Pirates/MLB category, Page 236
Kevin Gorman: Steven Brault wants to make music on the mound as a starter for the PiratesVideo
Steven Brault made a major jump for the Pittsburgh Pirates last season, when he began working out of the bullpen and finished as one of their most consistent starters. Well, with the exception of one game. The left-hander went 4-6 with a 5.16 ERA and 1.50 WHIP in 113 1/3...
Red Sox hit 3 homers against Pirates, win in rain-shortened gameVideo
The Boston Red Sox got a three-run seventh inning off Sam Howard for a 6-3 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Wednesday in a rain-shortened game at LECOM Park. The game was called after 7 1/2 innings. Jett Bandy broke a tie game with a sacrifice fly to center for...
Kevin Gorman: Pirates need Gregory Polanco to be even better than before injuryVideo
Gregory Polanco was feeling the good energy at spring training and kept repeating the same words over and over: Happy. Healthy. Strong. Tough. The Pittsburgh Pirates right fielder is happy to be healthy and stronger after a tough season, one where his surgically repaired left shoulder didn’t respond the way...
Joe Musgrove throws 2 scoreless innings, but Phillies rally in 7th to top Pirates
Joe Musgrove made his spring-training debut for the Pittsburgh Pirates an efficient one, as the right-hander threw two scoreless innings in a 6-2 loss to the Philadelphia Phillies on Tuesday at LECOM Park. Musgrove hit leadoff batter Roman Quinn with a pitch, but catcher Luke Maile threw out Quinn on...
Kevin Gorman: Future can’t get here fast enough for Pirates prospect Ke’Bryan Hayes
BRADENTON, Fla. Ke’Bryan Hayes is in his second spring training with the Pittsburgh Pirates and, once again, looking like their third baseman of the future. Maybe even the very near future. The Pirates’ top position prospect has been dreaming about making his major league debut, especially since being snubbed for...
Gerrit Cole makes Yankees spring debut against Pirates
Gerrit Cole got off to a fast start in his spring training debut for the New York Yankees, throwing a 97 mph heater on his first pitch and striking out two in a hitless inning against Pittsburgh on Monday night. The teams played to a 3-3 tie. “It went well,”...
Pirates pitcher JT Brubaker keeps head up after trying seasonVideo
BRADENTON, Fla. — JT Brubaker could be bitter about how last season unfolded. The Pittsburgh Pirates used 32 pitchers last year — not counting catcher Jacob Stallings and outfielder JB Shuck — because of injuries and poor performance. Furthermore, 14 pitchers started at least one game, though two were technically...
Lonnie Chisenhall, former Pirates outfielder, announces retirement
The final game of Lonnie Chisenhall’s major-league career was for the Cleveland Indians. A year’s worth of his final paychecks, though, came from the Pittsburgh Pirates. During a ceremony to retire his number at the North Carolina middle school he attended, Chisenhall acknowledged his MLB career is over. “I’ve only...
Tim Benz, Mark Madden tackle Penguins’ recent losses, Pitt violations, Steelers’ needs, Pirates spring training
Last Monday, it was tough to come up with a negative thing to say about the Pittsburgh Penguins. This Monday, it’s tough to find something good. The Pens have lost three games in a row. They’ve given up 14 goals in the defeats, and the Philadelphia Flyers are closing in...
Kevin Gorman: Derek Holland makes a pitch as perfect personality for PiratesVideo
BRADENTON, Fla. — Derek Holland didn’t blink when the first batter he faced as member of the Pittsburgh Pirates hit the second pitch he threw for a home run over the right-field fence. When JaCoby Jones took the 33-year-old left-hander deep in a split-squad game against the Detroit Tigers on...
Newcomers make positive impact but Pirates lose twice
BRADENTON, Fla. — A split-squad game against the Detroit Tigers gave the Pittsburgh Pirates a chance to take a good look at three of their offseason acquisitions. The initial impressions were positive. Left-hander Derek Holland allowed two runs on three extra-base hits but struck out five. Catcher Luke Maile went...
Twins help make Derek Shelton’s spring-training debut memorableVideo
BRADENTON, Fla. — The first spring training game as Pittsburgh Pirates manager was a different feeling for Derek Shelton, a first that was humbling and humorous. That the Pirates’ Grapefruit League opener ended in a 2-1 loss to the Minnesota Twins at LECOM Park did little to dampen a day...
Kevin Gorman: Travis Williams set to steer Pirates toward chasing championship
BRADENTON, Fla. — When the Pittsburgh Pirates finished their fourth decade without a World Series championship, it became obvious they needed a change in direction. Firing the highest-ranking members of the front office and coaching staff was but a start. Changing the clubhouse culture after a 93-loss season is the...
Mitch Keller throws 2 scoreless innings, Pirates lose spring training opener to TwinsVideo
BRADENTON, Fla. — Mitch Keller is competing for a spot in the Pittsburgh Pirates’ starting rotation, so throwing two scoreless innings was a good start for the spring training opener. That’s especially true after the 23-year-old right-hander, the team’s top pitching prospect, allowed 10 runs in four games and had...
Pirates unveil starting lineup for Derek Shelton’s 1st game in spring training opener
BRADENTON, Fla. — Derek Shelton makes his debut as Pittsburgh Pirates manager and unveiled the starting lineup for the Grapefruit League opener at 1:05 p.m. Saturday against the Minnesota Twins at LECOM Park. Guillermo Heredia will bat leadoff and play center field, followed by Bryan Reynolds as designated hitter, second...
Kevin Gorman: Derek Shelton hopes Bill Mazeroski’s magic rubs off on PiratesVideo
BRADENTON, Fla. — Bill Mazeroski pressed his right fingertips against the palm of his glove hand, demonstrating the double-play pivot that he made so famous. The Pittsburgh Pirates Hall of Famer shared the secret of the sleight-of-hand trick that allowed him to turn two faster than anyone who ever played...
Pirates to extend netting at PNC Park, LECOM Park
BRADENTON, Fla. — The Pittsburgh Pirates will extend the protective netting at PNC Park and LECOM Park to stretch nearly the length of the first and third base foul lines. A new netting system will extend to Section 1 down the first base line and to Section 32 down the...
After sitting out last spring, Pirates right fielder Gregory Polanco excited for games to begin
BRADENTON, Fla. — Gregory Polanco is pumped about the start of spring training games, perhaps as much as or more than any member of the Pittsburgh Pirates. The right fielder missed all of last spring while recovering from left shoulder surgery, so watching and waiting was one of the worst...
Kevin Gorman’s Take 5: Pirates cross paths in spring training, as foes become teammatesVideo
BRADENTON, Fla. – There is a big difference between spring-training stories and regular-season stories, and then there are times when they overlap and become unbelievable stories. Allow me to explain. A great spring training story last year was the return of Jung Ho Kang, who raised eyebrows (and hopes) by...
Kevin Gorman: Pulse of Pirates can beat with Bryan Reynolds, his big batVideo
BRADENTON, Fla. There’s an expression baseball coaches have for hitters like Bryan Reynolds, a compliment as much for his approach to the plate as for the simplicity of his swing. When talking about Reynolds, Pittsburgh Pirates manager Derek Shelton borrowed a phrase his predecessor, Clint Hurdle, liked to use: Slow...
Mitch Keller will start Grapefruit League opener for Pirates, a reunion for Derek SheltonVideo
BRADENTON, Fla. — Pittsburgh Pirates manager Derek Shelton doesn’t want to take too much credit for naming Mitch Keller the starting pitcher for Saturday’s Grapefruit League opener against the Minnesota Twins at LECOM Park. “It’s the rotation of where Oscar has him slated,” Shelton said of pitching coach Oscar Marin....
Kevin Gorman’s Take 5: Baseball needs its best players to speak up like LeBron on scandalVideo
BRADENTON, Fla. — LeBron James might not play baseball but the NBA icon has earned the respect of professional athletes for using his platform to speak up on social issues. When the Los Angeles Lakers star called out MLB commissioner Rob Manfred on Twitter for his handling of the Houston...
Kevin Gorman: Joe Musgrove suffers in silence amid talk of Houston Astros’ tainted title
BRADENTON, Fla. Jameson Taillon held court with reporters Wednesday inside the clubhouse at Pirate City about MLB commissioner Rob Manfred’s handling of the Houston Astros’ cheating scheme that led to a World Series championship. Joe Musgrove stood in silence at the next locker. It was indicative of how tricky the...
After heartbreaking injury and complicated surgery, Nick Burdi fighting for job with PiratesVideo
BRADENTON, Fla. — Nick Burdi was nonchalant about being back on the mound Wednesday to throw live batting practice at Pirate City, considering what it took for him to get there. It wasn’t so much a monumental milestone to the Pittsburgh Pirates right-hander as it was a stride toward normality...
Pirates’ Pablo Reyes suspended 80 games by MLB for using performance-enhancing drugs
BRADENTON, Fla. — Pittsburgh Pirates infielder-outfielder Pablo Reyes has been suspended 80 games without pay for using performance-enhancing drugs, Major League Baseball announced. Reyes tested positive for the anabolic steroid Boldenone, according to MLB.com reporter Adam Berry. MLB announced that Pirates INF/OF Pablo Reyes has received an 80-game suspension without...
