Pirates/MLB category, Page 4
Paul Skenes sparkles in final start of season as Pirates top Reds in 11 innings
Pittsburgh Pirates ace Paul Skenes missed out on earning his 11th win of the season Wednesday night in Cincinnati at the Great American Ball Park, but the Pirates did continue to spoil the Reds’ playoff hopes. After Skenes threw six shutout innings for his 14th outing of the season without...
Mark Madden: A reminder of better days, Andrew McCutchen belongs with Pirates
Andrew McCutchen wants to keep playing baseball, presumably for the Pittsburgh Pirates. That had better be the case, anyway. There’s little demand for 38-year-old designated hitters with zero mobility beyond markets where they can sell interest, hype, some merchandise and a few tickets as a nostalgia act. For McCutchen, that’s...
Hunter Barco gets win in MLB debut as Pirates beat Reds for 3rd straight victory
Pittsburgh Pirates left-hander Hunter Barco took a few steps out of the bullpen at the Great American Ball Park on Tuesday and took the opportunity to look around. “I was like, ‘Whoa, all right. We’re here,’” Barco said on the SportsNet Pittsburgh postgame show. Barco, who is the Pirates’ fourth-ranked...
Pirates select contract of LHP pitcher Hunter Barco, club’s No. 4 overall prospect
The Pittsburgh Pirates selected the contract of 24-year-old left-handed pitcher Hunter Barco on Tuesday, setting the stage for a late-season MLB debut by their No. 4 overall prospect. Barco, splitting this season between Double-A and Triple-A, has gone a combined 4-1 with a 2.81 ERA in 99 1/3 innings, with...
After getting the ‘better’ surgery, Pirates righty Jared Jones thrilled to be throwing again
When doctors couldn’t get good imaging of the backside of his elbow to determine the damage to his ulnar collateral ligament, Jared Jones wasn’t sure what type of surgery lay ahead. The Pittsburgh Pirates right-hander didn’t know whether he would need reconstruction of his right elbow, the preferable InternalBrace or...
Baseball America names Pirates prospect Konnor Griffin its Minor League Player of Year
Baseball America announced Monday that it has named Pittsburgh Pirates shortstop prospect Konnor Griffin its 2025 Minor League Player of the Year, a first for an Altoona Curve player. The 19-year-old Griffin, who was selected ninth overall in 2024, batted .333/.415/.527 with 23 doubles, four triples, 21 home runs, 94...
Learning to lead: Pirates believe Paul Skenes has earned the equity to be outspoken star
Paul Skenes returned from a recent road trip and discovered his locker had been moved to a more prominent spot in the Pittsburgh Pirates clubhouse, just across from franchise icon Andrew McCutchen. It was designed to give Skenes more space but also served as a not-so-subtle message that the 23-year-old...
‘We’ll see what happens’: Andrew McCutchen noncommittal about future with Pirates
As the crowd applauded in appreciation, Andrew McCutchen tipped his batting helmet before what might have been his final at-bat for the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park. A franchise icon who ranks among the club’s all-time leaders in most major offensive categories, McCutchen also is aware that he is a...
Pirates farm report for Sept. 21, 2025: Nelson Velázquez’s homer seals season finale win for Indy
INDIANAPOLIS (Triple-A, 87-62) topped Gwinnett (Braves), 6-4, in the season finale. RF Nelson Velazquez (.234) was 3 for 5 with a two-run homer, double and three RBIs. LF Sammy Siani (.261) was 2 for 5 with two RBIs and a run scored. CF Jase Bowen (.294), DH Nick Solak (.332)...
Jared Triolo, Joey Bart come up big with bats as Pirates pound A’s for shutout in home finale
The Pittsburgh Pirates had scored a combined total of 10 runs in their previous five games, causing manager Don Kelly to repeatedly call their inability to drive in runners the team’s Achilles’ heel. Perhaps they were saving it for the home finale. Spurred by Jared Triolo and Joey Bart, who...
Pirates farm report for Sept. 20, 2025: Ji Hwan Bae collects 4 hits in Indianapolis win
INDIANAPOLIS (Triple-A, 86-62) defeated Gwinnett (Braves), 5-3. RHP Po-Yu Chen (2-0, 0.66) started and went five innings, allowing one run on seven hits with two walks and four strikeouts to earn the win. RHP Brandan Bidois (0.00) threw 1⅓ no-hit innings to earn his second save and run his scoreless...
Bubba Chandler, Braxton Ashcraft combine for 12 strikeouts as Pirates shut out Athletics
The Pittsburgh Pirates had lost 12 of their past 13 games entering their penultimate home game of the season, but Bubba Chandler had the perfect remedy to stop the skid: bring the heat. The 23-year-old rookie right-hander fired four-seam fastballs at the Athletics, topping triple digits eight times in striking...
‘A blessing to be back here’: Kavan Markwood throws out 1st pitch at PNC Park nearly 5 months after falling from Clemente WallVideo
As Kavan Markwood walked out to the pitcher’s mound, he couldn’t help but steal a glance toward right field at PNC Park and get flashbacks from his fall over the 21-foot Clemente Wall on April 30. “Every time I looked that way I see…,” Markwood told TribLive, his voice trailing...
Despite disappointing season, Ben Cherington operating with plans to return as Pirates GM
In a season that started with the proclamation by chairman Bob Nutting that the Pittsburgh Pirates “need to win more,” they instead clinched a seventh consecutive losing season and are careening toward 90 losses. Yet when Ben Cherington was asked Saturday afternoon in the news conference room at PNC Park...
Pirates farm report for Sept. 19, 2025: Altoona’s season ends with loss to Erie
INDIANAPOLIS (Triple-A, 85-62) doubled up Gwinnett (Braves), 12-6. SS Liover Peguero (.251) went 2 for 4 with his sixth homer, a three-run shot, two walks and three runs scored. 1B Jase Bowen (.280) went 1 for 4 with a three-run homer, his third. RF Nelson Velazquez (.223) went 2 for...
Jacob Wilson’s web gem helps A’s preserve 1-run lead, hand Pirates 5th consecutive defeat
When former Pirates shortstop Jack Wilson threw out the ceremonial first pitch to Athletics shortstop Jacob Wilson, it recreated a moment of nostalgia from almost 19 years ago to the day at PNC Park. On Sept. 16, 2006, 4-year-old Jacob threw out the first pitch to his father. On Friday...
Pirates ace Paul Skenes sweeps team’s MVP, top pitchers awards, as voted by BBWAA
Paul Skenes got an early start on what should be a busy awards circuit, as the Pittsburgh Pirates ace swept the top two team honors. Skenes was named Friday the recipient of the 2025 Roberto Clemente Award for Team MVP and the Steve Blass Award for best pitcher, as voted...
Pirates’ Spencer Horwitz continues strong 2nd half of season at plate
When he finally suited up for his first game with the Pittsburgh Pirates on May 17, Spencer Horwitz was chomping at the bit to contribute. Because of wrist surgery in late March, Horwitz’s Pirates debut was delayed approximately six weeks after the club had traded for him Dec. 10, a...
Pirates farm report for Sept. 19, 2025: Altoona drops Game 2 of series despite 2 hits from Konnor Griffin
INDIANAPOLIS (Triple-A, 84-62) doubled up Gwinnett (Braves), 6-3. RF nelson Velazquez (.218) went 1 for 4 with a two-run homer, his 10th. C Brett Sullivan (.197) went 2 for 3 with a double, run scored and two RBIs. 1B Nick Solak (.33) ) went 2 for 4 with two runs...
On Sports: Ex-Steelers punter makes impact for Bills; Penguins’ core 4 reunion on tap; Pirates rank at bottom of MLB homers
In Friday’s “On Sports,” we look at an impactful play from the Buffalo Bills-Miami Dolphins game featuring a former Pittsburgh Steelers player. One local coach appears in the odds for the next coach to be fired, while another former local coach makes his debut in a new job. We also...
Pirates’ Rafael Flores gives glimpse of hard-hitting future on 1st major league hit
Rafael Flores had turned his first major-league at-bat into a battle, working seven pitches against Matthew Boyd in the second inning before the Chicago Cubs left-hander fooled him with a full-count changeup that sent Flores down swinging for a strikeout. “I wasn’t expecting a 3-2 changeup there,” Flores said. “I...
Pirates farm report for Sept. 17, 2025: Reliever Brandan Bidois runs scoreless innings streak to 20
INDIANAPOLIS (Triple-A, 83-62) managed just two singles in a 5-0 loss to Gwinnett (Braves). RF Jase Bowen (.268) and 1B Jesus Castillo (.167) each went 1 for 3. RHP Beau Burrows (1-2, 6.20) started a bullpen game for Indy, giving up two runs on one hit in 1⅓ innings to...
Cubs take advantage of Pirates errors for series sweep, clinch postseason berth
The Pittsburgh Pirates were hoping to avoid watching the Chicago Cubs celebrate a series sweep and clinch a postseason berth at PNC Park. They provided a three-run response to a disastrous four-run first inning, then tied the score in the second inning with a bases-loaded walk. But the Pirates couldn’t...
Injured Pirates RHP Jared Jones progresses with rehab, remains on original recovery timeline
Jared Jones’ ultra competitive nature is easy to spot because of his demeanor on and off the mound. Naturally, watching his 2025 campaign end before it ever got away as a result of elbow surgery was not an easy pill to swallow for the 24-year-old Pittsburgh Pirates righty. Jones, while...
Pirates activate RHP Yohan Ramirez from paternity leave list, option RHP Cam Sanders to Triple-A
Ahead of their Wednesday afternoon series finale at home vs. Chicago, the Pittsburgh Pirates reinstated righty reliever Yohan Ramirez from the paternity leave list. In a corresponding transaction before first pitch between the Pirates and Cubs, fellow righty Cam Sanders was optioned to Triple-A Indianapolis. Ramirez, 30, is 1-2 with...
