The Pittsburgh Pirates still have roster decisions to make, but pitcher Clayton Richard made his intentions clear Wednesday; he wants to stay with the team. When the Pirates signed Richard to a minor league contract with an invitation to Spring Training, he had an opt out clause Tuesday and opted not to use it. This spring, Richard has a 1-1 record with a 3.12 ERA in 8.2 innings. Richard has been considered to be a 'reclamation project' by many however under pitching coach Ray Searage and ... Read More
Pirates outfield considered among the best in 2015
Many have wondered which of the Pittsburgh Pirates trio of outfielders is the fastest. It was an idea tossed around at PirateFest, the annual way the team thanks fans for their support, this question was raised and it was split right down the middle. This is a great problem to have as speed and power have led to the discussion that the Pirates outfield is the best in all of Major League Baseball. "We're all out there, speedsters, guys that can run down balls," Andrew McCutchen said to ... Read More
Pirates use fourth inning in win over Tigers
Andrew McCutchen and Francisco Cervelli each went 2-for-3 at the plate to help the Pittsburgh Pirates defeat the Detroit Tigers by a 7-3 score Tuesday. Vance Worley [1-1] started the game and pitched three innings allowing five base runners and a single run. Worley struck out a batter and has a Spring Training ERA of 4.95. The run off Worley came in the second inning when Nick Castellanos hit a sacrifice fly to score Yoenis Cespedes. In the fourth inning, the Pirates scored four runs to ... Read More
Pirates will start Harrison at hot corner
Pittsburgh Pirates fans are very excited about the prospects of the third base position in 2015 as Pedro Alvarez has moved across the diamond. Alvarez played himself off the hot corner with a cold bat and also the most errors in all of Major League Baseball. It became a mental issue and this combined with Josh Harrison's dependability led to a switch. Now Harrison goes into 2015 as the clear starter although Jung-ho Kang and Sean Rodriguez will serve as back ups. Harrison likely will be ... Read More
Pirates ‘obviously’ win with Tomlin in town, send down Holdzkom
On a day that Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin visited McKechnie Field, it was the Pirates that put up football type numbers as part of an 18-4 victory. The Pittsburgh Pirates [14-10-3] defeated the Philadelphia Phillies for its fourth consecutive victory. In the game the Pirates had 16 hits and six home runs. Mark Melancon [1-0] got the start allowing one hit but striking out two batters. Tony Watson and Arquimedes Caminero each followed with an inning of work and zero runs allowed. ... Read More
Pirate pitchers continue to battle for limited spots in victory
Jung-ho Kang played the hero in the Pittsburgh Pirates third consecutive Spring Training victory Saturday. Kang came into the game hitting .129, but left with a .171 average after a 2-for-4 day with three RBI. Kang broke what was a 1-1 tie in the seventh inning with an RBI single then won the game in the ninth inning with a two-run home run, his second homer of the spring. Kang's seventh inning RBI came against former Pirate closer Jason Grilli. Stolmy Pimentel made the start for the ... Read More
Pirates win as Polanco homers for second straight game
Charlie Morton's up and down Spring Training continued with an 8-3 victory over the visiting Toronto Blue Jays Saturday at McKechnie Field. Morton [1-1] saw his ERA fall from 7.71 to 6.46 this spring after pitching six innings and allowing three runs. Morton also surrendered six hits and walked two batters. Morton's three runs came on a first inning Daric Barton home run, a second inning Munenori Kawasaki double and a fourth inning Danny Valencia homer. “I thought he showed progress as ... Read More
Pirates major league roster shaping up; team wins shortened game
Jeff Locke pitched 5.2 innings as the Pittsburgh Pirates won a rain-shortened game 4-2 Friday against the Minnesota Twins. The game was called due to rain in the bottom of the eighth inning. Locke is now 1-1 on the season and lowered his ERA from 9.00 to 6.59. He allowed: eight hits, two runs, walked three and struck out two batters. Antonio Bastardo picked up his first save and allowed a hit while striking out two batters in his inning of work. Blake Wood got the final out of the sixth ... Read More
Worley continues to make starting case; Pirates lose
Vance Worley's six-inning start had some peaks and valleys in the Pirates 7-5 loss to the Atlanta Braves Thursday. Worley threw six innings allowing seven hits, five runs and striking out three batters. The vast majority of the damage came in the first inning in which the Braves scored five runs. The highlight was a Chris Johnson two-run homer, his first of the spring. Jace Peterson, Christian Bethancourt and Kelly Johnson also registered RBI in the frame. The Braves opened the game with four ... Read More
Dukes WNIT run ends in Morgantown
The Duquesne Dukes rode a bus to Morgantown, West Virginia, hoping to extend thier WNIT run, but a 60-39 loss to West Virginia on Thursday meant an hour plus season-ending bus ride back to Pittsburgh. Duquesne [23-11] started the game with an Amadea Szamosi lay-up and then took a 4-3 lead when Jose-Ann Johnson hit a jumper. Little did the Dukes know, that would be their last lead. West Virginia [21-14] quickly responded with a 13-3 run in the next 5:14 to lead by nine and take control. ... Read More