Pirates/MLB category, Page 261
Astros pitcher Gerrit Cole gets better of Pirates in 1st meeting since trade
HOUSTON — Houston’s Gerrit Cole tried not to think too much about what it would be like to face his former team leading up to Tuesday night’s meeting with the Pittsburgh Pirates. After turning in a solid performance to lead the Astros to a 5-1 win over the Pirates he...
Pirates minor league report for June 25, 2019
INDIANAPOLIS (Triple-A, 41-34) defeated Louisville (Reds), 8-3. The Indians took a commanding, early lead with five first-inning runs. RHP Eduardo Vera (4-5, 5.66) went seven innings, allowing two runs on four hits, five strikeouts and a walk. Seven Indians recorded at least one RBI. 2B Darnell Sweeney (.308) drove in...
Pirates’ Nick Burdi has season-ending surgery
Nick Burdi, who hasn’t pitched for the past two months but started the season as an important member of the Pittsburgh Pirates’ bullpen, had season-ending surgery Tuesday to relieve symptoms of arm pain diagnosed as neurogenic thoracic outlet syndrome. The surgery was performed by vascular surgeon Dr. Robert Thompson. Nick...
Pirates farm report for June 24, 2019
INDIANAPOLIS (Triple-A, 40-34) beat Louisville (Reds), 3-1. RHP Mitch Keller (6-1, 2.89) struck out six and allowed just one run in 7 1/3 innings en route to the win. C Steven Baron (.197) hit a second-inning, two-run homer to put the Indians ahead 2-0. 2B Kevin Kramer (.271) also drove...
Pirates face 26-game stretch of reckoning
The time of reckoning has arrived for the Pittsburgh Pirates, but it doesn’t have to be an unpleasant situation. Optimists might argue you should label the next 26 games as an opportunity. The stretch that begins Tuesday at Minute Maid Park in Houston and concludes July 25 against the St....
Pirates minor league report for June 23, 2019
INDIANAPOLIS (Triple-A, 39-34): Defeated Pawtucket (Red Sox), 4-3. 2B Nick Franklin (.191) hit a two-run single in the top of the seventh to put the Indians ahead 3-2. After Pawtucket tied it in the bottom of the eighth, C Christian Kelley (.207) singled in the winning run in the top...
Kevin Gorman: Upcoming stretch a litmus test for Pirates
In one breath, Clint Hurdle called it one of the best wins he’s watched in nine years as manager of the Pittsburgh Pirates. In another, he downplayed the importance of one game. They overcame four deficits, including three-run margins in the ninth and 11th innings, before Kevin Newman’s full-count, bases-loaded...
Pirates rally four times, beat Padres in wild, 11-inning gameVideo
When he’s resting at home long past his retirement and someone asks Clint Hurdle if his Pittsburgh Pirates really rallied from two three-run deficits in late innings to win a game, maybe no one will believe him. But he said with certainty Sunday: “I was there. I got to see...
Pirates notebook: Still no starter named for Wednesday’s game
The Pittsburgh Pirates have not named a starter for Wednesday’s game in Houston, although general manager Neal Huntington suggested minor-leaguer Dario Agrazal is a candidate. Joe Musgrove will pitch Thursday, the sixth day after his most recent start. “As we look at the bigger picture, we’re looking at the rest...
Once cleared from concussion, Pirates catcher Francisco Cervelli could do rehab assignment
As Francisco Cervelli awaits clearances to return from his sixth documented concussion, he made it clear playing catcher for the Pittsburgh Pirates remains his preference. Cervelli has been out since May 26 after Joc Pederson’s broken bat hit him in the mask against the Los Angeles Dodgers. It marked the...
Pirates’ Jameson Taillon hopes to throw on flat ground during road trip
Jameson Taillon, who hasn’t pitched in a game or even picked up a baseball to throw it since May 1, said Sunday he plans to start an off-to-the-side throwing program, maybe as soon as the upcoming road trip. The Pittsburgh Pirates will be in Houston and Milwaukee, starting Tuesday through...
Pirates win 3rd straight behind Chris Archer’s latest strong start
Chris Archer still isn’t producing like the top-of-the-rotation starter the Pittsburgh Pirates hoped for when they surrendered a bounty to acquire him late last summer. But at least the Pirates finally are consistently competitive in games the veteran starts. Archer was solid — if a little inefficient — over five...
Clint Hurdle supportive of Pirates’ Josh Bell taking part in Home Run Derby
There’s undercurrent of fans and others within baseball who believe that participation in an MLB Home Run Derby can undermine a player’s performance the remainder of that season. Do not count Clint Hurdle among that group’s school of thought. At all. “People say, ‘Oooh, the season the guys have had...
Rookie OF Jason Martin recalled, back for second stint with Pirates
Jason Martin is back for his second stint with the Pittsburgh Pirates this season. The rookie outfielder was recalled from Triple-A Indianapolis on Saturday as the corresponding move when the Pirates placed Gregory Polanco on the injured list. With his speed and strong defensive reputation, Martin has a skillset that...
Pirates place Gregory Polanco on injured list with inflammation in surgically-repaired shoulder
After having only five at bats over the prior eight days, Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder Gregory Polanco was placed on the 10-day injured list Saturday because of posterior left shoulder inflammation. Polanco had surgery on that shoulder nine months ago after he had suffered a dislocation in it during an awkward...
Pirates minor league report for June 21, 2019
INDIANAPOLIS (Triple-A, 38-33) defeated Pawtucket (Red Sox), 4-3. The Indians outhit the Red Sox, 14-4, with five Indians recording two or more hits. SS Cole Tucker (.320) finished 3 for 5 with a double, RBI and a run. 2B Nick Franklin (.192) went 2 for 4 with an RBI double....
Joe Musgrove leads Pirates to ‘Strange’ win over Padres
The Pittsburgh Pirates and San Diego Padres entered Friday night’s game with the two worst team ERAs in the majors in June. So, of course, they engaged in a pitcher’s duel. Jose Osuna drove in pinch runner Steven Brault for the go-ahead run in the seventh inning, and the Pirates...
Pirates’ Josh Bell advances in voting to be All-Star starter
He leads the majors in extra-base hits, ranks fourth in the National League in slugging percentage and set a Pittsburgh Pirates record for most home runs before the All-star break by a switch hitter. It’s only natural, then, Josh Bell would be a prime candidate to take part in MLB’s...
Former Pirates star Jason Bay back at PNC Park
During the unofficial Dark Ages of modern Pittsburgh Pirates, arguably the best player to never play for a winning Pirates team during their 20-season streak of losing records was Jason Bay. And Bay was back at PNC Park on Friday. A recent inductee into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame,...
Slumping Gregory Polanco again absent from Pirates lineup
Gregory Polanco is slumping. And with an abundance of options in the outfield who are performing at a high level, the Pittsburgh Pirates aren’t willing to sit and wait for him to play out of it. Polanco was not in the lineup again Friday for the game against the San...
3 switch hitters — Josh Bell, Bryan Reynolds, Melky Cabrera — powering Pirates lineup
After finishing 28th and 20th in the majors in runs the previous two seasons and having the second-fewest runs in MLB prior to May 1, the Pittsburgh Pirates have had one of the better offenses in the National League over the past two months. It almost feels as if the...
Pirates minor league report for June 20, 2019
INDIANAPOLIS (Triple-A, 37-33) lost 11-8 to Buffalo (Blue Jays). The Bison scored eight runs in the fifth inning to pull ahead, 10-3. They added another run in the seventh before Indianapolis rallied, scoring five runs in the last two innings to cut the deficit to three. SS Cole Tucker (.305)...
In Bryan Reynolds’ case, injuries likely opened door leading to Pirates
Here are two questions that do not make sense on the surface but are worthy of consideration: Where would the Pittsburgh Pirates be if outfielders Corey Dickerson, Gregory Polanco and Starling Marte were not injured at various points this season? What if Marte and shortstop Erik Gonzalez had not collided...
Are Pirates at ‘turning point’ for season? Here are 3 reasons to have hope
Trevor Williams was beaming in the clubhouse late Wednesday evening — and probably more than he ever had been following an outing in which he was charged with seven earned runs. Williams had just watched the Pittsburgh Pirates complete their biggest comeback in almost 11 years, erasing a six-run deficit...
Q&A with Ray Searage: Pirates pitching coach discusses challenges, criticism
Ray Searage was the subject of my column this week for wearing a bull`s-eye for the Bucs. The Pittsburgh Pirates pitching coach has endured a rash of injuries to his starting rotation and bullpen and the criticism that comes with the club losing 20 of 29 games in one span....
