Kevin Gorman stories, Page 27
Pirates DFA RHP Domingo German, add LHP Joey Wentz to active roster
The Pittsburgh Pirates sent their most controversial signing packing Thursday, when pitcher Domingo German was designated for assignment to make room on the active roster for lefty Joey Wentz. The Pirates signed German, who pitched the 24th perfect game in major-league history last season, to a $1.5 million contract in...
Pirates GM Ben Cherington emphasizes the ‘need to be better’ in international scouting
A day after Luis Ortiz tossed six one-hit innings against the Cleveland Guardians, Pittsburgh Pirates general manager Ben Cherington touted the right-hander as one of their international signing success stories and an example for recent changes in that department. Cherington addressed the firings of international scouting director Junior Vizcaino and...
Alex Cobb tosses 6 perfect innings, Guardians hit 4 solo homers to top Pirates
Where Mitch Keller allowed his most hits of the season, the Pittsburgh Pirates couldn’t find a way to get on base against Cleveland Guardians left-hander Alex Cobb. Cobb was perfect through six innings, and the Pirates couldn’t hit him until they hit him. Isiah Kiner-Falefa broke up the perfect game...
Pirates activate relievers Ryan Borucki, Colin Holderman as rosters expand to 28
The Pittsburgh Pirates ended the rehabilitation assignments Sunday for left-handed pitcher Ryan Borucki and right-hander Colin Holderman, adding key relievers to their bullpen as active rosters expanded to 28. Borucki (0-0, 5.40 ERA) was activated from the 60-day injured list. He made only four appearances this season and has been...
‘That’s 100% who I am’: Pirates lefty Bailey Falter uses elite extension to fool hitters
Bailey Falter realized in high school in Chino Hills, Calif., that something was different about his fastball. The left-handed pitcher found it weird that his velocity was only registering in the mid- to high-80s but he was “just absolutely blowing it by those guys.” When Falter was in the minor...
Kevin Gorman’s Take 5: Pirates stunned by collapse against Cubs, Cruz’s position switch
There was a stunned silence in the home clubhouse as Pittsburgh Pirates players packed their equipment into travel bags Wednesday afternoon following a shellacking of a sweep by the Chicago Cubs. The Cubs didn’t just win a three-game series at PNC Park. They poured it on in every way imaginable,...
Pirates blow 7-run lead, as Cubs rally late to sweep series in Oneil Cruz’s debut in center field
The Pittsburgh Pirates hit a new low — one they are hoping is rock bottom — by blowing a seven-run lead over the final three innings against the Chicago Cubs. Their decision to make a late-August position switch by moving Oneil Cruz to center field backfired when Christian Bethancourt hit...
Pirates DH Andrew McCutchen close to returning, 3B Ke’Bryan Hayes still up in the air
The Pittsburgh Pirates are on the verge of getting designated hitter Andrew McCutchen back and remain cautiously optimistic third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes will play again this season. Where McCutchen tested his left knee by running the bases and taking batting practice Tuesday, when he became eligible to come off the...
Jared Jones gives up a pair of 2-run homers in return, Cubs pound Pirates’ bullpen again
Jared Jones wanted to go on the attack in his first start for the Pittsburgh Pirates since July 3, but the rookie right-hander found that his four-seam fastball was the only pitch he could command in the fourth inning. Without the ability to land all of the pitches in his...
Pirates’ Oneil Cruz stunned by position switch, will ‘do my best’ at playing center field
Oneil Cruz was blindsided by the Pittsburgh Pirates’ decision to move him from shortstop to center field, saying he was disappointed that it took him by surprise. Speaking publicly Tuesday afternoon for the first time since the Pirates revealed the position switch, Cruz admitted he “wasn’t expecting it” despite committing...
Making his MLB debut was ‘rewarding’ for Pirates 33-year-old lefty reliever Brady Feigl
Brady Feigl wore an MLB Debut patch on the left shoulder of his Pittsburgh Pirates game jersey, a smile on his face and one word in his brain Monday night: Rewarding. Feigl’s debut didn’t go as he’d dreamed, as the Chicago Cubs tagged the left-handed reliever for six earned runs...
Cubs crank out 21 hits to pound Pirates for 18 runs in series opener
When the Chicago Cubs weren’t hitting for extra bases off Mitch Keller, they were stealing them off Yasmani Grandal. The Cubs had five doubles off the Pittsburgh Pirates right-handed starter and just as many stolen bases against the 35-year-old catcher through the first four innings while clinging to a one-run...
Pirates activate 2B Nick Gonzales, recall C Henry Davis, place Joey Bart on 10-day IL
Three of the Pittsburgh Pirates’ most promising young players were in the clubhouse Monday, when the club made a flurry of roster moves that were overshadowed by Oneil Cruz’s position switch to center field. Second baseman Nick Gonzales was activated from the 10-day injured list and in the starting lineup...
Pirates moving Oneil Cruz to center field after defensive struggles at shortstop
The Pittsburgh Pirates dropped a bombshell Monday afternoon by revealing Oneil Cruz will be moving from shortstop to center field, a position switch that could be permanent. It’s an eyebrow-raising move for the 6-foot-7 Cruz, the tallest starting shortstop in major-league history. But the Pirates believe moving the 25-year-old now...
Pirates veteran catcher Yasmani Grandal finally finds footing, gets in a groove at the plateVideo
There was a heightened level of concern for Pittsburgh Pirates manager Derek Shelton when Yasmani Grandal came to bat in the bottom of the ninth inning against Cincinnati Reds closer Alexis Diaz. With Joey Bart leaving the game in the first inning with left hamstring discomfort, Shelton had no choice...
Yasmani Grandal honors son’s request with 2-run walk-off homer to lift Pirates past Reds
Yasmani Grandal has received repeated requests from the youngest of his three children, son Ryatt, and has answered with the same result. “My 3-year-old keeps telling me to hit homers,” Grandal said with a smile. “Every time he’s said that, I’ve hit a homer, so he needs to keep telling...
After long road, the left-handed Brady Feigl finally finds way to majors with Pirates
As Brady Feigl got familiar with his locker in the Pittsburgh Pirates clubhouse, the 33-year-old left-handed reliever couldn’t explain how his journey finally brought him to the major leagues. Feigl is famous for having a namesake who looks nearly identical but is more of a mirror image. They are almost...
Entering Pirates Hall of Fame together made it ‘extra special’ for Barry Bonds, Jim Leyland
Being inducted into the Pittsburgh Pirates Hall of Fame with Barry Bonds made it “extra special” for Jim Leyland, even if their roles were reversed Saturday at PNC Park. Where the brash Bonds was humbled by the honor, the low-key Leyland got to gloat about another accolade after the former...
Isiah Kiner-Falefa pulls off ‘bucket list’ baserunning play to spark Pirates’ 6-run inning
After Isiah Kiner-Falefa was hit by a pitch to load the bases in the fifth inning, Pittsburgh Pirates first base coach Tarrik Brock whispered a reminder that this was the perfect time to run a play on his bucket list. So when Bryan Reynolds hit a sharp grounder up the...
For Andrew McCutchen, watching Pirates Hall of Famer Barry Bonds ‘was like watching a superhero’
Barry Bonds was must-watch viewing for a young Andrew McCutchen, who would be glued to the television when regularly scheduled programming was interrupted to show the chase for the home run record. McCutchen was but a teenager, four years from becoming a Pittsburgh Pirates first-round pick, when Bonds broke the...
Paul Skenes dominates, Bryan De La Cruz has breakout game as Pirates blank Reds
Paul Skenes and Nick Lodolo had combined for 18 strikeouts through four-plus innings when the least likely suspect helped the Pittsburgh Pirates break the game wide open against the Cincinnati Reds. After a ground-rule double in the fourth — his first extra-base hit in 17 games for the Pirates —...
After swing adjustment, Pirates 3B Jared Triolo was ready for return to starting role
When the Pittsburgh Pirates placed third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes on the 10-day injured list with low back inflammation, it thrust Jared Triolo back into a starting role against the Texas Rangers. This time, Triolo was ready. After swinging and missing at Dane Dunning’s first knuckle-curveball, low and away, Triolo connected...
Luis Ortiz strikes out 7 but Corey Seager homers twice to lead Rangers past Pirates
Luis Ortiz matched his career best with seven strikeouts, but Corey Seager made the Pittsburgh Pirates right-hander pay for leaving a pair of pitches over the middle of the plate. Seager hit a two home runs, a solo shot and a three-run blast, to lead the Texas Rangers to a...
Pirates place 3B Ke’Bryan Hayes on IL again, add OF/1B Billy McKinney, RHP Hunter Stratton
The Pittsburgh Pirates on Monday placed third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes on the 10-day injured list with low back inflammation, marking the second time this season and fifth time in the past three years that the Gold Glove winner’s bothersome back has required a stay on the IL. Hayes, 27, is...
Cruz control: Pirates weigh what to do on defense with error-prone shortstop Oneil Cruz
Oneil Cruz already has surpassed every statistical mark from his rookie season and is one shy of tying the franchise record for home runs by a shortstop, set 91 years ago by Hall of Famer Arky Vaughan. Although Cruz leads the Pittsburgh Pirates with 27 doubles and ranks among the...
