Pirates/MLB category, Page 216

The Pittsburgh Pirates returned to PNC Park to play the Minnesota Twins on Wednesday amid a six-game losing streak with MLB’s worst record and third-worst team batting average. If there is one constant for the Pirates, it’s their inconsistent batting order. Derek Shelton has started a different lineup in all...

Tuesday’s Pirates-Twins game was delayed in the top of the fifth inning when an unauthorized drone flew over Target Field in Minneapolis. Welp, this is a first. Pirates vs Twins game delayed because of a drone on the field. pic.twitter.com/uMPPcv8nOL— Michael Schwab (@michaelschwab13) August 4, 2020 The delay lasted about...

For nine minutes Tuesday during the Pittsburgh Pirates’ 7-3 loss to the Minnesota Twins, umpires suspended play and chased everyone off the field. A drone was flying overhead at Target Field, possibly endangering everyone below. The drone flew away quickly, but for Derek Shelton, it symbolized how bizarre the year...

Only the venue will be new for JT Brubaker on Thursday at PNC Park when he makes the 100th start of his professional career — but his first in the major leagues. Pittsburgh Pirates manager Derek Shelton said Brubaker will take Mitch Keller’s spot in the rotation. Keller is on...

Love baseball? Stay up-to-date with the latest Pittsburgh Pirates news.When the baseball rocketed off Max Kepler’s bat in the sixth inning of the Pittsburgh Pirates’ 5-4 loss to the Minnesota Twins, Cole Tucker made an instinctive move forward. It was a move he quickly regretted. All it took was one...

Cody Ponce wasn’t in the game long enough to break a good sweat, but in the end, that little detail didn’t matter. He pitched only to the Chicago Cubs’ Anthony Rizzo and Javier Baez, two of the best players in the National League, in the 11th inning of the Pittsburgh...

Michael Feliz’s season appears to be over. The Pittsburgh Pirates placed the right-hander on the 45-day injured list Monday with a right forearm/elbow strain. Feliz was injured Saturday night while pitching against the Chicago Cubs in Wrigley Field. “We realized we need to have some more tests run,” manager Derek...

Derek Holland’s phone erupted with an alert Sunday morning while he chatted with reporters on a Zoom conference call from Chicago. It was time for him to spit, the preferred method used for players’ covid-19 tests. What? No nasal swab? “Hell, no,” Holland said. “If they did, I’d retire. I’ll...

The Tribune-Review sports staff is conducting a daily countdown of the best players in Pittsburgh pro and college sports history to wear each jersey number. No. 28: Steve Blass Steve Blass’ biography could have only one title: “A Pirate For Life.” And so it was named. Pittsburgh Pirates chairman of...

When analyzing the Pittsburgh Pirates’ 2-1 loss to the Chicago Cubs in 11 innings Sunday, you must consider the painful truths: • The Pirates (2-7) are not taking advantage of the gift runner rule inserted into baseball in this 60-game season. They have started four extra innings in two games...

Pittsburgh Pirates pitchers Mitch Keller and Michael Feliz, who left the game Saturday night in Chicago, were placed on the 10-day injured list Sunday. On a busy day for transactions and news about pitchers, the Pirates also acquired right-hander Tyler Bashlor from the New York Mets in exchange for cash....

Colin Moran is swinging the bat so well through the Pittsburgh Pirates’ first eight games that even a foul ball deserves mention. His manager, Derek Shelton, can’t stop talking about one Moran hit Friday night against Chicago Cubs left-hander Kyle Ryan. “It was aggressive,” said Shelton, who mentioned it before...

The Pittsburgh Pirates have scored five runs in the ninth inning of their two losses in the past two nights to the Chicago Cubs — a total of one in the other 16. Sounds like a team that doesn’t quit. Actually, right now that’s the best remark you can make...

The Pittsburgh Pirates lost another starting pitcher Saturday night when Mitch Keller left the game at Wrigley Field in the third inning. Keller, who allowed home runs to Ian Happ and Javier Baez earlier in the inning, threw a 1-0 pitch wide and in the dirt to the Chicago Cubs’...

The airplane lands. Players get on buses that speed directly to the hotel. Pittsburgh Pirates players are expected to spend all of their free time, eat all their meals and attend meetings in the hotel. Some don’t dare venture into a buddy’s room, even playing video games remotely. The smart...

Josh Bell hopes five swings of the bat in the ninth inning Friday night will ignite the Pittsburgh Pirates’ offense. But back-to-back home runs by Colin Moran and Bell couldn’t turn around the Pirates’ fortunes in a 6-3 loss to the Chicago Cubs (5-2) at Wrigley Field. Bell, who displayed...

A week into the regular season, the Pittsburgh Pirates already have learned how rapidly conditions can change while trying to play during a pandemic. For instance, while traveling to Wrigley Field for a three-game series that starts Friday night, the Pirates wore the more protective N95 masks medical personnel often...

A week into Major League Baseball’s return, we are already seeing some interesting trends in the fantasy sports world. So far, most of them aren’t great for the Pirates. Especially when you look at their bullpen and batting order. In our weekly fantasy sports podcast, Jeff Erickson and I dive...

After no live sports for months, all of a sudden Pittsburgh sports fans must choose between watching two local teams at the same time. The region’s cable sports network is going to handle coverage of both. A new alternate channel, PIT2, will provide coverage of two Pittsburgh Pirates games next...

The Pittsburgh Pirates couldn’t quite put their finger on what went wrong Wednesday night against Brandon Woodruff and the Milwaukee Brewers, just like they couldn’t quite make much contact. Not that they didn’t search for answers. “Um,” Pirates third baseman Phillip Evans said, “I think he was just missing our...

During the Pirates’ rebooted training camp at PNC Park, starting pitcher Mitch Keller identified two specific goals to hone his arsenal. • Develop a changeup. • Get the spin and movement on his fastball to equal its often-electric velocity. So far, so good to start Year 2 of his big-league...

When Derek Shelton plants five players in the outfield grass — baseball teams normally use three — he is not trying to change the essence of the game or attract attention. The Pittsburgh Pirates employ a team of analysts and coaches who study where opposing batters are likely to hit...

To say Brandon Woodruff was stingy against the Pittsburgh Pirates is an understatement. The Milwaukee Brewers right-hander was downright selfish in silencing their bats with swing-and-miss and soft contact. When Woodruff wasn’t striking out the Pirates – he had 10 Ks – he refused to let them hit balls out...