Pittsburgh Pirates shortstop Jordy Mercer turns 30 Saturday, and he decided to give himself an early birthday present: a grand slam, which came in the six inning off Milwaukee Brewers starter Matt Garza. It was Mercer's 10th homer of the season. Mercer's blast helped the Pirates (65-61) secure a 5-3 victory over the Brewers. Garza (4-6, 4.89 ERA) had Mercer in an 0-2 count before the grand slam. This season, Alex Dickerson, Seth Smith and Adam Eaton are the only other Major League players ... Read More
Pirates end Miller Park skid in extra innings
Andrew McCutchen provided all of the offense the Pittsburgh Pirates needed in a 10-inning 3-2 road victory against the Milwaukee Brewers Friday night. This win snapped a nine-game losing streak dating back to July 17, 2015 for the Pirates at Miller Park. Miller Park has not been friendly to the Pirates, who are 41-88 at a place which can be called unfriendly confines. McCutchen started with a first-inning solo home run on a two-out, 3-2 slider over the left field wall. This home run, ... Read More
Nova leads Pirates’ effort in 7-1 win vs. Astros
Starting pitcher Ivan Nova threw his first complete game since Sept. 21, 2013, and the Pittsburgh Pirates (63-60) ended a four-game losing streak, defeating the Houston Astros (65-61) 7-1 Tuesday night. Nova dominated the Astros, throwing 25 (of 33) first pitch strikes, getting 13 ground balls and 16 batters out on three pitches or fewer. “The command of my pitches worked well,” Nova said. “I was working ahead in the count to almost every hitter, and I was getting a lot of quick ... Read More
Pirates fail to capitalize on Taillon’s outing
Pittsburgh Pirates Jameson Taillon threw a season-high eight innings but came away with a 3-1 loss to his hometown Houston Astros. Taillon (3-3) allowed two runs on four hits in the eight innings and added eight strikeouts. This is Taillon's first loss since July 30, as he allowed four earned runs in 20 innings his past three starts, good for a 1.80 ERA. The difference in this game was a 3-1 fifth-inning fastball Teoscar Hernandez hit into the left-field seats for his third home run of ... Read More
Marlins top Pirates to sweep weekend series
For a second time this season, Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Ryan Vogelsong was down on the ground after not getting a bunt attempt down. This time the result was not as dramatic as Vogelsong fouled a ball on the bunt and was immediately checked on by head athletic trainer Todd Tomczyk and manager Clint Hurdle. "I asked him at the plate if he was good to put it down, and he said he would get it down," Hurdle said. "He's been gritty ever since he's shown up. He's a tough ... Read More
GM Huntington: “Triple-A is a place no one wants to be”
Predictably, prospect Josh Bell and pitcher Gerrit Cole were popular topics when Pittsburgh Pirates general manager Neal Huntington spoke to media Sunday. Below are some highlights of said press conference. On whether Bell's promotion had been planned or was in reaction to Kang's injury: “David Freese is now going to be the third baseman, and that opens up some at-bats at first base. Clint will make the decision on a daily basis with what gives him the best lineup to win that night. We ... Read More
Defensively, Pirates’ Bell a continued work in progress
Sunday afternoon against the Pittsburgh Pirates, the Miami Marlins will be looking for their first sweep of the season since July 7-9 against the Cincinnati Reds. In Game One of this series against the Pirates, the Marlins prevailed in a seesaw game by a 6-5 score. And Saturday, Miami won again 3-1 behind six innings of shutout baseball from starting pitcher David Phelps. Sunday's game concludes a seven-game road trip for the Marlins — while the Pirates are looking to end this skid going ... Read More
Phelps golden against Pirates
Miami Marlins starting pitcher David Phelps was too much for the Pittsburgh Pirates' offense to handle, and the road team came away with a 3-1 victory Saturday night at PNC Park. Phelps, who tied a career-high with nine strikeouts, allowed two hits in six scoreless innings, good for a game score of 77. Phelps' strong pitching meant, for the first time, that the Pirates (62-58) lost a game started by Chad Kuhl. He had 10 ground ball outs while allowing three runs (two earned) on five hits ... Read More
Back-and-forth game vs. Marlins doesn’t end Pirates’ way
Reliever Felipe Rivero hadn't allowed a run in 8.2 innings for the Pittsburgh Pirates (62-57), but that all changed Friday night. Up 5-3 heading into eighth inning, Rivero gave up a home run to the Miami Marlins' Miguel Rojas and a game-tying RBI single to Christian Yelich. An inning later, Robert Andino hit an RBI single off Pittsburgh reliever Neftali Feliz that proved to be the game-winning run. The Marlins (63-59) won the game, 6-5. It was a back-and-forth game, one the Pirates were ... Read More
McCutchen powers Pirates’ fifth inning rally
Wednesday afternoon featured a pitching matchup between Ivan Nova and Matt Cain, and the Pittsburgh Pirates (62-56) came away with a 6-5 victory over the San Francisco Giants (66-54) to ensure a series sweep. Pittsburgh's Nova (9-6, 4.83 ERA) pitched well, allowing four runs on six hits in four innings. The former Yankee who the Pirates acquired around the trade deadline threw 62 pitches — and 42 of those were strikes. On the other side, for the Giants, Cain (4-8, 5.81 ERA) looked good early ... Read More