Pirates/MLB category, Page 29
‘About time’: Pirates fans react to Derek Shelton firing
When Jim Emmerling found out the Pittsburgh Pirates fired manager Derek Shelton on Thursday, he was elated. “I’ve been asking for this,” he said. “The last six years have been the worst baseball I can remember.” Shelton was replaced by bench coach Don Kelly as the team languishes in last...
Tim Benz: Pirates made a needed change in firing Shelton, but they didn’t go far enough
Trading Josh Bell on Christmas Eve 2020 was one heckuva news dump by the Pittsburgh Pirates. That was an all-time favorite of mine. But releasing news of a managerial change about 25 minutes after white smoke emerged from the Vatican to announce the election of a new pope is next-level...
Pirates fire Derek Shelton, promote bench coach Don Kelly to manager for rest of 2025
Sitting in last place in the NL Central and with their season spiraling, the Pittsburgh Pirates fired manager Derek Shelton on Thursday and named bench coach Don Kelly his successor for the remainder of the 2025 season. Shelton was relieved of his duties following a 5-0 loss to the St....
Kevin Gorman’s Take 5: Pirates manager Derek Shelton has no answers for 7-game losing skid
The Pittsburgh Pirates are a sinking ship whose skipper Derek Shelton seems at a loss when asked for answers about how to reverse course for their offensive ineptitude as they approach the quarter pole. Shelton didn’t even have a message to share with his team. “Right now, that’s what we’re...
Pirates farm report for May 7, 2025: Bubba Chandler gives up 3-run homer in Indy loss
INDIANAPOLIS (Triple-A, 17-16) lost 4-3 to Columbus (Guardians). RHP Bubba Chandler (2-1, 2.25) started and went 2⅔ innings, allowed three runs on five hits, including a three-run home run. He walked four and fanned five to take the loss. RHP Hunter Stratton (4.97) and LHP Randy Labaut (5.06) each struck...
Behind Victor Scott II’s speed, Sonny Gray’s 8 strikeouts, Cardinals sweep Pirates in shutout
The Pittsburgh Pirates started their series in St. Louis on Monday with Oneil Cruz making the fastest throw in the major leagues with a 100 mph strike to get Victor Scott II out at home plate. The Cardinals center fielder showed why he’s one of the fastest players in the...
‘Broken everything’: Kavan Markwood hasn’t watched his fall from Clemente Wall during Pirates game
Kavan Markwood told TribLive on Wednesday he hasn’t watched the video of his 21-foot plunge April 30 from the Clemente Wall to the right field warning track at PNC Park. Markwood fell while celebrating an Andrew McCutchen double. Under treatment at Allegheny General Hospital, he called TribLive before a physical...
Pirates’ offensive woes persist as losing streak reaches 6
On paper, a quality start from Paul Skenes should provide the Pittsburgh Pirates with enough of a boost to come out on top in any given game. However, Tuesday evening in St. Louis, the nosediving Pirates (12-25) demonstrated again that a solid start from Skenes isn’t always sufficient. Skenes (3-4,...
Pirates farm report for May 6, 2025: Spencer Horwitz delivers 2 hits as his rehab stint reaches Indy
INDIANAPOLIS (Triple-A, 17-15) topped Columbus (Guardians), 4-1. RHP Mike Burrows (1-1, 3.18) started and went five innings, giving up one run on a solo home run and yielding two hits with no walks and seven strikeouts. RHP Dauri Moreta (0.00) walked one and struck out three in an inning as...
Pirates, Paul Skenes fall in pitching duel with Cardinals’ Matthew Liberatore
In less than a week, Paul Skenes will have spent exactly one calendar year as a big leaguer, having made his MLB debut May 11, 2024. Over that span, from a performance standpoint, there has appeared to be little the 6-foot-7 Pittsburgh Pirates phenom and reigning NL Rookie of the...
Pirates transfer rehab assignments of 1B Spencer Horwitz, RHP Dauri Moreta to Triple-A
The Pittsburgh Pirates assigned first baseman Spencer Horwitz and right-hander Dauri Moreta to Triple-A Indianapolis on Tuesday afternoon as part of their injury rehabilitation. Both players have yet to make their 2025 big-league debuts. Horwitz, 27, missed all of spring training after undergoing offseason wrist surgery. On April 27, he...
PNC Park employee suspended after fight with fan
A PNC Park employee was suspended after fighting with a fan after Sunday’s Pirates game. As fans were leaving the North Shore ballpark, an argument broke out between two male fans and a female food and beverage employee, said Brian Warecki, senior vice president of communications for the Pittsburgh Pirates....
Mark Madden: Ending Pirates’ 6-year reign of error would change nothing
Among those dumb enough to still care about the Pittsburgh Pirates, there’s a big clamor to fire GM Ben Cherington and manager Derek Shelton. Cherington and Shelton should get sacked. The citizens are correct. But doing so changes nothing. Whoever replaces Cherington and Shelton would be the next Cherington and...
Pirates’ Oneil Cruz picks up 1st career outfield assist with 100 mph laser to home plate
So far this season, the “Cruz missiles” managed by Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder Oneil Cruz have come exclusively in the batter’s box via his team-leading eight home runs. However, Cruz’s ability to barrel the baseball is matched by an exceptionally strong arm, which he demonstrated often at shortstop before switching positions...
TV Talk: ‘Poker Face’ returns, references infamous Pirates no-hitterVideo
Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen offers a viewing tip for the coming week. Peacock streaming series “Poker Face” returns May 8 with the first three episodes of its second season. (After that, one new episode releases weekly on Thursdays through July 10.) In this week’s season premiere, Charlie...
Cardinals plate 4 off Chase Shugart in 6th, hand Pirates 5th straight loss
If there’s any hope of the Pittsburgh Pirates getting things back on track this year following a putrid start to the season, it’ll have to begin with a single win. Monday night in St. Louis offered the latest opportunity to initiate some sort of reversal of fortunes. Entering first pitch...
Tim Benz: Home woes, offensive ineptitude have Derek Shelton searching for answers
The Pittsburgh Pirates’ 4-0 shutout loss at home Sunday to the San Diego Padres was notable for a lot of reasons. • It plunged the Pirates to 12-23 (.343). That’s the third-worst record in Major League Baseball. • It’s the Bucs’ fourth loss in a row and their eighth in...
‘This homestand was tough’: Pirates search for answers to understand struggles at PNC Park
The Pittsburgh Pirates were searching for answers after losing five times in a six-game homestand and being swept by the San Diego Padres. Derek Shelton didn’t have many to offer Sunday. So, the Pirates manager simply took the following question and turned it around: How tough was this homestand, and...
Pirates farm report for May 4, 2025: Esmerlyn Valdez’s 2 homers help Grasshoppers sweep doubleheader
INDIANAPOLIS (Triple-A, 16-15) lost 8-1 to Omaha (Royals). LF Jack Suwinski (.300) was 1 for 3 with an RBI. RF Ji Hwan Bae (.271) was 1 for 4 with a run scored and extended his on-base streak to 17 games. 3B Malcom Nunez (.314) was 4 for 4. 2B Nick...
Offense comes up empty as Padres shut out Pirates to complete 3-game series sweep
The Pittsburgh Pirates’ offense hit another low Sunday afternoon, when a 28-year-old pitcher who was an undrafted free agent held them scoreless for 5 1/3 innings in his first major league start. The Pirates looked hapless against San Diego right-hander Stephen Kolek in a 4-0 loss to the Padres, who...
Amid slow start, GM Ben Cherington says Pirates need to be urgent but ‘not in a rush’
When asked about a stretch in which the Pittsburgh Pirates lost seven of nine games, Ben Cherington resorted to using a line the Pirates general manager admits he stole: You need to be urgent every day and not in a rush. The Pirates (12-22) had fallen 10 games below .500...
Pirates reinstate RHP Dennis Santana, option RHP Kyle Nicolas to Triple-A Indianapolis
The Pittsburgh Pirates reinstated right-handed reliever Dennis Santana from the bereavement list, providing a boost to the back end of their bullpen. Santana, 29, has a 1.46 ERA, 0.89 WHIP and three saves in 12 1/3 innings over 13 appearances this season, serving as the de facto closer when two-time...
Pirates farm report for May 3, 2025: Hunter Barco’s scoreless streak reaches 26 1/3 innings for Curve
INDIANAPOLIS (Triple-A, 16-14) fell 5-1 to Omaha (Royals). RF Ji Hwan Bae (.272), 2B Nick Yorke (.250), LF Billy Cook (.182), SS Alika Williams (.224), PH Abrahan Gutierrez (.333) and PH Malcom Nunez (.293) each had a single. CF Jack Suwinski (.296) was 0 for 3. RHP Carson Fulmer (1-3,...
Fernando Tatis Jr. rallies Padres in 9th to beat Pirates, who lose 7th in last 9 games
The Pittsburgh Pirates continue to lose in unfathomable fashion, and their latest fiasco happened before they could even blink. Fernando Tatis Jr. led off the ninth inning with a hustle double, stole third base and broke for home on a dirt-ball read as the San Diego Padres staged a dramatic...
Pirates place SS Isiah Kiner-Falefa on IL, select veteran RHP Tanner Rainey to boost bullpen
The Pittsburgh Pirates continued to shuffle their shortstops and bullpen Saturday, when they placed Isiah Kiner-Falefa on the 10-day injured list with a right hamstring strain and selected the contract of right-handed reliever Tanner Rainey from Triple-A Indianapolis. Kiner-Falefa’s injury is retroactive to May 1. Jared Triolo is scheduled to...
