Jerry DiPaola stories, Page 148

CLEVELAND — Pittsburgh Pirates slugger Josh Bell will start in the All-Star Game, after all. National League manager Dave Roberts of the Los Angeles Dodgers said Monday that Bell will be the starting designated hitter in the All-Star Game on Tuesday night at Progressive Field. “I like that presence in...

Forget the title chase in the National League Central. Set aside whatever you might think of the Pittsburgh Pirates roster and how it was constructed by a fiscally aware owner. For the next two days, let’s concentrate on how Josh Bell stacks up against the game’s greatest sluggers before taking...

The only negative moment of the Pittsburgh Pirates’ 12-2 victory Saturday night against the Milwaukee Brewers was left fielder Corey Dickerson’s groin injury that forced him from the game in the seventh inning. He injured it while catching a routine fly ball. “I felt something weird in my groin area,”...

When Steven Brault was placed on the 10-day injured list Saturday, he took the news with his usual good nature, aware that pitching professionally puts uncommon stress on arms and shoulders. “It’s something that’s going to happen,” Brault said of his left shoulder strain. “We throw baseballs as hard as...

The first thing Felipe Vazquez did when he found out he was a late pick for the All-Star Game was call Seven Springs. Because he wasn’t picked initially, he had planned to take several family members for a getaway. “When Clint (Hurdle) told me, I had to cancel everything,” he...

Luis Escobar Sr. quickly forgot about the dominoes game. Luis Jr. was calling from the United States with the news every father of a promising baseball player yearns to hear: His son was going to the big leagues. “When I called my father, he was in the midst of playing...

Trevor Williams will be placed on MLB’s paternity list Saturday and won’t make his scheduled start for the Pittsburgh Pirates against the Milwaukee Brewers. Instead, Dario Agarzal will make his third career start after his recall from Triple-A Indianapolis. Agarzal (1-0) has allowed only three earned runs in 10 innings...

The Pittsburgh Pirates opened their three-game series with the first-place Milwaukee Brewers on Friday night with an interesting starting lineup. All nine players, including starting pitcher Steven Brault (.350 in 20 at-bats), were hitting at least .275. And manager Clint Hurdle was so sure of his lineup’s productivity, he felt...

Felipe Vazquez spent more time trying to get a teammate elected as an All-Star Game starter than he did worrying why he was snubbed. Vazquez, the Pittsburgh Pirates’ closer, and starting pitcher Joe Musgrove went around the city, hoping to convince people to vote for Josh Bell as the National...

Before the Milwaukee Brewers met the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park on Friday night, Christian Yelich took aim at the Allegheny River. Hitting off batting practice pitcher Pat Shine, Yelich was preparing for the Home Run Derby on Monday in Cleveland. Christian Yelich did a practice round for the Home...

Perhaps nothing would have happened had Chicago Cubs manager Joe Maddon been free to charge the Pittsburgh Pirates dugout during the teams’ Fourth of July blow-up. But Maddon was visibly angry that Pirates pitcher Jordan Lyles was throwing high and inside to his batters, and Clint Hurdle did not back...

There was nothing special about how the baseball came off the bats during the Pittsburgh Pirates’ ninth-inning rally Wednesday night at PNC Park. The trigger of the 6-5 victory – the Pirates’ third in a row against the Chicago Cubs — was a one-out walk on a 3-2 count to...

Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Jameson Taillon, who has missed two months with no timetable for his return, received good news recently when new images of his elbow strain showed healing. “I’m kind of encouraged by it,” he said Wednesday. But he is far from pitching in a game. He had...

Back when Clint Hurdle was a player, he remembers five-man bullpens that offered fewer options for managers and more opportunities for starters to complete nine innings. But as the Pittsburgh Pirates manager noted Wednesday afternoon, that was “a long time ago.” “Now, you have seven-man bullpens, sometimes, eight-man bullpens (the...

Emily Boissonneault hasn’t even set up an office at Petersen Events Center. Right now, all she has are some lacrosse sticks, balls, helmets and a dream. But the 28-year-old Canadian, introduced Tuesday as Pitt’s first women’s lacrosse coach, already is talking about creating a legacy for her successors. “So, in...

Trevor Williams didn’t know Los Angeles Angels pitcher Tyler Skaggs. But Skaggs’ death Monday at the age of 27 touched Williams deeply and reminded him to count his blessings. The Southlake (Texas) Police Department reported that Skaggs was found unresponsive in a hotel room Monday afternoon and was pronounced dead...

On a night when even Elias Diaz’s groundout traveled 108.2 mph, Clint Hurdle reflected on how the game of baseball has changed. And his thoughts went far beyond the Pittsburgh Pirates’ 18-5 victory Monday night against the National League- Central-leading Chicago Cubs. It’s how suddenly the baseball was jumping off...

When Josh Bell steps into the batters’ box in Cleveland’s Progressive Field next Monday for the Home Run Derby, Clint Hurdle will only be a spectator, perhaps tucked into his couch in front of the TV at home. Which is just fine with the Pittsburgh Pirates’ manager, who threw nearly...

Clint Hurdle didn’t write Kevin Newman’s name in the Pittsburgh Pirates starting lineup Monday night against the Chicago Cubs for the first time since June 9. Newman, whose Pirates modern-day rookie record 19-game hitting streak ended Sunday, was replaced at shortstop by Jung Ho Kang and in the leadoff spot...

Josh Bell grew up playing baseball in the Dallas suburb of Irving, Texas, often competing against older kids because he was too good for those his own age. He was drafted in the second round in 2011, enticed to sign a big league contract when the Pittsburgh Pirates offered a...

Josh Bell was named to his first All-Star Game as a reserve first baseman Sunday, but Felipe Vazquez, one of the National League’s most effective relievers, was not included on the list of pitchers initially named to the team. That could change, however, if an injury opens up a spot...

Chris Archer is tentatively scheduled to pitch Wednesday night against the Chicago Cubs at PNC Park, but general manager Neal Huntington said Sunday that may depend on his visit with team doctors. Archer left the game Friday in Milwaukee after four innings with hip soreness. Huntington said the team would...

Josh Bell will be the fourth Pittsburgh Pirates player this century to participate in the Home Run Derby, the team confirmed Sunday morning. His 22 HR are the most by a N.L. switch hitter before the break since 2011.Now he's taking his talents to the #HRDerby ??@JBell_19 | #BELLieve pic.twitter.com/Zzxe3CvcT5—...