Pirates/MLB category, Page 118
‘No brainer’: Pirates extend manager Derek Shelton’s contract beyond 2023 season
Derek Shelton’s message to the Pittsburgh Pirates never wavered, even as they traded away top players amid a major rebuild and endured the embarrassment of successive 100-loss seasons. Shelton preached positivity and believing in the process, which has been rewarded with the best start in three decades and a contract...
Mark Madden’s Hot Take: Why isn’t Bucco Fever spreading faster?
The Pittsburgh Pirates returned from a 5-2 road trip that ended with a three-game sweep at Denver to play in front of a mere 14,051 at PNC Park this past Thursday. Bucco Fever isn’t spreading that quick. Perhaps people still are wearing masks. Or maybe the inevitable reality of 162...
‘The missing piece’: Pirates feeding off Andrew McCutchen for best start in three decades
That Andrew McCutchen is back with the Pittsburgh Pirates and they are within striking distance of first place in the NL Central is not lost on the 36-year-old right fielder/designated hitter, who has a point to prove. This isn’t the old Cutch, but rather a return to the Cutch of...
Pirates farm report for April 21, 2023: Termarr Johnson makes season debut for Bradenton
INDIANAPOLIS (Triple-A, 7-12) was doubled up by Memphis (Cardinals), 8-4. RHP Quinn Priester (7.80) lasted only 1⅔ innings, giving up four runs on five hits and a walk with three strikeouts. LHP Cam Alldred came on and gave up three runs on four hits and three walks in 2⅓ innings....
Pirates beat Reds to stretch winning streak to season-best 5 games
Carlos Santana turned his right shoulder, shrugging off a brushback pitch by Cincinnati Reds reliever Ian Gibaut. Santana shrugged off another before taking a called strike on a changeup. “I knew he was going to try to pitch inside, but I never lost my focus,” Santana said. “I wanted to...
Tim Benz: Pirates’ efficiency key to hot start, wins over struggling opponents
After four consecutive last-place finishes and two consecutive 100-loss seasons, the Pirates really don’t care who they are beating. They just care that they are winning. “We are hot. And we know it. There is no denying that,” said Pirates outfielder/first baseman Connor Joe. They are. And we can’t. Usually...
Jack Suwinski finding his swing and feeding off the Pirates’ hot startVideo
As he headed back to the dugout after striking out for the fourth time in the game, frustration seemed stuck on the face of Jack Suwinski. The second-year outfielder for the Pittsburgh Pirates, who will be 25 at the end of July, had good reason to be upset. It was...
Pirates farm report for April 20, 2023: Endy Rodriguez homers, leaves with injury
INDIANAPOLIS (Triple-A, 7-11) lost 6-1 to Memphis (Cardinals). C Endy Rodriguez (.263) hit his third home run in the fourth inning, then left in the eighth with an apparent injury. LHP Caleb Smith (0-2, 7.53) started and worked five innings, allowing two runs on one hit, a home run. RHP...
Roansy Contreras makes quality start as Pirates jump out to early lead, hold on to beat Reds
The Pittsburgh Pirates spotted Roansy Contreras a four-run, first-inning lead with back-to-back home runs by Connor Joe and Jack Suwinski, then let the right-hander shut down the Cincinnati Reds. Contreras walked off to an ovation in the seventh inning after delivering the 10th consecutive quality start by a Pirates pitcher,...
Depth at first base allows Pirates to better absorb injury of Ji-Man Choi; JT Brubaker discusses Tommy John surgery
As the calendar flipped months over the course of the 2022 offseason, a series of moves by Pittsburgh Pirates general manager Ben Cherington made one thing clear: upgrading the team’s options at first base, with a particular emphasis on dependable defense, was a major priority. November and December saw Cherington...
Pirates to induct ElRoy Face, Bob Friend, Dick Groat, Kent Tekulve into 2nd Hall of Fame class
When the Pittsburgh Pirates announced their inaugural Hall of Fame, Kent Tekulve started to wonder where he stacked up against the franchise’s all-time greats. Teke came to a humbling conclusion. “You almost think about it that, if I get really lucky and they work down the list far enough that...
Pirates farm report for April 19, 2023: Malcom Nunez homers in Indianapolis loss
INDIANAPOLIS (Triple-A, 7-10) dropped its second straight with a 12-7 loss to Memphis (Cardinals). 1B Malcom Nuñez (.222) went 2 for 5 with a solo home run and a two-run single. C Tyler Heineman (.444) was 2 for 4 with a triple, double and two RBIs. 3B Nick Gonzales (.283)...
Pirates pound Rockies with 18 hits in 14-3 victory
The Pittsburgh Pirates concluded a 5-2 road trip through St. Louis and Denver on Wednesday with their second 14-3 victory of the three-game series sweep of the Colorado Rockies. Admittedly, it’s too early to make any definitive evaluations, but some surface differences have emerged between the 12-7 Pirates of 2023...
Pirates’ Jack Suwinski displays power to left, right fields in victory against Rockies
Before Tuesday night, Pittsburgh Pirates left-hand hitting Jack Suwinski never had hit a home run to the opposite field in the majors. But he homered into the left-field and right-field seats at Coors Field to lead the Pirates to a 5-3 victory against the Colorado Rockies. It marked his second...
Pirates farm report for April 18, 2023: Matt Gorski belts grand slam in Curve win
INDIANAPOLIS (Triple-A, 7-9) gave up two in the ninth to lose to Memphis (Cardinals), 5-4. RHP Yerry De Los Santos (0-2, 8.44) gave up back-to-back homers to Luken Baker and Oscar Mercado with one out. RHP Luis Ortiz (2.08) started and went five innings, allowing four hits and one walk...
Solid pitching, big hits, David Bednar’s ‘Yinzer butt’ help Pirates defeat RockiesVideo
The victory featured seven extra-base hits, an eighth consecutive quality start and three scoreless innings from the bullpen, but it also took what Derek Shelton described as a “Yinzer butt” for the Pittsburgh Pirates to defeat the Colorado Rockies, 5-3, Tuesday night at Coors Field. With 250-pound closer David Bednar...
PNC Park employees avoid strike, reach agreement with Pirates
The union representing ushers at PNC Park avoided a strike after reaching a tentative agreement with the Pittsburgh Pirates. On Sunday ushers, ticket takers and ticket sellers working at PNC Park voted to strike after rejecting a contract proposal from the Pirates. Workers were planning to picket outside the Pirates’...
Pirates pitchers proving they can go deep into games with 7 consecutive quality startsVideo
Rich Hill had thrown 94 pitches through five innings and had a double-digit lead when Pittsburgh Pirates manager Derek Shelton sent the 43-year-old left-hander out to pitch the sixth inning Monday at Colorado. Hill responded with an 11-pitch inning, striking out C.J. Cron on a 70-mph curveball, getting Elias Diaz...
Mark Mathias has 4-hit game as Pirates pound 16 hits in blowout win over Rockies
After going extra innings in back-to-back games at St. Louis, the Pittsburgh Pirates welcomed their biggest blowout of the season with open arms and free-swinging bats. They were aggressive in attacking Colorado Rockies left-hander Kyle Freeland, scoring seven runs in the first two innings, and continued to pour it on...
Don Leppert, 1B coach for World Series Pirates, dies at 91
Donald George Leppert spent four decades in baseball, and some of his most memorable moments in a lifetime filled with them came while playing for and coaching with the Pittsburgh Pirates. Leppert hit a home run on the first pitch of his first major-league at-bat, later served as the first...
Roberto Clemente made his rookie debut 68 years ago April 17 — with an infield single
Roberto Clemente’s Hall of Fame career began on a sunny Sunday at Forbes Field — 68 years ago, April 17, 1955 —in front of what the New York Times described as a “shirt-sleeved crowd of 20,499.” The next day, the Pittsburgh Sun-Telegraph reported on Albert Einstein’s death at the age...
Despite shorter games, Pirates will continue to cut off beer sales after 7th inning
Last call remains the seventh inning at PNC Park. Despite the decision by some Major League Baseball teams to shift beer sales back through the eighth inning, the Pirates do not intend on following suit. “Our policy has not changed,” said Brian Warecki, the team’s senior vice president for communications...
PNC Park workers authorize strike
The Pittsburgh Pirates organization expressed disappointment Monday in response to park workers at PNC Park rejecting a proposed agreement Sunday. The stadium workers — part of the Pittsburgh Stadium Independent Employees Union — voted Sunday night to hit the picket lines and strike after rejecting the latest contract offering from...
Connor Joe ‘excited’ to return to Colorado but quickly becoming fan favorite with PiratesVideo
Connor Joe’s eyes lit up at the mention of his first road trip to Colorado, bringing back fond memories of Rockies fans chanting his surname. Joe is pumped to play at Coors Field again when the Pittsburgh Pirates visit for a three-game series that starts Monday night, even if he’ll...
Tommy Edman hits bases-loaded single in 10th to lift Cardinals to walk-off win over Pirates
Andrew McCutchen came through in the 10th inning again for the Pittsburgh Pirates. This time, the St. Louis Cardinals had an answer. Tommy Edman hit a bases-loaded single to score Tyler O’Neill and lift the Cardinals to a 5-4 walk-off win over the Pirates on Sunday afternoon at Busch Stadium...
