Francisco Liriano threw 7.2 innings and reached 200 strikeouts as the Pittsburgh Pirates defeated the Chicago Cubs, 4-0. Hitters came in batting .100 with two strikes against Liriano [12-7], and in this game, Cubs batters were 0-for-16. By reaching 200 strikeouts, Liriano is one away from tying a career-high set in 2010 with the Minnesota Twins. The victory secures the Pirates a series win and a 5.5 game lead for the top spot in the National League Wild Card race over the Cubs. Much of the ... Read More
Pirates clinch third straight playoff berth
Merry Clinchmas, Pirates fans. September 23 has been a good day for the Pittsburgh Pirates, as they've clinched their playoff spot on that day in each of the last three years. This season, the Pirates defeated the Colorado Rockies by a 13-7 score to punch their ticket to the postseason. Neil Walker went 4-for-5 at the plate, hitting his 15th home run of the season in the third inning, while also batting in a career-high six runs. The Pirates had a total of 19 hits in the game. As far as ... Read More
Pirates use two-out scoring, bullpen to earn victory
Aramis Ramirez slid safely into third base for his first triple since Aug. 2, 2014 and his Pittsburgh Pirates teammates were grinning ear-to-ear. Why were they smiling? For one Ramirez is not known for his speed, and secondly, the Pirates scored all of their runs on two-out hitting, with this fourth inning triple being one of those runs. The Pirates used this to defeat the Colorado Rockies by a 6-3 score Tuesday night reducing their magic number to one game. If the Pirates win Wednesday or ... Read More
Pirates best Rockies to open four-game series
Starling Marte fell a triple short of hitting for the cycle as the Pittsburgh Pirates won 9-3 Monday night against the Colorado Rockies. Marte started with a first inning home run, his second in as many games. The ball left the bat at 106 miles-per-hour and quickly departed into the left field seats. The homer, hit off Jon Gray [0-2], was his 18th of the season. Jordy Mercer came into the contest hitting .185 in the month of September but after Andrew McCutchen caught the 27th and final ... Read More
Marte making case for Gold Glove
The Pittsburgh Pirates almost definitely have the fastest outfield in the major leagues, but they're also making a case to have the best arms as well, especially Starling Marte. While Gregory Polanco has also recently showed off his arm, making runners think twice about tagging up on him, Marte has shown the range and arm, which puts eyes on him at all times. “Sitting out there in the bullpen when the game is going on, whatever ball is hit to Marte, it’s almost exciting to see what he’s ... Read More
Pirates maintain wild card lead; Melancon makes history
The pressure was on the Pittsburgh Pirates as a loss would result in a drop to third place in the National League Central. Instead, the Pirates defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers Saturday night by a 3-2 score. It has not been an easy week for the Pirates as the team lost four in a row and could not defeat Jon Lester, Jake Arrieta and Zack Greinke. Saturday, the Pirates drew Clayton Kershaw. An eighth inning Aramis Ramirez double, allowed for the Pirates to defeat Kershaw [14-7]. Kershaw ... Read More
Pirates lose opener to Dodgers; lead over Cubs down to one game
The Los Angeles Dodgers have defended Dodgers Stadium well all season and did so once again on Friday night, winning 6-2 over the Pittsburgh Pirates. The loss snapped a six-game winning streak that the Pirates had over L.A. and dropped them to 21-6 against National League West opponents this season. Early inning woes again reared their head again as the Dodgers scored single runs in both the first and second inning of the contest. Pirates catchers have had trouble getting runners out ... Read More
Pirates ‘Camera Guy’ finds decades of perfect shots
Chances are strong that most fans have seen Walt Srocki every night they've been to PNC Park. The name may not be known by all, but the face certainly is. For 28 seasons, Srocki has been a fixture at the ballpark. He is recognized as the man who wears a No. 0 "Camera Guy" jersey at every game. He had his own shirt made, as well as a trading card, which may be used as a Topps insert next season. Outside of camera work, Srocki has a passion for art, particularly painting, mainly influenced ... Read More
Pirates allow six runs in fifth; lose to Cubs
Scoring four or more runs is normally a winning recipe for the Pittsburgh Pirates as the team entered play 69-13 when accomplishing this, however the Chicago Cubs were able to overcome this for a 9-6 victory Sunday afternoon. “If you come on the short end you want other teams to beat you," manager Clint Hurdle said. "We continued to get in our way. We didn’t play a very good game and we’ve been outplayed these past three games.” The game's result also was coupled with a left knee injury ... Read More
Report: Kang lost for season with left knee injury
Pirates infielder Jung Ho Kang will miss the rest of the 2015 season with multiple injuries to his left knee and leg, according to a report by Josh Yohe of DKPittsburghSports.com Kang's agent, Alan Nero, also released a statement through the team on his client's behalf this evening: "It is unfortunate that what would be considered heads up baseball would cause such a serious injury. That said, Coghlan was playing the game the way it should be played. I’m confident he meant no harm. I ... Read More