Pirates/MLB category, Page 272
Josh Bell’s home run only 4th to reach Allegheny River on the fly
Josh Bell’s mammoth home run in the fourth inning Wednesday not only tied the Pittsburgh Pirates’ game with the Texas Rangers at 2-2, but it sent team officals leafing through the PNC Park record book. ALLEGHENY RIVER BLAST!!!!@JBell_19 just put one in the drink! ?#RingIt pic.twitter.com/u5yeRmv2HK— Pirates (@Pirates) May 8,...
Pirates keep medical staff busy, injury list stocked
It’s normal procedure for the Pittsburgh Pirates to have training and rehab facilities and medical staff stationed in Pittsburgh and Bradenton, Fla. This season, they’ve needed every available doctor, specialist and examination table to assess, treat and heal 18 players who have spent time on the injury list since late...
Looking at the Pirates’ logic for keeping pitcher Mitch Keller in the minors
Nick Kingham starts for the Pirates on Wednesday against Texas. Mitch Keller pitches, too, but for Indianapolis. With the injuries in the starting rotation — Jameson Taillon and Chris Archer — some think that should be reversed. We look at Neal Huntington’s explanation as to why the Pirates are keeping...
First call: Pat Maroon plays Game 7 hero; stunning shootout goal; ex-Pirates steady
In Wednesday’s “First Call,” Game 7 NHL drama. A head-scratching shootout goal. Catching up with Cutch. The Texas Rangers are your new second-favorite baseball team. Feel familiar? Whenever they see a Game 7 playoff contest go to double overtime, Pittsburgh Penguins fans think of this. Thank you, Chris Kunitz. Thank...
Pirates minor league report: May 7, 2019
Pirates INDIANAPOLIS (Triple-A, 15-14) was delayed because of rain and eventually lost 3-1 against Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Ke’Bryan Hayes went 0 for 3, Jacob Stallings went 2 for 3 with a run scored and Kevin Kramer had one RBI while going 1 for 3. Rookie Davis fell to 0-3 after giving up...
Pirates’ team effort nets home victory against RangersVideo
The text message Steven Brault received from his dad Tuesday night told much of the story of the Pittsburgh Pirates’ 5-4 victory against the Texas Rangers. “Bummer you got taken out, but good for Melky.” The victory was the Pirates’ fifth in six games and third in a row. But...
Does Josh Bell’s hot bat help him in the field for Pirates?
Josh Bell led the Pittsburgh Pirates in home runs with eight through 31 games (twice as many as his closest pursuers, Starling Marte and Jung Ho Kang). Bell had 25 RBIs, and the next-best run producers — Marte and Colin Moran — combined for 27. But perhaps the stat that...
Stealing home is rare, but the Pirates’ Kevin Newman did it to win a gameVideo
Kevin Newman said there’s no thrill like the one he got last month when his double in bottom of the 10th inning beat the Cincinnati Reds. Especially because it occurred less than two weeks after he left spring training as a major leaguer for the first time. “That was the...
Pirates minor league report: May 7, 2019
Pirates INDIANAPOLIS (Triple-A, 15-14) was idle. RHP Rookie Davis (0-2, 7.13) is expected to start Tuesday night in Scranton. Next: Tuesday at Scranton/Wilkes Barre (Yankees), 6:35 p.m. ALTOONA (Double-A, 15-15) lost 10-5 to Bowie (Orioles). RHP James Marvel (3-3, 3.07) recorded the loss after allowing six runs on ten hits...
3 issues Pirates must resolve before heading westVideo
There was plenty of happy, hopeful talk after the Pittsburgh Pirates rallied to defeat the Oakland A’s on Sunday. Starling Marte, the hero with the winning three-run homer, talked about the “positive mindset” and “energy” players pass among themselves. Cole Tucker, who mixes contagious enthusiasm with impressive athleticism, gushed how...
Podcast: Mark Madden and Tim Benz on Evgeni Malkin, Kentucky Derby, Pirates
In this week’s “Madden Monday,” 105.9 the X’s Mark Madden and I cast a wide net over the sports world. We start with following up on last week’s podcast in which Madden told us there was some fire to the smoke when it comes to the Pittsburgh Penguins considering a...
Tim Benz: Pirates can’t afford injury bug within starting staff
In his usual Sunday media scrum with reporters, Pittsburgh Pirates general manager Neal Huntington rattled through the litany of injuries that have beset his club. “We haven’t had an at-bat from our regular left fielder (Corey Dickerson),” Huntington said to begin his mental checklist. “Our regular right fielder (Gregory Polanco)...
John Steigerwald: Attendance finally sinking to level Pirates deserve
This is going to be a bad year for the Pirates. Not exactly a bold prediction, I know, but I’m not just talking about on the field, where they’ve shown every indication, especially with the injuries, of being a team that will struggle to finish at .500. Their attendance is...
Pirates’ Cole Tucker finally gets a real hit off Fernando Rodney
Cole Tucker said his single that started the Pittsburgh Pirates’ 13th-inning rally Sunday wasn’t the first time he faced the Oakland A’s Fernando Rodney. Only the first time he’s hit against the 42-year-old relief pitcher in the flesh. “I played against Fernando Rodney a ton, growing up, in video games,”...
Kevin Gorman: Tyler Glasnow’s fast start puts pressure on PiratesVideo
The word conviction repeatedly was referenced by the Pittsburgh Pirates on Sunday when talking about pitching, and especially when talking about trading pitchers. Tyler Glasnow lacked it. Chris Archer possessed it and Neal Huntington used it to make a trade-deadline deal that was celebrated last July and now is being...
Starling Marte’s 3-run homer in 13th lifts Pirates over A’sVideo
Clint Hurdle makes his living figuring out what makes people do what they do. The Pittsburgh Pirates manager thinks he has figured out Starling Marte. After nearly four hours of baseball Sunday at PNC Park, Marte hit a three-run homer to defeat the Oakland A’s, 5-3, bringing the Pirates back...
Pirates’ Nick Kingham will start Wednesday, return to his comfort zone
During his rookie year in 2018, Nick Kingham did what he believes he does best – make 15 starts. But, with the Pittsburgh Pirates adding veteran Jordan Lyles to the rotation. he was forced to settle for a relief role this season. That will change Wednesday against the Texas Rangers....
With few off days, Cole Tucker, Kevin Newman may share time at shortstop for Pirates
The on-the-job training continued Sunday for Cole Tucker, who started his 14th consecutive game at shortstop for the Pittsburgh Pirates. Cole’s flawless glove – no errors in his first 59 chances — has enabled manager Clint Hurdle to remain patient with his rookie’s bat. He was hitting .205 before Sunday,...
Pirates prospect Mitch Keller working on new pitch as he awaits call-up
Neal Huntington is reluctant to use the word “inevitable” when assessing the possibility of top prospect Mitch Keller making his major-league debut this season. But the Pittsburgh Pirates general manager certainly gave the impression Sunday that Keller could help bolster the starting rotation at some point soon. “Inevitable is a...
A’s Skye Bolt, with family roots in New Ken, narrowly misses HR at PNC Park for 1st MLB hit
Skye Bolt’s first major-league hit came in Pittsburgh, not far from his late great-grandmother’s New Kensington home. But among all the joy of achieving a boyhood dream, Bolt also felt something else Saturday night at PNC Park. A bit of sheepishness. “I’ve gotten a fair amount of grief about it,”...
Pirates’ Steven Brault, Nick Kingham to take spots of injured Jameson Taillon, Chris Archer
On paper, at least, the Pittsburgh Pirates entered spring training with a three-man competition for the final spot in the starting rotation. They’re entering the first full week of May with all three of those men in the rotation. With Chris Archer and Jameson Taillon being placed on the injured...
Kevin Newman lifts Pirates over Athletics in 7th-inning rally
Kevin Newman began Saturday as a newly activated major leaguer in a new role. By the end of it, he was back at his long-familiar position and in a starring role of a Pittsburgh Pirates win. Newman’s seventh-inning, two-run triple into the right-field corner capped a rally from an early...
Pirates farm report for games of Saturday, May 4, 2019
INDIANAPOLIS (Triple-A, 15-13) lost 6-3 to Louisville (Reds). LHP Brandon Waddell (0-2, 8.56) took the loss after allowing five runs in 2/3 of an inning of relief. RHP Dario Agrazal (2-1, 1.32) allowed an unearned run in seven innings with seven strikeouts in a no decision. 1B Will Craig (.263)...
Pirates plan on making Kevin Newman more versatile after his activation
The Pittsburgh Pirates took advantage of a rehabilitation assignment to prepare Kevin Newman for a more versatile role. Newman, the Pirates’ first-round pick in 2015, was exclusively a shortstop during his first three professional seasons. Last season, he spent about a fifth of his time at second base, too. But...
Pirates go with 10-man bullpen after recall of Dovydas Neverauskas, DFA of JB Shuck
Their pitching staff strained by another injury to starting pitcher, the Pittsburgh Pirates added an arm to their bullpen Saturday with the recall of Dovydas Neverauskas. Neverauskas is a right-hander who appeared in 49 games the past two season for the Pirates, posting a 6.02 ERA and 1.38 WHIP with...
