Kevin Gorman stories, Page 5
Braxton Ashcraft battles, but Cardinals pull away from Pirates with 3-run 7th to split series
The Pittsburgh Pirates were positioned for their third consecutive series win but couldn’t overcome their biggest offensive issue: They continue to come up empty with runners in scoring position. The Pirates went 0 for 6 with runners in scoring position, leaving eight runners on base, and stranded runners on third...
Pirates ace Paul Skenes concentrates on his pitching performance, not Cy Young candidacy
Paul Skenes is willing to give everything he has to be the best pitcher in baseball while simultaneously expending as little energy as possible thinking about winning the National League Cy Young Award. The Pittsburgh Pirates ace has learned to compartmentalize his thoughts, concentrating on doing his job every outing...
Paul Skenes tosses 7 scoreless innings as Pirates shut out Rockies for series sweep
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...
Pushing for a promotion: Pirates GM discusses differences for Bubba Chandler, Konnor Griffin
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...
Andrew McCutchen, Jared Triolo hit 2-run homers as Pirates beat Rockies
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...
Pirates catcher Henry Davis can put his finger on why Bubba Chandler shined in MLB debut
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 ‘extremely thankful’ to go from Greensburg CC to managing Rockies at PNC Park
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...
Bubba Chandler makes history with 4-inning save in debut as Pirates shut out Rockies
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...
‘I gave it everything I had’: Clint Hurdle returns with Rockies, reflects on Pirates tenure
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...
To Pirates, putting top pitching prospect Bubba Chandler in bullpen ‘will be good for him’
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 earns 1st victory since 2023, as Pirates beat Blue Jays to clinch series win
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...
Pirates relievers Tim Mayza, Justin Lawrence ‘feeling good’ after 1st rehab outings
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...
Pirates to promote top pitching prospect Bubba Chandler for bulk relief role
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...
‘That’s what they look like’: No. 1 prospect Konnor Griffin impresses in Double-A debut
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...
Pirates icon Andrew McCutchen marvels at Konnor Griffin making Double-A debut at 19
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 delivers at plate, Paul Skenes shines as Pirates pull away to beat Blue Jays
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...
Pirates have message for starting rotation hopefuls: Be ready to pitch, whatever the role
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...
Pirates promoting Konnor Griffin, baseball’s No. 1 prospect, to Double-A Altoona
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...
Dansby Swanson’s sacrifice fly in 8th helps Cubs beat Pirates, win 3-game series
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...
Pirates GM provides updates on returns of Oneil Cruz, Endy Rodriguez, Jared Jones
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....
Full Count: Al Oliver hopes Pirates Hall of Fame induction opens doors to Cooperstown
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...
Pirates snap scoreless streak against Shota Imanaga but Cubs rally for 2 runs in 8th to win
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...
Bucs Beat Q&A: Pirates catcher Henry Davis discusses art of the deke, plays at the plate
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...
Jack Suwinski’s 9th-inning home run beats Cubs as Pirates snap 5-game losing streak
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...
Pirates recall RHP Colin Holderman, LHP Evan Sisk, DFA LHP Ryan Borucki in bullpen shakeup
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...
