Pirates/MLB category, Page 259
Amid recovery, Jameson Taillon says he plans to pitch again this season for Pirates
Jameson Taillon said he plans to pitch again this season, but the Pittsburgh Pirates ace first has to throw. Taillon’s road to recovery will take a big step this weekend, Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said, when the 27-year-old right-hander plays catch for the first time since going on the injured...
Look out, boaters, when Brewers’ Christian Yelich, Pirates’ Josh Bell come to bat
Before the Milwaukee Brewers met the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park on Friday night, Christian Yelich took aim at the Allegheny River. Hitting off batting practice pitcher Pat Shine, Yelich was preparing for the Home Run Derby on Monday in Cleveland. Christian Yelich did a practice round for the Home...
In wake of Maddon-Hurdle, recalling coaching confrontations in Pittsburgh sports history
Perhaps nothing would have happened had Chicago Cubs manager Joe Maddon been free to charge the Pittsburgh Pirates dugout during the teams’ Fourth of July blow-up. But Maddon was visibly angry that Pirates pitcher Jordan Lyles was throwing high and inside to his batters, and Clint Hurdle did not back...
MLB Network spotlights Pirates as force to be reckoned with in NL Central
“Let’s get on the Pirate ship” indeed. MLB Network’s Mark DeRosa seems to be pretty confident in the Pittsburgh Pirates. In a segment that aired Friday morning on the network’s morning show, “MLB Central,” the former journeyman utility player outlined all of the reasons the Pirates should be able to...
Pirates, Jordan Lyles pounded in series finale vs. Cubs
It is difficult to gauge what was most explosive in Pittsburgh on this Fourth of July: the annual fireworks, Joe Maddon’s temper or the Chicago Cubs offense. The Cubs tagged Jordan Lyles and reliever Clay Holmes for four home runs and nine extra-base hits in avoiding a four-game sweep by...
Cubs’ Joe Maddon ejected, restrained in confronting Pirates’ Clint Hurdle
With the Pittsburgh Pirates going for a four-game sweep, things apparently reached a boiling point for Chicago Cubs manager Joe Madden on Thursday. Maddon was ejected during the top of the fourth inning of the Fourth of July game at PNC Park, and the veteran manager stormed out of the...
Pirates notebook: Clint Hurdle to ‘unplug’ during All-Star break
Pittsburgh Pirates manager Clint Hurdle refuses to spend his All-Star break conducting a big-picture midseason evaluation. “I’ll unplug the whole time,” he said of the three-day break. But that doesn’t mean an all-encompassing look at his team isn’t being done. It’s just taking place a little earlier. “The 50,000-foot evaluation...
Injured Pirates reliever Keone Kela feels ‘good, strong’ in bullpen session
The Pittsburgh Pirates have had one of baseball’s best bullpens during the past three-plus weeks, and the unit has been missing one of its best arms. That player appears close to rejoining his fellow relievers. Keone Kela experienced no setbacks during a bullpen throwing session Wednesday. Kela has been on...
Pirates in middle of tightly bunched NL Central race
As play began on the Fourth of July, the last-place team in the National League Central is closer to the division lead than the second-place team in any other MLB division. It’s shaping up to be that kind of season and that kind of stretch drive for the Pittsburgh Pirates...
Pirates farm report for July 3, 2019
INDIANAPOLIS (Triple-A, 42-41) lost 7-6 to Louisville (Reds). RF Trayvon Robinson (.338) was 3 for 3 with a double, a triple and two RBIs and a run. CF Jason Martin (.244) had two hits, an RBI and a run. LF Darnell Sweeney (.271) hit an eighth-inning, two-run double to cut...
Pirates rally in 9th to beat Cubs, 6-5
There was nothing special about how the baseball came off the bats during the Pittsburgh Pirates’ ninth-inning rally Wednesday night at PNC Park. The trigger of the 6-5 victory – the Pirates’ third in a row against the Chicago Cubs — was a one-out walk on a 3-2 count to...
Pirates’ Jameson Taillon ‘encouraged’ by elbow news but still far from returning
Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Jameson Taillon, who has missed two months with no timetable for his return, received good news recently when new images of his elbow strain showed healing. “I’m kind of encouraged by it,” he said Wednesday. But he is far from pitching in a game. He had...
Pirates bullpen’s success lessens need for long outings from starters
Back when Clint Hurdle was a player, he remembers five-man bullpens that offered fewer options for managers and more opportunities for starters to complete nine innings. But as the Pittsburgh Pirates manager noted Wednesday afternoon, that was “a long time ago.” “Now, you have seven-man bullpens, sometimes, eight-man bullpens (the...
Kevin Gorman: Pirates’ performance at PNC Park critical on and off the field
The Pittsburgh Pirates reached an important milestone Tuesday night with a 5-1 victory over the Chicago Cubs, one that tends to be symbolic of (and necessary for) a successful season. They reached the .500 mark at PNC Park. Lost amid the hoopla over Adam Frazier’s four-double game Monday and seven...
U mad, bro? Readers rip Neal Huntington, react to Phil Kessel trade
It’s been a week since I’ve checked my inbox for “U mad, bro.” And a lot has built up while I was on vacation. Penguins fans chime in on the Phil Kessel trade to Arizona. Pirates fans don’t seem to like the idea of dealing Felipe Vazquez. And Neal Huntington...
Kevin Gorman: Pirates’ Josh Bell banking on potential payday in Home Run Derby
When Josh Bell bashed three home runs against the Chicago Cubs on Monday, it never occurred on the Pittsburgh Pirates first baseman that it happened on Bobby Bonilla Day. In what has become the longest running joke in Major League Baseball, the New York Mets pay the retired slugger a...
Adam Frazier, 6 pitchers pace Pirates to another win over Cubs, 5-1
The evening storm that blew through the region Tuesday considerably cooled what had been a hot, humid day. It had little effect, though, on the simmering Adam Frazier – nor on the rest of the Pittsburgh Pirates. Frazier homered and went 4 for 4 a day after tying a major-league...
Pirates minor league report: July 2, 2019
Pirates INDIANAPOLIS (Triple-A, 42-40) lost 6-1 to Louisville (Reds). LF Trayvon Robinson (.323) went 1 for 3 at the plate with a fourth-inning RBI single. SS Cole Tucker (.305) and CF Jason Martin (.240) each went 2 for 4. RF J.B. Shuck (.291) was 0 for 3. RHP Alex McRae...
Pirates notes: Chris Archer OK for Wednesday start, bullpen a recent strength
Chris Archer will make his scheduled start Wednesday for the Pittsburgh Pirates, manager Clint Hurdle confirmed before Tuesday’s game. Left hip discomfort experienced during the veteran righthander’s prior outing had put his next scheduled start against the Chicago Cubs in doubt. “I don’t try to over-dramatize things,” Hurdle said. “You...
Five hits earn Adam Frazier another crack at Pirates’ leadoff spot
When Adam Frazier reclaimed the leadoff spot in the Pittsburgh Pirates lineup Monday, it was supposed to be a one-night only engagement. Having five hits and tying the major-league record for doubles in a game changed that. “I didn’t ask any analytics,” manager Clint Hurdle said with a wry smile...
Pirates offense thriving under hitting coaches Rick Eckstein, Jacob Cruz
On Tuesday afternoon, Clint Hurdle called Monday night’s 18-5 victory “one of the better days that a Pittsburgh lineup has had in its history.” It was immediately after the 23-barrage against the Chicago Cubs that the Pittsburgh Pirates manager was asked about the role his team’s hitting coaches played in...
Pirates’ Trevor Williams reflects on the death of Angels pitcher Tyler Skaggs
Trevor Williams didn’t know Los Angeles Angels pitcher Tyler Skaggs. But Skaggs’ death Monday at the age of 27 touched Williams deeply and reminded him to count his blessings. The Southlake (Texas) Police Department reported that Skaggs was found unresponsive in a hotel room Monday afternoon and was pronounced dead...
Pirates farm report for July 1, 2019
INDIANAPOLIS (Triple-A, 42-39) won 7-6 over Louisville (Reds). The Indians scored all seven runs in two consecutive innings with three scores in the seventh inning and four in the eighth. 1B Will Craig (.255) hit a three-run homer in the eighth inning and scored twice. LF Kevin Kramer (.272) went...
Josh Bell’s 3 home runs lead Pirates’ 18-5 win over Cubs
On a night when even Elias Diaz’s groundout traveled 108.2 mph, Clint Hurdle reflected on how the game of baseball has changed. And his thoughts went far beyond the Pittsburgh Pirates’ 18-5 victory Monday night against the National League- Central-leading Chicago Cubs. It’s how suddenly the baseball was jumping off...
Clint Hurdle content to just watch this year’s Home Run Derby
When Josh Bell steps into the batters’ box in Cleveland’s Progressive Field next Monday for the Home Run Derby, Clint Hurdle will only be a spectator, perhaps tucked into his couch in front of the TV at home. Which is just fine with the Pittsburgh Pirates’ manager, who threw nearly...
