Kevin Gorman stories, Page 3

Paul Skenes took a slow stroll off the mound to a standing ovation after seven scoreless innings and with complete confidence that the Pittsburgh Pirates were on their way to a shutout victory. It was the punctuation on a dominant weekend series for Pirates pitchers, who held the Colorado Rockies...

Ben Cherington long has maintained that the Pittsburgh Pirates would prefer if their prospects forced promotions with their performance rather through public pressure. The Pirates general manager dealt with both circumstances this past week with the organization’s top two prospects, as 19-year-old shortstop Konnor Griffin made his Double-A debut in...

That Jared Triolo was batting leadoff with a batting average below .200 might have seemed counterintuitive if not for how he’s been hitting this month since returning from the minor leagues. Triolo hammered a two-run homer in the third inning, then tripled off the center-field wall and scored again in...

Henry Davis didn’t have to describe what it was like to be on the receiving end of Bubba Chandler’s fastballs in his major-league debut. The Pittsburgh Pirates catcher simply lifted his left index finger, which was covered in a thick black Coban wrap. Despite a dip in the cold tub...

Warren Schaeffer couldn’t stop smiling while sitting in the visitor’s dugout at PNC Park as the manager of the Colorado Rockies. It’s a position he never dreamed of — repeating the never multiple times for emphasis — before the start of a three-game series against the Pittsburgh Pirates. “No, not...

It was appropriate that the Pittsburgh Pirates issued the No. 57 jersey to Bubba Chandler, as the major-league debut of baseball’s top pitching prospect was like the Heinz ketchup commercial: All about anticipation. Despite waiting for months at Triple-A Indianapolis for a promotion, Chandler swore that he wasn’t fueled by...

Sitting in a dugout at PNC Park for the first time since he was fired as manager of the Pittsburgh Pirates an hour before the 2019 season finale, Clint Hurdle reflected on his nine-year tenure with pride and prejudice. Hurdle beamed when talking about how he guided the Pirates out...

When word spread in the Pittsburgh Pirates clubhouse that Bubba Chandler would be making his major-league debut out of the bullpen instead of the starting rotation, Mike Burrows wasn’t surprised. A 22-year-old right-hander who is baseball’s top pitching prospect, Chandler has started 83 of his 89 career games in the...

Johan Oviedo wanted his second start for the Pittsburgh Pirates this season to go better than his first, so the right-hander had to recalibrate after George Springer started the game with a leadoff home run. That was the only run allowed by Oviedo over five innings against the Toronto Blue...

After four months of dealing with injuries, Pittsburgh Pirates relievers Tim Mayza and Justin Lawrence began rehabilitation assignments Tuesday night with the Low-A Bradenton Marauders. Pirates senior director of sports medicine Todd Tomczyk on Wednesday morning called it “really exciting, encouraging news” that Mayza and Lawrence “got through the outing...

It’s almost Bubba time in the ’Burgh. The Pittsburgh Pirates are promoting Bubba Chandler, ranked the top right-handed pitching prospect in the minors, a source told TribLive on Wednesday morning. The 22-year-old right-hander is expected to be selected to the active roster before Friday’s game against the Colorado Rockies. “Really...

ALTOONA — As first impressions go, Konnor Griffin made an outsized one even before his Double-A debut. The 6-foot-4, 225-pound shortstop/center fielder with a physical presence and five-tool talent carries himself with the quiet confidence of someone who knows the major leagues are in his future. “That’s what they look...

When Konnor Griffin makes his Double-A debut Tuesday night, the 19-year-old shortstop will become the youngest player ever for the Altoona Curve. Pittsburgh Pirates icon Andrew McCutchen can relate to reaching Double-A as a teenager — he made his Curve debut at 19 years, 10 months and five days on...

Henry Davis provides most of his support behind the plate, serving as the personal catcher to Paul Skenes on a night when the Pittsburgh Pirates ace fired fastballs that the Toronto Blue Jays couldn’t touch. But Davis delivered in a different way in the seventh inning, when he hit a...

As Ben Cherington discussed how the Pittsburgh Pirates are going to manage their starting rotation for the remainder of the season, the general manager interrupted his train of thought to explain an exception. “We’re not declaring that one pitcher is in the rotation and one pitcher is not, aside from...

Konnor Griffin has rocketed to the top of prospect rankings by dominating Class A in his first full season of professional baseball. Now, the Pittsburgh Pirates are promoting the 19-year-old shortstop to Double-A Altoona, a source confirmed Sunday to TribLive. The 6-foot-4, 225-pound Griffin, selected No. 9 overall in the...

With veteran left-hander Andrew Heaney moving to the bullpen and the starting rotation in flux, the Pittsburgh Pirates gave Carmen Mlodzinski a look with his first start since mid-May. Where the right-hander responded by holding the Chicago Cubs to one hit over four innings, Heaney’s debut in relief proved disastrous...

Pittsburgh Pirates center fielder Oneil Cruz, who was injured in an outfield collision Tuesday at Milwaukee, is getting “better every day” but “not quite ready” to come off the seven-day concussion injured list. General manager Ben Cherington addressed Cruz’s recovery from the concussion Sunday afternoon on his weekly radio show....

Al Oliver finally got the Hall call he was waiting for — not the one everyone talks about — and treated it with the same approach he did when a pitch he liked came across the plate. Oliver knows if he’s ever going to be elected to the National Baseball...

The Pittsburgh Pirates finally cracked the code against Chicago Cubs lefty Shota Imanaga, and rookie right-hander Mike Burrows rose to the moment by getting out of a bases-loaded jam to keep the score even. But the Cubs came through in the clutch, breaking a tie by scoring two runs in...

For this week’s Bucs Beat Q&A, TribLive sat down with Pirates catcher Henry Davis: You deked Miguel Andujar on a 9-4-2 play at the plate against the Cincinnati Reds on Aug. 8. What’s the key to selling a deke? I don’t know. My head coach in college (Dan McDonnell) told...

The moment was one Jack Suwinski could only dream about. Playing in his hometown and in front of his family at Wrigley Field, he knew one swing could change the outcome. Chicago Cubs closer Daniel Palencia was bringing the heat, touching 101.6 mph on the radar gun with his first...

With its bullpen battered by the past two series, the Pittsburgh Pirates addressed it by making a number of roster moves before Friday’s series opener at the Chicago Cubs. The Pirates recalled right-hander Colin Holderman and lefty Evan Sisk from Triple-A Indianapolis and optioned rookie righty Cam Sanders and designated...

Mark DeRosa thought he got screened by Paul Skenes. When the Team USA manager called the Pittsburgh Pirates ace to pitch him on playing in the World Baseball Classic next spring, Skenes didn’t answer. But Skenes called right back and readily accepted. “I had this pitch I was going to...

The Pittsburgh Pirates will be without Oneil Cruz for at least a week but lost Endy Rodriguez for the remainder of the season. The Pirates placed Cruz on the seven-day concussion injured list Wednesday after the center fielder left Tuesday’s game to be evaluated for a head injury following a...