The Pittsburgh Pirates game into Wednesday night's game, the 138th of the regular season, without a grand slam. One swing of Jung Ho Kang's bat in the sixth inning changed that, and his first career grand slam led the Pirates to victory over the Cincinnati Reds. On the mound, J.A. Happ also continued his string of success, allowing two runs over six innings while striking out a season-high 10 batters. It was the first time he struck out 10 or more batters since Aug. 7, 2014. Despite all of ... Read More
Liriano dominates Reds; Pirates secure winning season
Francisco Liriano picked up his first ever regular season victory against the Cincinnati Reds as the Pittsburgh Pirates emerged victorious in a 7-3 contest Tuesday night. Liriano [10-7] threw six innings and struck out 10 batters, the first time he has punched out a double-digit total of hitters since July 23 against the Washington Nationals. This is also Liriano's fourth 10-win season of his career. According to Pirates PR with Liriano's 10 strikeouts he has 178 on the season. He joins ... Read More
Burnett makes return to Pirates rotation Thursday
Following Monday afternoon's loss to the Cincinnati Reds, Pittsburgh Pirates manager Clint Hurdle announced that A.J. Burnett will return to pitch for the team Thursday against the Milwaukee Brewers. Hurdle laid out the rotation for assembled media and this was later confirmed by the Pirates. Francisco Liriano and J.A. Happ will throw as scheduled in the remaining two games against the Reds and Burnett will follow along with Charlie Morton and Jeff Locke. This news means a few ... Read More
Pirates miscues give Reds win
The Pittsburgh Pirates defense betrayed Jeff Locke, as the team fell by a 3-1 loss to the Cincinnati Reds Monday afternoon. Locke [7-10] only allowed four hits in his five-plus innings of work, however the Pirates defense did him no favors committing four errors in this game. Two of those errors were committed by Sean Rodriguez who made his first start this season at shortstop. Though Rodriguez takes ground balls at the position every day there is on-field batting practice, he committed ... Read More
Cole’s pitching helps Pirates cause in series win
It was 13 years ago when Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Gerrit Cole sat in the stands of Angel Stadium rooting for John Lackey to win game seven of the 2002 World Series for the then Anaheim Angels. Fast forward to Sunday night and Cole was pitching against Lackey. The Pirates defeated the Cardinals 7-1 to earn a series sweep. In fact, Cole [16-8] hit a single off Lackey [11-9] in the top of the seventh inning which placed the Pirates in front by two runs. It was Cole's first RBI in 2015 and ... Read More
Pirates offense quiet in 4-1 loss to Cardinals
The Pittsburgh Pirates saw its chances for a sweep end Saturday afternoon with a 4-1 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals. Charlie Morton [8-7] saw all of his damage come in a second inning at-bat against Stephen Piscotty. Piscotty singled on the play and Josh Harrison was given a throwing error. The combination of the two things allowed for two runs to score. Morton was charged with one earned run as a result of this sequence. Jaime Garcia [8-4] was making his first start of the season against ... Read More
Happ dominant in Pirates victory
The last time the Pittsburgh Pirates traveled to face the St. Louis Cardinals, J.A. Happ's turn was skipped in the rotation. This was partially because of past performance against the Cardinals, but also recent struggles at the time. Friday night, Happ struck out eight batters in seven scoreless innings as the Pirates won by a 9-3 score Friday night. Happ [4-1] was 1-8 with a 6.79 ERA in 10 career starts against the Cardinals coming into the start. His appearance tonight marked the first ... Read More
Pirates division title hopes waning after sweep by Brewers
The Pittsburgh Pirates were swept for the sixth time this season after losing 5-3 Thursday night to the Milwaukee Brewers. This is the second second-half sweep for the Brewers against the Pirates. This is the first time since June 20, that the Pirates have lost a game started by Francisco Liriano. Liriano [9-7] allowed four runs on seven hits in five innings. Domingo Santana recorded a double and Jason Rogers, who walked in the at-bat prior, advanced to third base. Hernan Perez hit a ... Read More
Locke, Pirates continue struggles versus NL Central
Coming into Wednesday night's start against the Milwaukee Brewers, Jeff Locke had made two quality starts since June 17. After departing the start, Locke still had two quality starts since June 17 as the Pittsburgh Pirates lost 9-4 to the Brewers. Locke pitched 3.2 innings, matching his shortest outing of the season, which previously came April 28 against the Chicago Cubs. Additionally, relievers Joe Blanton and Arquimedes Caminero saw their scoreless streaks come to an end. Blanton ... Read More
Cole fails to reach fifth inning in Pirates loss
Fans who turned on the television saw what has been a constant at Miller Park as the Pittsburgh Pirates fell by a 7-4 score Tuesday night against the Milwaukee Brewers. Gerrit Cole [15-8] allowed four first-inning runs and lasted four innings, his shortest outing since June 28, 2014 when he also pitched four innings. The victory is the 94th overall and fifth this season by the Brewers against the Pirates at Miller Park. In the bottom of the first inning, the first four batters reached ... Read More