Pirates/MLB category, Page 13

INDIANAPOLIS (Triple-A, 54-37) didn’t give up a hit until the seventh inning and beat Gwinnett (Braves), 6-1. RHP Drake Fellows (6-2, 4.85) started and threw five no-hit innings with three strikeouts. LHP Randy Labaut (4.85) didn’t allow a hit in the sixth. RHP Ryder Ryan (3.89) allowed an infield single...

For the second consecutive year, Pittsburgh Pirates ace Paul Skenes has been named the starting pitcher for the National League in the All-Star Game. The 6-foot-6, 260-pound right-hander received official word Saturday in a phone call from Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts, who asked for “one inning of domination.”...

The Pirates survived a scare in the MLB Futures Game on Saturday afternoon in Atlanta. The team’s top prospect, Konnor Griffin, was hit in the wrist by a 97 mph pitch in the fourth inning and left the game. He returned to the dugout in good spirits, however, and apparently...

In a game that had become a blowout, this was a day that belonged to Byron Buxton. The Minnesota Twins All-Star center fielder already had sandwiched two singles around a triple and a double when he came to bat with two outs in the seventh inning. When Buxton crushed Andrew...

Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Jacob Misiorowski has been named to Tuesday’s MLB All-Star Game. The 23-year-old phenom has started just five games and thrown only 25⅔ innings. It’s exemplary of what the All-Star Game has become. It’s not Pete Rose turning Ray Fosse into roadkill while scoring the winning run for...

The MLB Draft is deep in college pitching and prep shortstops, positions where the Pittsburgh Pirates hit home runs with their past two first-round picks in Paul Skenes and Konnor Griffin. It’s no wonder Pirates general manager Ben Cherington has vowed to take the best player available with the No....

Pirates GM Ben Cherington said they plan to take the best player available, so why did you project them to pick Oregon State shortstop Aiva Arquette in the MLB.com mock draft? I do think that they tend to take who they think the best player is. It could very well...

Here’s a look at next week’s Pirates schedule: Home Run Derby, All-Star Game, All-Star Break 8 p.m. Monday: T-Mobile Home Run Derby (ESPN) 8 p.m. Tuesday: 95th All-Star Game (ESPN) Wednesday: All-Star break Thursday: All-Star break • Pittsburgh Pirates fans have a stake in the Home Run Derby, with Oneil...

Anthony Solometo Position: LHP Height: 6-foot-3 Weight: 205 pounds Level: Double-A Notable: Anthony Solometo once looked to be on a similar track as fellow prospects Bubba Chandler, Braxton Ashcraft and Thomas Harrington, all of whom became viewed as the next wave of Pirates pitchers who would bolster the big-league rotation...

The past three starts by Paul Skenes have been five innings or fewer, with two of those three featuring only 78 pitches thrown. Skenes’ abbreviated starts of late largely have been because of publicly acknowledged workload management, with the Pirates and their sophomore pitching phenom on the same page. The...

INDIANAPOLIS (Triple-A, 53-37) gave up a grand slam to Matthew Batten in the top of the 10th to lose 8-4 to Gwinnett (Braves). RF Ji Hwan Bae (.294) went 2 for 4 with two RBIs. CF Liover Peguero (.247) went 2 for 5 with an RBI. 2B Alika Williams (.258)...

The Pittsburgh Pirates selected the contract of right-hander Yohan Ramirez from Triple-A Indianapolis ahead of Friday’s series opener in Minnesota against the Twins. To make room for Ramirez on the roster, utility man Jared Triolo was optioned to Triple-A, and first baseman/outfielder Matt Gorski was designated for assignment. Ramirez, 30,...

Pittsburgh Pirates center fielder Oneil Cruz opened as favorite to win the All-Star Home Run Derby on Monday night in Atlanta. As of Friday afternoon, Cruz was the plus-330 first choice to win the annual contest at DraftKings Sportsbook. Seattle’s Cal Raleigh was second at plus-360, and hometown favorite Ronald Acuna...

Nick Gonzales understands there’s a dichotomy in how he is perceived, so the Pittsburgh Pirates second baseman has learned to embrace his reputation as an undersized overachiever and a bonus baby who comes with the high expectations of a top-10 pick. Gonzales is defying the odds this season, returning from...

If there’s anyone who can empathize with struggling Pittsburgh Pirates slugger Oneil Cruz, it’s Cole Tucker. Like Cruz, the former Pirates shortstop was asked to make a move to the outfield early in his Major League career. Like Cruz, the former first-round pick knows the weight of expectation when you...

INDIANAPOLIS (Triple-A, 53-36) blanked Gwinnett (Braves), 3-0. RHP Bubba Chandler (4-2, 2.82) had his second straight scoreless outing, allowing five hits and two walks with seven strikeouts in six innings. RHP Eddy Yean (2.61) and RHP Cam Sanders (1.64) each threw a scoreless inning before RHP Kyle Nicholas (3.81) pitched...

The Pittsburgh Pirates are planning to install bronze plaques on PNC Park’s facade to replace the personalized, fan-purchased bricks that were removed amid controversy. Sixty bronze plaques to be installed on the outside walls of the stadium along West General Robinson Street and Mazeroski Way will be “a deserving and...

There were a couple of rounds of media-created Paul Skenes trade talks earlier this season. They were driven by a number of national outlets, baffled by how little the Pittsburgh Pirates had done to surround Skenes with any offensive talent to speak of. Thus, the presumption was that instead of...

There are very few reasons to watch the Pittsburgh Pirates these days. One of them is Paul Skenes. So, when he is pitching great and gets pulled early, I get mad. As I wrote on Tuesday, in the wake of that occurrence happening in Seattle over the weekend, I was...

For all their ongoing struggles, the Pittsburgh Pirates deserved to take some pride in their recent six-game win streak, which saw the club put together a perfect homestand ahead of nine straight on the road. But whatever modicum of momentum that stretch crafted since has been spoiled by a frustrating...

INDIANAPOLIS (Triple-A, 52-36) scored one in the eighth and two in the ninth to get past Gwinnett (Braves), 3-2. In the ninth, SS Tsung-Che Cheng (.222) hit a tying RBI single and DH Ronny Simon (.316) followed with a walk-off RBI double. CF Ji Hwan Bae (.281) hit an RBI...

Oneil Cruz has been named to the roster for the Major League Baseball All-Star Home Run Derby on Monday night. That seems to have stirred a debate on sports talk radio and in social media circles as to whether Cruz “deserves” to be in the competition. Personally, I’m not sure...