Pirates/MLB category, Page 271
Tim Benz: Tweaks the Pirates can make to stay hot
With a 6-2 win over the Diamondbacks Tuesday night, the Pirates have now won four of their last five games. Joe Musgrove got back on track with seven shutout innings. Chris Archer returns to pitch Wednesday afternoon in Arizona. And clearly no one should mess with Josh Bell ever again....
Josh Bell homers twice to lead Pirates past DiamondbacksVideo
PHOENIX — Josh Bell is on the best hitting streak of his career, and the Pittsburgh Pirates are along for the ride. Bell homered twice and Joe Musgrove allowed one hit through seven strong innings as the Pirates beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 6-2 Tuesday night. Phoenix native Cole Tucker hit...
Pirates farm report: May 14, 2019
INDIANAPOLIS (Triple-A, 19-16) beat Scranton/Wilkes-Barre (Yankees), 4-2. RHP Mitch Keller (4-0, 3.83) struck out eight batters, walked two and allowed two runs in six innings to earn the victory. 3B Ke’Bryan Hayes (.260) doubled for a 13th time this season and drove in two runs. LF J.B. Shuck (1.000) singled...
Pirates may be forced to find alternatives to Steven Brault, Nick Kingham
When the Pittsburgh Pirates put Jameson Taillon on the 10-day injured list May 4 with an elbow flexor tendon strain, it sounded serious. There was no way he could return in 10 days, or even a month. The worst fears were realized Monday when Taillon was moved to the 60-day...
Pirates’ Nick Kingham tagged for 7 runs, 10 hits in loss to DiamondbacksVideo
PHOENIX — After a three-game losing streak in which the Arizona Diamondbacks came up empty too often with opportunities to drive in more runs, hitting coach Darnell Coles changed things up in batting practice on Monday. The emphasis on situational hitting worked hours later. Eduardo Escobar homered, tripled and drove...
Pirates send Jung Ho Kang to IL, call up Jake Elmore
Jung Ho Kang’s recovery from his season-long slump must wait for at least 10 more days after he was placed on the Pittsburgh Pirates’ injured list with a left side strain. The Pirates called up infielder/outfielder Jake Elmore from Triple-A Indianapolis on Monday to replace Kang, who hasn’t started a...
Tim Benz: 5 things to love about Pirates’ win to take series vs. Cardinals
There was plenty to like about Sunday’s 10-6 Pirates win over the Cardinals. It was a third-straight victory. It secured a series win over a division rival. The team came out strong early, came back after losing the lead then added on once they got it back. And Josh Bell...
Tim Benz: The biggest reason for lagging MLB fan interest
By now, you have probably read some of the alarm-bell columns discussing Major League Baseball’s attendance issues. As USA Today reports, MLB saw an attendance drop in March-April 2019, on the heels of a 4% season-long decline in attendance in 2018. That was the largest dip in a decade. Furthermore,...
Tim Benz, Mark Madden on Steelers RB situation, Pirates’ series win, Penguins model
In this week’s “Madden Monday” podcast, Mark Madden of 105.9 the X and the Tribune-Review joins me to talk about finding interest in the NHL playoffs without the Penguins’ participation. Are the Bruins more of a model for the Penguins’ reconstruction than the Islanders ever were? We get into the...
5 players who could help make the Pirates contenders this summer
What you are about to read means next to nothing in the context of the entire baseball season. Yet, it’s still worth noting the Pirates have endured injuries to several key players — Jameson Taillon, Chris Archer, Gregory Polanco. Starling Marte and Corey Dickerson, among them — and were still...
Pirates’ Josh Bell taking place alongside league’s best hitters
After 37 games, the Pittsburgh Pirates (20-17) are three games over .500 and owners of an 8-3 record after ending an eight-game losing streak April 30. One of the big reasons is the emergence of Josh Bell as one of the game’s top hitters. Bell tied a career high with...
Pirates farm report for games of May 12, 2019
INDIANAPOLIS (Triple-A, 18-16): Game at Lehigh Valley (Phillies) was postponed by rain. Next: Tuesday vs. Scranton/Wilkes-Barre (Yankees), 7:05 p.m. ALTOONA (Double-A, 18-17): Lost to Erie (Tigers), 14-4. LF Logan Hill (.252) was 2 for 2 with two runs and an RBI. 3B Hunter Owen (.306) was 2 for 4 with...
Josh Bell’s 5 RBIs help Pirates win 3rd straight against CardinalsVideo
ST. LOUIS — Josh Bell put on a show for his mom on Mother’s Day. With his mother, Myrtle, in the stands at Busch Stadium, Bell homered and drove in a career-high five runs to lead the Pittsburgh Pirates to a 10-6 win over the St. Louis Cardinals on Sunday....
Pirates farm report: Games of May 11, 2019
INDIANAPOLIS (Triple-A, 18-16) won 6-1 at Lehigh Valley (Phillies). CF Jason Martin (.242) went 3 for 4 with a double two RBIs and two runs. 1B Will Craig (.256) went 3 for 5 with an RBI. RHP Eduardo Vera (1-3, 5.35 ERA) went six innings, allowing one run on five...
Pirates’ Jordan Lyles, 4 others combine on 2-hitter vs. CardinalsVideo
ST. LOUIS — Jordan Lyles had to change his plan on the fly. Lyles overcame a 30-pitch first inning to combine with four relievers on a two-hitter, and the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 2-1, on Saturday for their seventh win in 10 games after an eight-game losing...
Pirates send cash to Angels for pitcher Chris Stratton
The Pittsburgh Pirates hope to get Chris Archer back into the starting rotation before the end of the current 11-game road trip, but they continue to fortify their beleaguered pitching staff, anyway. The Pirates sent cash considerations to the Los Angeles Angels on Saturday for right-handed pitcher Chris Stratton. Stratton,...
Adam Frazier homers in 1st as Pirates right ship with win over Cardinals
ST. LOUIS — Adam Frazier opened the game with a homer, Starling Marte drove in the winner and Trevor Williams allowed one run in seven solid innings as the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 2-1, on Friday night. Marte’s RBI single off of Andrew Miller (1-2) broke a...
Pirates minor league report: May 10, 2019
INDIANAPOLIS (Triple-A, 17-16) won 6-5 over Lehigh Valley (Phillies). CF Jason Martin (.172) hit a two-run homer as part of a five-run fifth, which gave the Indians a 5-1 advantage. The IronPigs scored four runs in the bottom of the ninth to nearly complete a comeback. C Jacob Stallings (.280)...
Pirates minor league report: May 9, 2019
Pirates INDIANAPOLIS (Triple-A, 16-16) won 4-2 over Scranton/Wilkes-Barre (Yankees). Five Indians each produced doubles, but it was RF Patrick Kivlehan (.212) who stood out as he went 2 for 4 with a double, home run and two RBIs. 3B Ke’Bryan Hayes (.250) doubled for the 13th time this season. RHP...
Joe Musgrove tagged for 8 runs as Cardinals blow out PiratesVideo
ST. LOUIS — Dexter Fowler came up with a novel idea to help the Cardinals break out of their hitting slump. The St. Louis outfielder took several players and their wives to a karaoke bar following a season-low, three-hit performance in a shutout loss to Philadelphia on Wednesday. Turns out,...
Pirates DFA Tyler Lyons, promote Montana DuRapau, Clay Holmes
As they prepare for their longest road trip of the season, the Pittsburgh Pirates added a pair of right-handers to their roster Thursday. Montana DuRapau had his contract selected, and Clay Holmes was recalled. DuRapau, 27, was off to a dominating start as a reliever for Indianapolis, and he will...
Josh Bell joins Willie Stargell on list of longest Pirates home runs
Josh Bell’s 472-foot home run at PNC Park on Wednesday created plenty of chatter around town, but it pales in comparison to two struck by legendary Pirates Hall of Famer Willie Stargell. It also wasn’t Bell’s longest this season — he hit a 474-foot shot April 7 — and only...
Pirates minor league report: May 8, 2019
INDIANAPOLIS (Triple-A, 15-16) lost to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre (Yankees), 5-4. RHP Mitch Keller lasted only three innings in a no-decision, allowing three runs on four hits with four strikeouts and three walks. LHP Sean Keselica (0-1, 2.08) blew the lead in the sixth inning on a wild pitch. Keselica allowed one run...
Pirates place Keone Kela on 10-day injured list
Pittsburgh Pirates relief pitcher Keone Kela, who was shut down after Sept. 3 last year due to a heavy workload, was placed on the 10-day injured list Wednesday with right shoulder inflammation. The move is retroactive to Monday, but Kela won’t be eligible to pitch — if he’s clear medically...
Josh Bell’s titanic homer not enough as Pirates bullpen blows big leadVideo
Only a serious problem elsewhere on the team could taint the luster of Josh Bell’s 472-foot home run that splashed dramatically into the Allegheny River on Wednesday without the benefit of a bounce. But that’s what happened to the Pittsburgh Pirates in a 9-6 loss to the Texas Rangers in...
