Jerry DiPaola stories, Page 151
Norwin grad Connor Perry among 3 Pitt players drafted
The Pitt baseball program was well-represented on the third and final day of the MLB First-Year Player Draft on Wednesday. Center fielder Connor Perry, a Norwin graduate, was drafted by the Detroit Tigers in the 28th round (No. 832). Perry led the Panthers with 15 home runs this season while...
Errors, shaky pitching lead to Pirates’ blowout loss vs. Braves
An optimist might say that three Pittsburgh Pirates errors that led to three unearned runs Tuesday night created an insignificant wrinkle that easily can be ironed out. A pessimist – and their numbers are growing – will note that the Pirates’ 12-5 loss to the Atlanta Braves before a crowd...
Pirates notebook: Reaching into Power 5 conferences on draft’s second day
The Pittsburgh Pirates selected eight college players Tuesday in Rounds 3-10 during the second day of the MLB Draft. Six came from Power 5 conferences. Clint Hurdle was too busy with game preparations to comment on those picks, but he spent part of his day watching video of the first...
Pirates’ Josh Bell hopes to come back stronger after starting streak ends
True to his nature, Josh Bell took the news calmly and without much comment. Perhaps that’s because he didn’t know what to say or how to react to sitting and watching a baseball game. When you start every one of your team’s first 58 games for more than two months...
Mets fans have message for Tom Brady: ‘There’s only one Tom Terrific’
The lesson for the day – if Tom Brady decides to listen – is simply this: “Don’t mess with angry Mets fans.” Brady has raised the ire of rightfully outraged New Yorkers who can’t believe what they’re hearing: The New England Patriots quarterback, who has won six Super Bowls, wants...
Pirates draft high school pitcher Quinn Priester in 1st round
a The first words out of Quinn Priester’s mouth Monday night when he talked with reporters on a conference call was an apology. “I’m a little hoarse,” he said not long after the Pittsburgh Pirates made the 18-year-old right-handed pitcher a first-round pick (18th overall) in the MLB Draft. He...
WVU pitcher Alek Manoah picked No. 11 overall by Blue Jays
Right-handed pitcher Alek Manoah, the fourth West Virginia player to earn All-America honors and first named first team since 2010, was drafted in the first round of the MLB Draft on Monday night, going to the Toronto Blue Jays with the 11th overall choice. He stands 6-foot-6, 260 pounds, but...
Basketball will be secondary during Pitt’s trip to Italy in August
Basketball will be a part of the Pitt team’s upcoming trip to Italy, but players and coaches will see so much more outside of the Italian gymnasiums. School officials announced the team will leave Aug. 5 for a 10-day, eight-night trip with stops in Rome, Florence, Pisa, Bologna, Vicenza, and...
Pirates’ Josh Bell named National League player of the month
Josh Bell, whose monumental and historic home runs are turning him into the face of the Pittsburgh Pirates franchise, was named Monday as the National League player of the month. Bell, 26, led the Major Leagues with 46 hits and 31 RBIs in May, but five of his 12 home...
Draft day ‘nerve-racking,’ even for 1st-round picks like Pirates’ Cole Tucker
With “hundreds of people” gathered around the television, Cole Tucker and his family just wanted to go somewhere quiet. It was MLB Draft day in 2014, and with the Los Angeles Dodgers on the clock at No. 22, Tucker’s agent had just called with the news. “Hey, man, it’s happening....
If Pirates’ Josh Bell skips HR Derby, Neal Huntington wouldn’t protest
When Josh Bell was asked Sunday whether he will enter the Home Run Derby, he smiled and said “maybe.” Neal Huntington wouldn’t have been upset if Bell’s answer was “no.” The Pittsburgh Pirates slugger, the National League Player of the Month for May, appears to be a lock to receive...
Pirates’ Josh Bell plans to unplug on his day off after historic month
After Josh Bell played 27 games in 27 days, don’t expect to see him at PNC Park on Monday. The Pittsburgh Pirates are off, and Bell plans to go out and do — of all things — some costume shopping for an upcoming road trip. “I’m definitely not coming to...
Pirates notebook: Neal Huntington doesn’t like pitchers in draft
Neal Huntington lamented the unfortunate reality of the MLB Draft. “There doesn’t seem to be a ton (of pitchers),” the Pittsburgh Pirates general manager said Sunday on 93.7 FM. The draft begins at 7 p.m. Monday — there will be 78 players drafted — and continues through 40 rounds before...
Pirates fall 5 games behind Brewers after home loss
Jordan Lyles was one-on-one with 27 Milwaukee Brewers batters Sunday at PNC Park, and he handled 18 of them without a problem. But teams are judged on victories and defeats, and that’s why his first outing since leaving the game in Cincinnati last Tuesday with a hamstring strain wasn’t good...
The day Arnold Palmer was forced to qualify for the U.S. Open
The year 1969 was known for many epic events. • Man first walked on the moon. • A half-million people descended upon a dairy farm in Bethel, N.Y., to celebrate music at Woodstock. • The Amazin’ Mets turned the baseball world upside down by beating the Baltimore Orioles in the...
Chris Archer shakes slump, pitches Pirates to 9-4 victory
By his estimation, Chris Archer has thrown “thousands and thousands” of pitches in his 196 major-league starts. Hard to believe, but the first one he threw Friday night at PNC Park stands out among most of the rest. At least, it did while Archer was leading the Pittsburgh Pirates to...
Pirates shut down Keone Kela for at least 10 days
Relief pitcher Keone Kela’s troubled season continued Friday when he returned from his rehab assignment in Triple-A Indianapolis with recurrent shoulder discomfort. The Pittsburgh Pirates announced that Kela will be shut down from throwing for about 10 days. He has been on the injured list retroactive to May 6. Kela...
Pirates’ Clint Hurdle believes Josh Bell won’t mishandle fame
While Josh Bell finds himself in demand all over the major leagues, Clint Hurdle doesn’t believe the fame will negatively impact his slugging first baseman. “We’ve had a couple conversations along the way,” the Pittsburgh Pirates manager said. Hurdle told Bell, “Let’s continue to revisit what got you here and...
MLB, Pirates weigh fan safety in wake of foul ball incident in Houston
The Pittsburgh Pirates were among the first MLB teams to expand netting to the far end of each dugout at PNC Park to protect fans. The Houston Astros did the same at Minute Maid Park, but Wednesday night that turned out to be not far enough. A 4-year-old girl, seated...
Joe Moore Award finds a permanent home in Pittsburgh
In Aaron Taylor’s mind, there are two appropriate places to display a trophy named after legendary coach Joe Moore and honoring college football’s top offensive line: • The school that wins it, of course, should get to display the 7-foot tall, 6-foot long, 3-foot wide, 800-pound “behemoth.” (Taylor’s word) •...
Pirates’ Jordan Lyles plans to make scheduled start after testing hamstring
On a night when three pitchers failed to control the Milwaukee Brewers in a 11-5 loss, the Pittsburgh Pirates finally got some good news about one of their pitchers. Jordan Lyles, who strained his lower left hamstring Tuesday in Cincinnati, threw a bullpen session Thursday and later declared himself “good...
Joe Musgrove, bullpen struggle in Pirates’ loss to Brewers
Clint Hurdle needed only to take a quick glance at the game summary to figure out what ailed his team Thursday night in an 11-5 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers. Actually, for much of this season. “We’ve given up way more than our share of multiple-run innings,” the Pittsburgh Pirates...
Clint Hurdle: ‘Room’ for Steven Brault in Pirates’ rotation
Steven Brault wants to make something clear about his efforts Wednesday in Cincinnati. “It wasn’t just a fluke out of nowhere,” he said of 51⁄3 shutout innings that led to a 7-2 victory for the Pittsburgh Pirates. Brault, who had allowed eight runs in 72⁄3 innings in his previous two...
Pirates’ Clay Holmes: Pitch that hit Reds’ Eugenio Suarez was an accidentVideo
Pittsburgh Pirates relief pitcher Clay Holmes said he doesn’t blame Eugenio Suarez for getting mad. Suarez is having another fine season for the Cincinnati Reds, already up to 14 home runs and 39 RBIs after totaling 34 and 104 last year. The last thing he needs is an injury when...
Last scheduled Pitt-Penn State game to be nationally televised on ABC
The last scheduled game between old rivals Pitt and Penn State will be nationally televised by ABC and will begin at noon Sept. 14 at Beaver Stadium. The game is the last of a four-game series between the schools. Penn State won two of the first three, 33-14 in 2017...
