," Jones said. "I'm looking at getting better. The numbers will take care of themselves."

Sabathia was lifted after 2 1/3 innings, five runs and seven hits, and he later called his showing "terrible." But that was not all.

"I always say results don't matter until you give up eight runs in two innings to the Pirates," Sabathia said.

When reminded that he actually gave up five, Sabathia came back, "It should have been eight."

Starter Charlie Morton was charged with three runs and four hits in three innings, including two home runs by New York's Nick Johnson. Morton struck out two, walked two and, most striking, 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 long relief candidate, gave up four runs in the fourth, but the Pirates rallied late: Bobby Crosby's RBI double in the eighth tied the score at 7-7, and Steve Pearce's aggressive dash from third to home on Doug Bernier's groundout brought the lead.

Pedro Alvarez lashed an RBI single as part of a four-run ninth, then made a fine barehanded grab-and-throw at third in the bottom half.

"Great play," manager John Russell said of the latter.

Closer Octavio Dotel, out two weeks because of a strained oblique, made an incident-free, 31-pitch, all-fastball bullpen session Tuesday morning at McKechnie Field.

"It went very smoothly," pitching coach Joe Kerrigan said. "Very encouraging."

Dotel will have bullpen sessions Thursday and Saturday, with pitches being ramped up and varied. On Monday, he will throw live batting practice.

"I think it's going to be OK," Dotel said. "I'm just going to keep going by how it feels."

• Injured reliever Joel Hanrahan extended his long-tossing program to 90 feet.

• D.J. Carrasco, the favorite for the long relief role, pitched two more scoreless innings Tuesday -- five total for the spring -- and struck out four while stranding a leadoff triple in the fifth.

• Alvarez's parents are watching his games after making the 19-hour drive from New York to Florida over the weekend. "One of 'em doesn't like to fly," Alvarez said, grinning. "It's great to have them here."

• The game tonight against the Baltimore Orioles will be the first of four televised by FSN Pittsburgh, as well as the only night game of the spring at McKechnie.

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