Kevin Gorman stories, Page 124
Reports: MLB has informed Toronto Blue Jays they will call PNC Park home this season
MLB has informed the Toronto Blue Jays that they will share PNC Park with the Pittsburgh Pirates as their home field this season, according to reports out of Canada. Sportsnet’s Hazel Mae first reported the news late Tuesday night, and the Toronto Sun confirmed that the majority of the Blue...
Kevin Gorman’s Take 5: Schedule allows for Pirates, Blue Jays to share PNC Park
Just when you thought MLB blurred the lines between the American League and National League this season, with interleague games and a universal designated hitter, PNC Park is ready to blow your mind. The Pittsburgh Pirates are willing to welcome with open arms their neighbors from the True North, the...
Cole Tucker’s spectacular sliding catch marks a memorable outfield debut for Pirates shortstop
Never mind that Cole Tucker had never played outfield before. He has a knack for making dramatic debuts with the Pittsburgh Pirates, whether it’s hitting a game-winning home run or making a sliding catch. This one didn’t get a curtain call, but Tucker tipped his cap anyway. The 6-foot-3 shortstop,...
Trevor Williams ready for regular season but Pirates’ bullpen blows up in loss to Indians
In his final outing of training camp, Trevor Williams looked like he was ready for the regular season. The Pittsburgh Pirates right-hander retired seven consecutive batters before leaving with two outs, a runner on third and a two-run lead. Then the bullpen blew up, as the Cleveland Indians punished the...
Pirates open to idea of PNC Park as possible home field for displaced Toronto Blue Jays
Rejected from playing at Rogers Centre by the Canadian government amid the coronavirus pandemic, the Toronto Blue Jays are looking into the possibility of playing home games at PNC Park this season. And the Pittsburgh Pirates are welcoming the idea with open arms. The Pirates’ home ballpark is one of...
‘Burgh’s Best to Wear It, No. 42: Connie Hawkins soared first with Rens, Pipers
The Tribune-Review sports staff is conducting a daily countdown of the best players in Pittsburgh pro and college sports history to wear each jersey number. No. 42: Connie Hawkins When its most common association with professional basketball is from a movie, “The Fish That Saved Pittsburgh,” it doesn’t speak great...
Kevin Gorman’s Take 5: Many roster decisions might already be made for the Pirates
The Pittsburgh Pirates are down to the final days of training camp, with exhibition games Monday and Wednesday against the Cleveland Indians before making final decisions on the 30-man Opening Day roster. Most of the decisions were made for them. The Pirates started training camp at PNC Park with 39...
Pirates bench coach Don Kelly receives rave reviews for running training camp at PNC Park
As a former bench coach who is well aware of the job requirements, Pittsburgh Pirates manager Derek Shelton has been deferential to Don Kelly when it comes to mapping out the minutiae of his first spring training and the subsequent three-week training camp. Where Shelton heaps constant credit on Kelly...
Pirates 3B Ke’Bryan Hayes, team’s top position prospect, tested positive for covid-19
Pittsburgh Pirates third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes, the team’s top position prospect, has tested positive for covid-19, manager Derek Shelton announced on Sunday. Hayes has not practiced with the Pirates at all during training camp at PNC Park and remains in quarantine. “He’s not back with us yet,” Shelton said of...
John Ryan Murphy ‘excited’ to step into backup catcher role for Pirates
Until a few days ago, John Ryan Murphy didn’t know whether he would start the season on the Pittsburgh Pirates’ 30-man roster, their taxi squad or be sent to their alternate training site in Altoona. That was nothing new to a 29-year-old catcher on his fifth team in eight seasons,...
Kevin Gorman’s Take 5: Pirates’ first exhibition game at PNC Park was weird, wonderful
Perhaps the best way to describe the first baseball game of 2020 at PNC Park is to say it was an exhibition game that looked like a Major League Baseball regular-season game, was played like a spring training game and pretended to play to a packed house instead of an...
Joe Musgrove has strong showing, but Pirates blow three-run lead in exhibition loss to Cleveland
Joe Musgrove struck out five while allowing one hit and one walk in three scoreless innings, a strong performance for the Pittsburgh Pirates right-hander a day after he was named the Opening Day starter. Guillermo Heredia drove in two runs with a fifth-inning single to center, a solid debut for...
Pirates lose backup catcher Luke Maile for the season after surgery on right index finger
The Pittsburgh Pirates lost catcher Luke Maile for the season when he underwent surgery Friday for a fractured right index finger, a day after being hit by a pitch in an intrasquad game. Maile’s surgery was performed by Dr. Edward Birdsong at Allegheny Health Network in Wexford. Maile is expected...
Kyle Crick has ‘driving force’ when he takes mound, with possibility as Pirates closer
Through a tumultuous season followed by a difficult offseason, Kyle Crick has found “a driving force” as a relief pitcher whose role could become even more important for the Pittsburgh Pirates. Crick’s rollercoaster 2019 season, which ended with a fractured index finger from a fistfight, was only a prelude to...
As Pirates play ball at PNC, no fans doesn’t mean no fanfare
The Pittsburgh Pirates hosted the first major sporting event in Pittsburgh since March 10 — a 129-day stretch — but there were no fans for their exhibition game against Cleveland on Saturday night at PNC Park. There were, however, plenty of cheers. The Pirates have been playing training camp intrasquad...
For Pirates, right-hander Joe Musgrove the natural choice to earn Opening Day start
Upon being named Opening Day starter for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Joe Musgrove’s mind couldn’t help but drift to the man who shared his love of baseball and pushed him to chase his dream of playing in the majors. “I just think about how proud my dad probably is right now,”...
Pirates confirm starting right fielder Gregory Polanco has tested positive for covid-19
The Pittsburgh Pirates’ starting lineup suffered a big blow with the announcement Gregory Polanco has tested positive for covid-19, which threatens to force the right fielder to miss the start of the season. Pirates manager Derek Shelton confirmed the positive test Friday afternoon after receiving consent from Polanco to go...
Pirates place closer Keone Kela on 10-day injured list
The Pittsburgh Pirates placed closer Keone Kela on the 10-day injured list, according to MLB transactions. The 27-year-old right-hander has not participated in training camp for undisclosed reasons. Kela was ordained the closer by new Pirates manager Derek Shelton at the outset of spring training at Pirate City in Bradenton,...
Kevin Gorman’s Take 5: Discussing what Derek Shelton can’t, Pirates players with covid-19
One of the most uncomfortable interactions with coaches involves asking why a player didn’t participate in practice, attempting to clarify whether it’s for a disciplinary, illness, injury or personal matter. Derek Shelton won’t discuss it. Because he can’t discuss it. That’s the reality of the covid-19 sportsworld, when teams aren’t...
Pirates manager Derek Shelton’s office has HOF jerseys, Pittsburgh-themed vibesVideo
The Pittsburgh Pirates gave a glimpse of new manager Derek Shelton’s refurbished office at PNC Park through the lens of social media. On Wednesday night, Shelton gave a virtual tour. The office has a picture window, a new paint scheme and the stylistic touch of Shelton’s wife, Alyson, whom he...
Kevin Gorman’s Take 5: Pirates GM Ben Cherington ‘impressed’ by covid-19 testing
When it comes to covid-19 testing, Pittsburgh Pirates general manager Ben Cherington is impressed with how MLB has implemented the health and safety protocols in training camp. That’s especially true for those tested most frequently: Players and coaches. Cherington credited the league for being proactive with adjustments to the system...
GM Ben Cherington says Pirates don’t expect to add any players through free agency, trades
General manger Ben Cherington warned that the Pittsburgh Pirates probably won’t add any new players to their 30-man major league roster through free agency or trades before next week’s season opener at St. Louis, despite having the third-lowest payroll in the majors. “I would expect that the players who are...
Kevin Gorman’s Take 5: Pirates CF Jarrod Dyson makes powerful, provocative statement
The Zoom interview with Jarrod Dyson wavered from candid to cliche as the Pittsburgh Pirates center fielder touched on a number of baseball-related topics and showed his jovial and jaded sides. A serious question to Dyson, however, received a serious response. And it was as powerful as it was provocative....
Pirates add first-round pick Nick Gonzales to their alternate training site in Altoona
The Pittsburgh Pirates are adding No. 1 draft pick Nick Gonzales to their alternate training site in Altoona, paving the way for the former New Mexico State shortstop to play professional baseball this summer. Gonzales is awaiting results from a covid-19 test before he can practice, his father Mike Gonzales...
Pirates counting on speedy Jarrod Dyson to solidify center field, provide veteran leadership
When Jarrod Dyson homered in Monday night’s intrasquad game, Pittsburgh Pirates manager Derek Shelton joked it was fun to watch the “fastest guy running around the bases in the big leagues.” After striking out in his first three at-bats, Dyson cracked that he was just trying to “get off the...
