Pirates/MLB category, Page 176
Pirates SS Kevin Newman delivers gems in ‘best defensive game that I can remember’
When Kevin Newman works on ground balls, he uses it as a chance to practice plays like making a backhand stop and following with a jump-throw from deep in the hole or going left to make a spinning toss. Never did the Pittsburgh Pirates shortstop imagine pulling off both plays...
First Call: Ex-Steeler ‘Duck’ Hodges gets cut; so much for the idea of Mason Rudolph to Atlanta; ancient Pirates history relived
Tuesday’s “First Call” tells us what’s become of former Steelers cult hero Devlin “Duck” Hodges in Los Angeles. What some thought was a potential trade destination for Mason Rudolph has come and gone. The Yankees and Braves recreated some old time Pirates history. And “Hard Knocks” needs a soft landing...
Pirates rally from 4-run deficit to defeat last-place Diamondbacks
Look at the box score from the Pittsburgh Pirates’ 6-5 victory Monday night against the Arizona Diamondbacks, and you’ll see more runs than the home team has scored in any of their previous eight games. The bats came alive at PNC Park, right? In certain crucial moments they did when...
Gregory Polanco in Pirates lineup Monday; Michael Chavis recalled to play 2nd base
Returning to PNC Park for the start of a seven-game homestand, the Pittsburgh Pirates turned the page toward another chapter in their ongoing rebuilding process. This time, however, there’s a twist. Gregory Polanco’s still here. There were multiple reports Sunday night that Polanco, the longest-tenured and highest-paid Pirates player, was...
Pirates enter final 38 games looking for a right fielder
In the five seasons before the arrival of Gregory Polanco, the Pittsburgh Pirates conducted what amounted to one-year tryouts in right field. From 2009-13, management always wanted to find a keeper to insert in front of the Clemente Wall at PNC Park. But Brandon Moss, Lastings Milledge, Garrett Jones, Jose...
Madden Monday: MLB’s biggest problem isn’t that there are so many really bad teams. It’s that so few people seem to care
This might be a difficult concept for many Pittsburgh Pirates fans to embrace after yet another season of unmitigated failure. Well, failure at the Major League level, anyway. I know that a large chunk of the fan base is chalking up what may become a 100-loss campaign as a raging...
Pirates farm report for Aug. 22, 2021: Michael Chavis hits 3-run homer in Indy loss
INDIANAPOLIS (Triple-A, 45-50) lost to Toledo (Tigers), 9-8, on a walk-off. RF Michael Chavis (.256) hit a three-run home run. SS Erik Gonzalez (.167) was 1 for 2 with an RBI and run scored. CF Jared Oliva (.243) was 2 for 4 with a double and RBI. LHP Cam Vieaux...
Reports: Pirates place Gregory Polanco on waiversVideo
Gregory Polanco, heralded as a future star when he joined the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2014 but whose career slid downhill after shoulder surgery four years later, was placed on waivers Sunday night, according to multiple reports. The Athletic was first to report the news. The Pirates had no comment. If...
Cardinals’ Adam Wainwright maintains mastery of Pirates
Adam Wainwright has two nice streaks going against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Only one really matters. Wainwright, who turns 40 on Aug. 30, doubled Sunday for the second time in his past two pitching appearances against the Pirates. Meanwhile, he ran his winning streak against Pittsburgh to nine in a row...
Pirates prefer a mix-and-match mindset with new relief roles in back end of bullpen
Derek Shelton knew he would have to mix and match to reconstruct a Pittsburgh Pirates bullpen decimated by ineffectiveness, injuries and trades, especially over the final two months of the season. The Pirates have turned a starter into a reliever, transformed a veteran from a multi-innings eater into a high-leverage...
Yoshi Tsutsugo lifts Pirates past Cardinals, as Mars alum David Bednar earns 1st MLB save
The Pittsburgh Pirates arrived in St. Louis trying to snap a five-game losing streak. Now, they are on the brink of sweeping the Cardinals and spoiling their Hall of Fame weekend at Busch Stadium. Where the Cardinals presented red jackets to some of their all-time greats in a pregame ceremony,...
Pirates farm report for Aug. 21, 2021: Cole Tucker homers in Indianapolis win
INDIANAPOLIS (Triple-A, 45-49) held on to beat Toledo (Tigers), 5-4. SS Cole Tucker (.232) went 1 for 3 and hit his sixth home run, a solo shot in the seventh. 3B Hunter Owen (.234) went 1 for 4 with a homer, his 14th. CF Jared Oliva (.234) went 2 for...
Yoshi Tsutsugo’s 1st home run for Pirates receives warm welcome from teammates
Once he made contact, Yoshi Tsutsugo watched the ball and pointed his bat toward the home bullpen in right-center field at Busch Stadium as the ball sailed over the outstretched glove of Lars Nootbaar. Tsutsugo’s first home run for the Pittsburgh Pirates was a pinch-hit solo shot that traveled 397...
Pirates farm report for Aug. 20, 2021: Oneil Cruz has 3 hits in return from injury
INDIANAPOLIS (Triple-A, 44-49) blanked Toledo (Tigers), 5-0. RHP Max Kranick (2-3, 4.97) threw six scoreless innings, allowing four hits and no walks, fanning three. LHP Sam Howard, rehabbing an oblique injury, threw two perfect innings of relief with two strikeouts. RHP Tyler Bashlor (2.92) pitched a perfect ninth. RF Jared...
Mitch Keller delivers strong start as Pirates take advantage of error to shut out Cardinals
Mitch Keller’s season has been a head scratcher, especially for the Pittsburgh Pirates right-hander, so trying to make sense out of his mastery of the St. Louis Cardinals is something of a mystery. Where Keller’s struggles with his fastball command got him demoted to the minors midseason, he was at...
Pirates notebook: RHP Chad Kuhl returns from covid list, will work out of the bullpen
After a bout with covid-19, Chad Kuhl is back with the Pittsburgh Pirates but the right-hander will be used in a new role. Pirates manager Derek Shelton said Kuhl, reinstated to the active roster on Friday after being out since Aug. 2, will pitch out of the bullpen “as of...
Mark Madden: How would Roberto Clemente have fared in a few more seasons with Pirates?
Roberto Clemente’s birthday was this past Wednesday. If Clemente were still alive, Gregory Polanco would be his superior in right field, but only marginally. Keep in mind Clemente would be 87. Clemente’s birthday sparked debate over how the Pirates might have fared had Clemente not been killed in that New...
First Call: Under-the-radar Steelers pass rushers draw national praise; Antonio Brown’s practice fight; Pirates’ familiar foe
Friday’s “First Call” puts stats behind some impressive Pittsburgh Steelers pass rushing efforts so far this preseason. Antonio Brown gets into a practice fight with a Tennessee Titans player. The Pirates try to find some solid ground in St. Louis. More news on Robert Morris ice hockey transfers. And Pittsburgh’s...
U mad, bro?: Readers express doubts about Dwayne Haskins, Joe Schobert; the Pirates’ rebuilding plan
If you were mad that this week’s “U mad, bro?” was delayed by a day, I apologize. I was at a work function in Las Vegas for two days. However miffed you may have been doesn’t even approach my level of anger with some of the cards I got on...
Pirates farm report for Aug. 19, 2021: Miguel Yajure strikes out 6 in Indy rehab start
INDIANAPOLIS (Triple-A, 43-49) lost to Toledo (Tigers), 5-2. RHP Miguel Yajure (.343) is continuing a rehab stint in the minors for a forearm injury and got the start after being reinstated from the 60-day IL. He allowed one run on two hits with six strikeouts and a walk in four...
‘We’re trying to win ballgames’: Pirates endure brutal start to August, losing 15 of 17 games
There wasn’t much promise in the post-trade deadline Pittsburgh Pirates, and they didn’t make any after dealing away their All-Star second baseman, a starting pitcher and three relievers, including the closer. The Pirates won their final two games of July to finish the month with an 11-14 record, their best...
Dodgers hit JT Brubaker hard, pound Pirates for 4 home runs to sweep series
JT Brubaker watched in disbelief as the ball sailed over the left field wall at Dodger Stadium, courtesy of Max Muncy muscling a sinker on the outside corner only four pitches into the bottom of the first inning. It was the first of four home runs the Los Angeles Dodgers...
Pirates farm report for Aug. 18, 2021: Daniel Amaral hits walk-off bomb for Altoona
INDIANAPOLIS (Triple-A, 43-48) was held to three hits in a 6-0 loss to Toledo (Tigers). 3B Erik Gonzalez (.174) went 1 for 2 with a double and a walk and made an error. CF Jared Oliva (.212) and C Taylor Davis each went 1 for 3. SS Cole Tucker (.228)...
Chad Kuhl, Anthony Alford, Sam Howard take steps toward returning to Pirates from IL
Lefty reliever Sam Howard started his minor-league rehabilitation assignment, but right-hander Chad Kuhl and outfielder Anthony Alford are on track to return to the Pittsburgh Pirates first. Pirates director of sports medicine Todd Tomczyk said Kuhl (3-6, 4.43 ERA in 14 starts), who went on the covid-19 injured list Aug....
After smashing start, Pirates rookie 2B Rodolfo Castro struggles
Derek Shelton never considered benching Rodolfo Castro for his baserunning blunder against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Monday. Instead, the Pittsburgh Pirates manager treated it as a teaching moment. When Castro failed to tag up at third on a Hoy Park lineout to left field, Shelton didn’t hesitate to note...
