Pirates/MLB category, Page 253
Fantasy Sports podcast: Football draft advice, MLB trade fallout, Reds-Pirates brawl
Fantasy football drafts are happening soon. Are you ready? Need some advice? Jeff Erickson of RotoWire gets you prepared in our weekly fantasy sports podcast. We look at where Steelers players Ben Roethlisberger, Vance McDonald and JuJu Smith-Schuster rank among star players at their respective positions. Also, Jeff tells us...
Tim Benz: Pirates-Reds brawl suspensions a complete joke
This column is going to be very difficult to follow. Judging by the comments section that normally accompanies my posts, some of you may feel that’s a common occurrence on my page. This time, though, it won’t be my fault. This time. No, today it’ll be Major League Baseball’s fault....
Pirates farm report for Aug. 1, 2019
INDIANAPOLIS (Triple-A, 56-53) won 11-5 over Toledo (Tigers). The Indians tallied three home runs, five doubles and 18 hits. RF Trayvon Robinson (.314) was 3 for 4 with a two-run homer and four RBIs. LF Jake Elmore (.355) went 3 for 6 with a double and two runs. 3B Ke’Bryan...
6 players, both managers suspended for Pirates-Reds brawl
The fallout from the Pittsburgh Pirates’ brawl with the Cincinnati Reds will hit players and managers of both teams where it hurts the most: on the roster and in the wallet. Six players plus managers Clint Hurdle and David Bell were suspended and given undisclosed fines for their part in...
First Call: Raiders’ 1st ‘Hard Knocks’ trailer; Baker Mayfield screaming; Jordan Lyles debuts with Brewers
Thursday’s “First Call” features the new trailer for “Hard Knocks,” with significantly less Antonio Brown than we expected. Jordan Lyles debuts in Milwaukee. Baker Mayfield gets testy in Cleveland. Michael Thomas resets the bar for wide receiver contracts in New Orleans. Corey Dickerson misses out on history in Philadelphia. This...
Tim Benz: Prepare for a 2021 Pittsburgh sports yinz-pocalypse
You think 2019 has been a crazy year for Pittsburgh sports so far? Antonio Brown was traded. Le’Veon Bell went to the New York Jets. And the Steelers jumped into the top 10 of the draft. The Penguins were swept out of the playoffs, but Mike Sullivan got a contract...
U mad, bro? Steelers fans invent reasons to be angry. Pirates fans have easier time
In this week’s “U mad, bro?” some Steelers fans are mad about gender reveals. Others are angry about semi-trucks. And Pirates fans are angry about everything. And I mean, everything. Somebody named Eli did not like how somebody else named Eli showed up to Steelers training camp. When he loses...
Pirates minor league report: July 31, 2019
INDIANAPOLIS (Triple-A, 55-53) won 6-4 over Toledo (Tigers). RF Kevin Kramer (.262) went 2 for 4 with a fifth-inning solo home run and two runs scored. DH Pablo Reyes (.286 with Indianapolis) was 2 for 3 with a two-run double and two runs. LF Jake Elmore (.352) finished 2 for...
Kevin Gorman: Not trading Felipe Vazquez was win for Pirates, technically speaking
When the clock struck 4 p.m. Wednesday afternoon and the Pittsburgh Pirates still possessed one of their only All-Stars, did they win or lose the trade deadline? That the Pirates didn’t deal closer Felipe Vazquez was met with disappointment in baseball circles, especially by the Los Angeles Dodgers. The left-hander...
Pirates lose on road to Reds, both teams behaveVideo
CINCINNATI — Clint Hurdle and David Bell had little interaction while exchanging lineup cards one day after their teams fought on the field. Luis Castillo made sure there wouldn’t be much to talk about in the game that followed. Castillo pitched into the eighth inning Wednesday, leading Cincinnati to a...
Pirates trade Corey Dickerson to Phillies
The Pittsburgh Pirates’ trade of Corey Dickerson to the Philadelphia Phillies scratched a .300 hitter and a Gold Glove left fielder off the roster, an odd result for a team that has lost 16 of 19 games and needs further tinkering to contend in 2020. But Dickerson, 30, is due...
Pirates’ Clint Hurdle plans to speak to Keone Kela about pitch to Derek Dietrich
Pittsburgh Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said during his pregame talk with reporters Wednesday at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati he will speak to relief pitcher Keone Kela, who admitted he intentionally threw “up and in” at the Reds’ Derek Dietrich. The pitch in the seventh inning was the trigger...
Tim Benz: Pirates-Reds brawl more comical than cantankerous
The Pirates and Reds had another skirmish in the ninth inning of Tuesday night’s 11-4 Bucs win. But, at least, this one had some punches thrown as opposed to the chest-puffing pillow fights that occurred earlier in the season. In case you missed it, the two teams clashed on the...
Brawl breaks out between Pirates and Reds. Again.Video
A bench-clearing brawl broke out in the ninth inning Tuesday night when Cincinnati pitcher Amir Garrett sprinted toward the Pittsburgh dugout and swinging fists at Trevor Williams. The Reds and the Pirates have traded tensions since April and both instances have involved Derek Dietrich of the Reds. Tuesday, Keone Kela...
8 ejections, suspensions to come as Pirates, Reds brawl again
CINCINNATI — Jared Hughes’ errant pitch threw a load of fuel on one of the majors’ most flammable rivalries. Call it Pirates vs. Reds, round two — and a fitting farewell for Yasiel Puig. Hughes hit Starling Marte with his first pitch in the ninth inning Tuesday night, setting the...
Pirates farm report for July 30, 2019
INDIANAPOLIS (Triple-A, 54-53) lost 3-2 to Columbus (Indians). RF Will Craig (.249) hit a walk-off solo home run. It was his 20th homer this season. 2B Kevin Kramer (.259) hit a solo homer in the fourth inning to give the Indians a 2-0 advantage. RHP Dovydas Neverauskas (3-1, 3.82) picked...
Pirates suspend bullpen coach Euclides Rojas for 2 games
The Pittsburgh Pirates suspended bullpen coach Euclides Rojas for two games for violating his contract, the team announced Tuesday night before its game in Cincinnati. Rojas, 51, has been with manager Clint Hurdle since his first season with the Pirates in 2011. Overall, Rojas has been with the Pirates for...
Pirates swap pitchers with Triple-A Indianapolis
The Pittsburgh Pirates continued trying to find the right combination in the bullpen Tuesday when right-handed pitchers Geoff Hartlieb and Yefry Ramirez were recalled from Triple-A Indianapolis. Right-handers Alex McRae and Montana DuRapau, who combined to allow 11 hits and every run in the 11-6 loss to the Cincinnati Reds...
Anatomy of a losing streak: How did the Pirates get this bad this fast?
The Pittsburgh Pirates’ losing streak is not singularly about Josh Bell or the trade of Jordan Lyles or pitchers who don’t belong in the big leagues or the inability to win close games. It’s about all of that. Let’s start with Bell. • The guy knows how to throw a...
Tim Benz: Josh Bell made a comical throw. Another play was even worse
Pittsburgh Pirates first baseman Josh Bell made this, uh, “throw” in the bottom of the second inning Monday night in Cincinnati. Let’s see if it looks any better on replay.... pic.twitter.com/vQGli0awub— Tim Benz (@TimBenzPGH) July 30, 2019 Yuck! The Reds TV broadcast described that throw from Bell as looking like...
Tim Benz, Mark Madden discuss Jordan Lyles trade, Joe Haden contract
I’m moving this week. So I took Monday off. Eventually, I emerged from a sea of boxes, cable wires, duffel bags and clothes I should’ve thrown away a long time ago to record Madden Monday. Sorry it’s a day late. Mark Madden and I caught up in his studio at...
Tim Benz: How can Pirates blow up what doesn’t exist?
This probably shouldn’t have hit me the way it did. It was late Saturday night on the set of the CW “Nightly Sports Call.” So maybe I was a bit testy. With the July 31 MLB trade deadline looming, a call came in asking if it was time to “just...
10-run inning seals Pirates’ fate in 9th consecutive lossVideo
CINCINNATI — All nine Reds crossed the plate in a parade unseen in Cincinnati since the days of the Big Red Machine. All the down-and-out Pittsburgh Pirates could do was watch glumly. Jose Iglesias’ grand slam completed Cincinnati’s 10-run second inning and the Reds beat the Pirates, 11-6, on Monday...
Pirates minor league report: July 29, 2019
INDIANAPOLIS (Triple-A, 53-52) was too late for this edition because of a rain delay. Next: Tuesday vs. Columbus (Indians), 7:05 p.m. ••• ALTOONA (Double-A, 53-51) was idle. The Curve have yet to name a starting pitcher for Tuesday night’s game. Next: Tuesday at Trenton (Yankees), 7 p.m. ••• BRADENTON (High-A,...
To contend in 2020, Pirates can’t trade just for minor league prospects
A year ago, Neal Huntington approached the trade deadline with the hope of pushing the Pittsburgh Pirates toward the postseason. They paid a steep price, including first-round draft choices Austin Meadows and Shane Baz, for experience and talent, adding Chris Archer to the starting rotation and Keone Kela to the...
