Pirates/MLB category, Page 253

Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said he was pleased no one was injured Sunday when a 24-year-old man casually strolled onto the field and attempted to shake the hand of the Philadelphia Phillies’ Brad Miller. “It was weird,” Hurdle said. “I’ve never seen that before.” The unidentified man’s casual gait might...

Don’t try to convince Josh Bell participating in the Home Run Derby has contributed to the hitting slump he carried into the Pittsburgh Pirates’ four-game series with the St. Louis Cardinals on Monday night. He was struggling at the plate before he sold out for home runs July 8 at...

The Pittsburgh Pirates suspended relief pitcher Keone Kela for two games because of an unspecified violation of his Uniform Player’s Contract. The suspension occurs simultaneously with his reinstatement from the 60-day injured list. He hasn’t pitched since May 4 while recovering from shoulder inflammation. The team announced it will have...

In this week’s “Madden Monday,” Mark Madden of 105.9 the X joins me to preview the 2019 Steelers training camp. Are we relying too much on “addition by subtraction” for hope this year? We also kick around a few position concerns such as cornerback, safety and kicker. Then we get...

Dale Berra was a first-round draft choice in 1975, reached the big leagues at age 20 and won a World Series ring with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1979. But all of those events — spawned through his athletic gifts and hard work — can’t compare to the one of which...

In “First Call” Monday, I have so many questions about that fan who got on the field at PNC Park. Also tarp terrors and a Big Ten coach should just keep preachin’ on. I’m so confused A fan casually walked up to home plate in the middle of the Pirates-Phillies...

Francisco Liriano has been traded four times, three times in the lead-up to the trade deadline –including once by the Pittsburgh Pirates. Melky Cabrera has been dealt three times as a major-leaguer himself; he’s changed teams seven times. The two men combine for more than 70 years of life and...

INDIANAPOLIS (Triple-A, 50-49) defeated Durham (Rays), 3-1. CF Jason Martin (.261) had two hits and an RBI. Pinch-hitter Will Craig (.247) hit his 19th homer, a solo shot. Dovydas Neverauskas (2-1) got the victory with two scoreless innings of relief. He struck out four. Starter Mitch Keller (7-4, 3.10) gave...

What will happen first: An American walking on Mars or the Pirates going to another World Series? Right now, I’d put my money on a Mars walk. The Pirates celebrated the 40th anniversary of their most recent World Series win Saturday night — the same night America was celebrating the...

Trevor Williams felt better Sunday, and he’ll return to the Pittsburgh Pirates rotation Monday. Williams will start the opener of a four-game series against the St. Louis Cardinals after he was scratched from his scheduled return in the rotation Saturday because of what the team called “severe flu-like symptoms.” Williams...

The Pittsburgh Pirates had opportunities to win Sunday’s game in the ninth and 10th innings. The Philadelphia Phillies just needed one swing to do it in the 11th. Rhys Hoskins turned on a Chris Stratton curveball for a line-drive homer down the left-field line to lead off the 11th inning...

Neal Huntington might have been playing coy, or the Pittsburgh Pirates longtime general manager might have been skillfully dodging the question. But when Huntington was asked whether the Pirates would be “buyers” or “sellers” at the trade deadline late next week, he had a philosophical and pragmatic answer. “The interesting...

The MLB trade deadline 10 days away, Pittsburgh Pirates general manager Neal Huntington on Sunday was asked about the prospects of trading his most-marketable player. In meeting with reporters at PNC Park minutes before first pitch of the game against the Philadelphia Phillies, Huntington explained that it was part of...

When the Pittsburgh Pirates celebrated their 1979 World Series champions on Saturday at PNC Park, there was only one other place in the world Dave Parker would have rather been. That’s Cooperstown, N.Y. Parker was regarded as the best player in baseball from the mid-1970s until the early ‘80s, a...

Joe Musgrove had plenty to be happy about Saturday night when he pitched the Pittsburgh Pirates to a 5-1 victory against the Philadelphia Phillies at PNC Park. His head-first slide carried the first run across the plate after his double ignited a three-run rally in the third inning in front...

Two years ago in spring training, Kent Tekulve approached Felipe Vazquez. Tekulve, the Pittsburgh Pirates’ second all-time saves leader (he recorded 158 to Roy Face’s 191), wanted to impart some of his wisdom on the team’s current bullpen ace. “We had a 10-minute chat,” Vazquez said Saturday night when the...

Nearly 100 games into the season, the Pittsburgh Pirates’ starting rotation remains a work in progress. Jameson Taillon and Steven Brault remain on the injured list. Trevor Williams, who spent a month rehabbing a side strain, was scratched as the starting pitcher Saturday night while battling a severe case of...

The Pittsburgh Pirates announced that Trevor Williams has been bumped from his scheduled Saturday start because of “severe flu-like symptoms,” and that Joe Musgrove’s turn in the rotation will be moved up a day to pitch in Williams’ place against the Philadelphia Philies. Williams was tagged for season highs allowed...

It wasn’t just the heat wave that had Francisco Cervelli drenched in sweat in the Pittsburgh Pirates clubhouse Friday afternoon. Members of the training staff put Cervelli through a strenuous workout in the left-field corner of PNC Park about four hours prior to Friday’s game. Cervelli was doing somersaults and...

Keone Kela’s most recent rehab appearance was so good, the reliever headed back to Pittsburgh and seemingly soon will find himself back on the Pirates roster. Kela needed only 11 pitches to strike out all three batters he faced for Triple-A Indianapolis on Thursday night. Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said...

For a 6-year-old Pittsburgh kid who needed nothing more than a ball and a glove to spend a summer day happily, the 1979 Pirates were my glorious introduction to baseball. With the Pirates winning the World Series and the Steelers on their way to a fourth Super Bowl, Pittsburgh branded...

Over a 31-day span from April 28-May 29, Josh Bell had 12 home runs, 25 extra-base hits, a .402 average and herculean 1.278 OPS. “Wouldn’t it be a wonderful world for Josh if he stayed in that spot the entire rest of his career?” Pittsburgh Pirates manager Clint Hurdle mused...