Pittsburgh Pirates / MLB category, Page 86
Pirates activate righty Roansy Contreras, option lefty Jose Hernandez to Triple-A
Ahead of their series finale Sunday at the Miami Marlins, the Pittsburgh Pirates made a handful of roster moves, activating right-handed pitcher Roansy Contreras from the MLB paternity leave list and optioning lefty Jose Hernandez to Triple-A Indianapolis. Contreras, 24, went 0-2 with a 5.65 ERA over seven Spring Training...
‘We should be excited’: Sizzling debuts by Paul Skenes, Jared Jones look promising for Pirates
Before Jared Jones made his major-league debut Saturday, he drew inspiration by watching a minor-league game. Jones saw Paul Skenes top triple digits on a dozen fastballs and strike out five of the nine batters he faced in three perfect innings against Louisville in his debut for Triple-A Indianapolis. “I...
Jared Jones strikes out 10 in MLB debut as Pirates beat Marlins, improve to 3-0
Jared Jones promised to shove in his major-league debut for the Pittsburgh Pirates, and the 22-year-old right-hander exceeded expectations against the Miami Marlins. Jones recorded 10 strikeouts — one shy of the franchise record for a debut — while allowing three runs on three hits and two walks in 51⁄3...
Pirates farm report: Despite perfect start from Paul Skenes, Indianapolis falls to 0-2
INDIANAPOLIS (Triple-A, 0-2) lost 4-3 to Louisville (Reds). RHP Paul Skenes made his first Triple-A start and pitched three perfect innings with five strikeouts. He hit 100 mph on the radar gun on 12 of the 46 pitches he threw. Veteran LHP Eric Lauer came on in relief and allowed...
Pirates top prospect Paul Skenes perfect in 3 innings in Triple-A debut for Indianapolis
Paul Skenes’ Triple-A debut was short but perfect. The 6-foot-6, 250-pound right-hander, selected by the Pittsburgh Pirates with the No. 1 overall pick of the 2023 MLB Draft, struck out five of the nine batters he faced and didn’t allow a baserunner in three innings Saturday afternoon for the Indianapolis...
‘Calm in a crucial spot’: Pirates reliever Ryder Ryan impressive in earning 1st MLB win
After making the Opening Day roster, Ryder Ryan was excited to make his Pittsburgh Pirates debut. Instead, he watched and waited through a 12-inning game in the season opener at Miami. When Ryan got the bullpen call in the fifth inning against the Marlins on Friday night, the 28-year-old right-hander...
Pirates farm report for March 29, 2024: Nick Gonzales homers in Indy’s opener
INDIANAPOLIS (Triple-A, 0-1) lost 9-8 in its season opener against Louisville (Reds). 2B Nick Gonzales went 2 for 5 with a home run. 1B Jake Lamb went 1 for 5 and homered in the top of the ninth to bring Indy within a run. RHP Colin Holderman, on a rehab...
Pirates practice patience early in drawing walks, use timely hits to beat Marlins
After striking out 17 times in the season opener, the Pittsburgh Pirates found it better not to swing against the Miami Marlins. The Pirates were content to wait and see if closer-turned-starter A.J. Puk could throw strikes, which the 6-foot-7 left-hander struggled to do with any consistency. After allowing only...
Pirates trade injured pitcher JT Brubaker to Yankees
The Pittsburgh Pirates made a surprise move Friday, trading right-handed pitcher JT Brubaker and international bonus pool money to the New York Yankees for a player to be named later. A 2015 sixth-round draft pick from Akron, the 6-foot-3, 180-pound Brubaker avoided his second year of arbitration by signing for...
Mark Madden: Pirates could try to be a real baseball team, but they don’t have to
The Pirates have the most interesting psychology, if that’s how to put it, of any Pittsburgh sports franchise. Perhaps of any team on the continent. The Pirates are the little engine that could but won’t. They’re a perpetual underdog with a great ballpark and hot dogs piled with pierogis and...
Tim Benz: Pirates’ tension-packed season-opener feels like a forecast of what’s to come
The reaction of Pittsburgh Pirates manager Derek Shelton was one of bemused relief when he was asked a question following his team’s exhausting 6-5 season-opening win over the Miami Marlins. Is this how it’s going to be for his team all year? “Ha! I hope not,” Shelton said via the...
Luis Ortiz, Jose Hernadez shine in extra innings as bullpen boosts Pirates to Opening Day win
Jose Hernandez threw the 0-2 slider, then spun around to watch it when Bryan De La Cruz drove it deep to right field before it landed in the glove of Bryan Reynolds at the warning track. Hernandez punched his glove then pumped his left fist in the air to celebrate...
Jared Triolo delivers winning RBI in 12th, Jose Hernandez earns save as Pirates win opener
The Pittsburgh Pirates got an extra-inning win on Opening Day thanks to a hit by a player in his first season opener and a save by a pitcher who wasn’t even supposed to be on the active roster. Jared Triolo singled in the winning run in the top of the...
Henry Davis earns Opening Day start at catcher for Pirates, Connor Joe to bat leadoff at Marlins
Henry Davis, the No. 1 overall pick of the 2021 MLB Draft, will make the first start behind the plate of his major league career Thursday for the Pittsburgh Pirates on Opening Day in Miami. Davis is one of two Pirates players, along with second baseman Jared Triolo, making their...
Pirates DFA Canaan Smith-Njigba, 2 others to make Opening Day roster room for pitchers
In the span of a year, Canaan Smith-Njigba went from starting in right field for the Pittsburgh Pirates on Opening Day at Cincinnati to being designated for assignment to make room on the active roster. Smith-Njigba was one of three casualties to clear 40-man roster space before Thursday’s season opener...
Tim Benz: Going over on Pirates’ win total this year is a tough call — and that’s a good thing
Projecting a win total for the 2024 Pittsburgh Pirates is difficult, because there is a significant amount of uncertainty over how good or bad this year’s version of the team will be. Strangely, that’s … encouraging? Actually, it really is. After all, in recent seasons, so little has been expected...
U mad, bro?: Still more on Kenny Pickett trade; venting about the state of Steelers, Penguins, Pirates
You didn’t think one week was enough for Pittsburgh to properly expel all of its emotions over the Kenny Pickett trade, did you? Plus, the Penguins are bad, and another season of expected failure for the Pirates is on the horizon. That’s what this week’s “U mad, bro?” is all...
Kevin Gorman’s Take 5: Despite poor projections, Pirates plan to surprise people
For all of the focus on their shortcomings at the start of spring training, the Pittsburgh Pirates are out to prove something to their naysayers: They are going to surprise people this season. After back-to-back 100-loss campaigns, the Pirates stunned the baseball world by starting 2023 with the best record...
300 game: Pirates star Andrew McCutchen starts season sitting 1 home run shy of milestone
After a season of meeting milestones — his 2,000th hit, 1,000th walk and 400th double — Andrew McCutchen came up one short of joining the 300-home run club last year. The Pittsburgh Pirates designated hitter, a five-time All Star, four-time Silver Slugger and 2013 NL MVP, is sitting at 299...
Previewing the Pirates: Mitch Keller tops starting rotation that awaits Paul Skenes’ arrival
For as much as Derek Shelton loves to play coy about his Opening Day lineup, the Pittsburgh Pirates were only a week into spring training when the manager revealed Mitch Keller would be the starting pitcher. Of course, that news was revealed on the heels of Keller agreeing to a...
Previewing the Pirates: Adding Aroldis Chapman boosts bullpen led by David Bednar
The Pittsburgh Pirates had the most efficient closer in baseball last season, as two-time All-Star David Bednar led the majors by converting 93% of his save opportunities. What stood out about their bullpen, however, was how many relievers thrived in high-leverage situations: Sinkerballer Colin Holderman ranked ninth in MLB in...
Previewing the Pirates: Michael A. Taylor cements CF, Edward Olivares adds OF depth
The Pittsburgh Pirates played a game of musical chairs in their outfield in spring training, trying multiple players in center field in an effort to improve their defense before settling on one with a Gold Glove. The late-spring signing of Michael A. Taylor cemented center field but caused more movement,...
Jake Lamb’s 2-run single lifts Pirates past the Blue Jays in Grapefruit League finale
Pittsburgh Pirates general manager Ben Cherington has found that spring training can have bookends to the conversations he has at its start and before making Opening Day roster decisions. Cherington didn’t know Jake Lamb personally before this spring, but the 33-year-old corner infielder/outfielder made quite the impression on the Pirates,...
Jared Jones wins spot in starting rotation, Luis Ortiz in bulk role as Pirates make final cuts
That the sensation of spring training for the Pittsburgh Pirates was a right-handed pitcher they drafted and developed was no surprise. But Jared Jones kept checking boxes to earn a spot in the starting rotation. That the 22-year-old Jones, a 2020 second-round pick, made the club and 2023 No. 1...
Lefty Martin Perez throws 3 scoreless innings in final spring start, but Yankees beat Pirates
Martin Perez was warming up in the bullpen when he heard familiar voices calling for him. It was the Pittsburgh Pirates left-hander’s daughter and son, who were present for his final start of spring training. Having his family there for support was a sign Perez is ready for the start...
