Pirates/MLB category, Page 190
Pirates 1B Will Craig has company when it comes to losing — or using — your head in a baseball gameVideo
You think Will Craig feels bad? Will Craig, meet Fred Merkle, Al Martin, Milton Bradley and Jose Canseco. Baseball players have been having brain hiccups for more than 100 years. Here are a few: Merkle’s Boner At least Craig’s gaffe Thursday at PNC Park won’t cost the Pittsburgh Pirates a...
Pirates farm report for May 27, 2021: Cruz hits 3rd homer for Altoona
INDIANAPOLIS (Triple-A, 11-9) lost 6-5 to Omaha (Royals) on a walk-off RBI single by LF Kyle Isbel off LHP Braeden Ogle. RHP James Marvel started and fared no better, giving up five runs, four earned, on seven hits and two walks in 3⅔ innings. LHP Joe Jacques and RHP Shea...
Quick-thinking Cubs steal 2 runs in victory against Pirates
The last thing these run-down Pittsburgh Pirates needed was a rundown with Javier Baez. When Baez went backwards, it might as well have mirrored the direction of the Pirates’ season. A strange play you should not expect to see on a major league diamond led the Chicago Cubs to a...
Comedy of errors: Pirates’ defensive blunder leaves Cubs laughing
The Chicago Cubs haven’t needed much help while defeating the Pittsburgh Pirates in the first two games of their series at PNC Park. The Pirates offered up some, anyway, Thursday afternoon in one of the strangest plays you might see on a major-league diamond. The result was a 5-3 Cubs...
Pirates farm report for May 26, 2021: RHP Jose Soriano knocked around in rehab start
INDIANAPOLIS (Triple-A, 11-8) lost 10-7 to Omaha (Royals). Ke’Bryan Hayes, making his fourth rehab appearance with the Indians while recovering from a wrist injury, went 2 for 4 with a walk, a double and three runs scored. He acted as designated hitter. LF Anthony Alford went 2 for 3 with...
Trevor Williams strikes out 7 as Cubs send Pirates to 5th straight loss
The Pittsburgh Pirates weren’t willing to commit to Trevor Williams in the offseason, citing an ineffective fastball and his penchant for giving up home runs as the primary reasons for nontendering the right-hander. Williams showed a five-pitch mix that induced seven strikeouts while allowing one run on three hits in...
Pirates injury report: Colin Moran, Phillip Evans close to getting back on the bases soon
Only four days after the Pittsburgh Pirates lost first baseman Colin Moran to the 10-day injured list with a left groin strain, replacement Phillip Evans pulled up lame with a left hamstring strain. Their respective recoveries from those injuries are almost in lockstep. Pirates director of sports medicine Todd Tomczyk...
Derek Shelton’s gamble on batting lefty Ben Gamel 2nd paid off against Cubs
Derek Shelton made a curious call to bat Ben Gamel in the second spot in the lineup for the Pittsburgh Pirates on Tuesday night, given that the outfielder was batting .167 on the season. The Gamel gamble paid off, as he went 2 for 2 with a double, an RBI...
Pirates farm report for May 25, 2021: Altoona’s Roansy Contreras takes 1st loss
INDIANAPOLIS (Triple-A, 11-7) lost 3-1 to Omaha (Royals). RHP Chad Kuhl, out since April 18 with a shoulder injury, allowed one run on one hit, striking out four and walking two, in 3.1 innings in his second rehab start. 3B Ke’Bryan Hayes went 0 for 3 with a strikeout in...
Joc Pederson homers twice to lead Cubs past Cody Ponce, Pirates
The Pittsburgh Pirates snapped out of a first-inning funk by scoring two runs against the Chicago Cubs. It was the third and fifth innings that proved to be problems. And Joc Pederson served as the antagonist in both, as the left fielder homered twice off Cody Ponce to lead the...
Pirates notebook: Kevin Newman takes a 1st step in right direction with error-free play at SS
When it comes to playing defense this season, it is no accident Kevin Newman looks like a new man. The Pittsburgh Pirates shortstop is the only major league player at his position without an error this season, a 40-game streak that is more impressive when considering 2020 NL Gold Glove...
Tim Benz: Beatdown from Braves a warning of what’s to come for Pirates
Even when the 2021 Pirates got off to a surprisingly decent start by going 12-12 in their first 24 games, there was a tangible sense in Pittsburgh of, “Is this as good as it is going to get?” Well, the way things have gone lately, the answer appears to be...
Pirates farm report for May 23, 2021: Ke’Bryan Hayes homers for Indianapolis
INDIANAPOLIS (Triple-A, 11-6) lost 5-4 to St. Paul (Twins). 3B Ke’Bryan Hayes (.200), playing the second game of a rehab assignment, had a double and home run with two strikeouts. Hayes had been out with a wrist injury since the second game of the season. The Indians rallied with three...
After others helped him become a pro, Pirates’ Cole Tucker now paying it forward
When Cole Tucker was working his way through the Pittsburgh Pirates’ farm system, unsure of how a professional baseball player should act, veterans such as utility man Sean Rodriguez were happy to show him the way. Separated by nine years of age, Tucker and Rodriguez often were seen inside the...
Braves smack 3 home runs to beat Pirates, set record for most homers in a series
JT Brubaker suspects opponents are attempting to ambush the Pittsburgh Pirates early, knowing their anemic offense is practically powerless to recover from large deficits. The Atlanta Braves opted for an aerial attack, as Austin Riley homered twice and Dansby Swanson once off Brubaker in a 7-1 victory Sunday afternoon before...
Pirates farm report for May 22, 2021: Ke’Bryan Hayes starts rehab assignment, goes 1 for 2
INDIANAPOLIS (Triple-A, 11-5) beat St. Paul (Twins), 5-1. 3B Ke’Bryan Hayes began a rehab assignment, going 1 for 2 with a first-pitch single through the right side of the infield in his first at-bat and a strikeout in his second. He played three innings in the field. Hayes has been...
Mitch Keller allows 2 home runs in Pirates’ loss to Braves
While the Pittsburgh Pirates were losing for the 14th time in 20 games this month, there were brief moments of encouragement Saturday. • Michael Perez hit a home run to stop an 0-for-26 streak. It only raised his batting average to .096, but it was something. • Relief pitcher Chris...
Pirates place Trevor Cahill on injured list; Ke’Bryan Hayes starts rehab in Indianapolis
The Pittsburgh Pirates lost a starting pitcher and gained a reliever Saturday when Trevor Cahill went on the 10-day injured list with a left calf strain and Kyle Crick was activated from the IL. Cahill (1-5) left his most recent start Wednesday night in St. Louis after one inning. He...
Richard Rodriguez rides fastball-heavy approach for success as Pirates closer
Derek Shelton isn’t a fan of labels, so it’s no wonder the Pittsburgh Pirates manager is as reluctant to call Richard Rodriguez’s fastball a four-seamer as he was to name him the club’s closer. Even though batters know it’s coming — Rodriguez throws his fastball on 91.3% of his pitches,...
Pirates farm report for May 21, 2021
INDIANAPOLIS (Triple-A, 10-5) beat St. Paul (Twins) 6-4 in 10 innings. SS Kevin Kramer hit a two-out, two-run home run in the top of the 10th and RHP Jandel Gustave held St. Paul scoreless in the bottom of the inning. It was Kramer’s second home run of the season. He...
Braves smack 7 home runs, including 2 grand slams, to pummel Pirates
Anderson v. Anderson sounds more like a legal matter than a pitching duel, and Atlanta Braves righty Ian was brokering a hostile takeover while Pittsburgh Pirates lefty Tyler was filing for bankruptcy. The Braves smacked seven home runs, including a pair of grand slams, in rolling to a 20-1 win...
Mural honoring baseball great Josh Gibson unveiled in Homestead
When Sean Gibson sees the mural of his famous great-grandfather — all 27,000 square feet of it — he believes one of baseball’s greatest players is coming to life right there on E. 9th Avenue in Homestead. “It is just like Josh is coming out of the wall,” Sean Gibson...
Pirates recall SS Cole Tucker from Indianapolis, place OF Ka’ai Tom on 10-day IL
Cole Tucker is back in the big leagues and the Pittsburgh Pirates have plans to keep him in the infield — at least for now. The 2014 first-round pick, a natural shortstop who played 32 games in the outfield last season, was recalled from Triple-A Indianapolis on Friday to replace...
Sam Howard’s Atlanta homecoming comes at perfect time for Pirates’ lefty reliever
Eevn though Sam Howard grew up an Atlanta Braves fan, he intentionally avoided going to Truist Park until this weekend. Howard even declined invites for social gatherings at The Battery, the stadium’s surrounding entertainment scene. After enduring ups and downs of a baseball career that began at Cartersville High School...
Adam Frazier follows superstitions to find groove, as Pirates 2B leads majors in hits
Adam Frazier always has the same explanation for his hitting groove, one that doesn’t defy logic so much as it shows his superstitious nature. Knock on wood. The Pittsburgh Pirates second baseman got plenty of knocks in the 6-4 win over the Atlanta Braves in 10 innings on Thursday night,...
