The Pittsburgh Pirates never had a runner in scoring position in Wednesday night's game — yet it still took 12 innings for the Boston Red Sox to get the 3-0 win. With one out in the bottom of the 12th, Boston catcher Sandy León drilled a ball 359 feet to deep left center, scoring Jackie Bradley Jr. and Pablo Sandoval, both of whom got on base via walks given up by Pittsburgh reliever Antonio Bastardo. León made a base running error in the third inning that could have had the game ended ... Read More
Fifth inning derails strong Opening Day start for Gerrit Cole, Pirates
In the first four innings of Monday's season opener against the Boston Red Sox, Pittsburgh Pirates starter Gerrit Cole gave up one hit and one walk on 50 pitches. But all that was derailed in one frame. In the fifth inning, Cole faced all nine of Boston's batters and gave up five runs on six hits. Those five runs were all the Red Sox would need to take home the “W” on opening day at Fenway Park, beating the Pirates by a final score of 5-3. That fifth inning started innocuously enough when ... Read More
Andrew McCutchen pens honest, emotional letter in Players’ Tribune
All offseason, Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder Andrew McCutchen was plagued by trade rumors and complaints about his play. Now, in a piece on the Players' Tribune, McCutchen opens up about what all that was like. He writes: “I'm not gonna lie. I Googled my own name more than a few times this off-season to see if there was any news. It was hard not to when just about every conversation I had with friends, family and even strangers started with them asking me, “So, what’s the latest?” Truth ... Read More
Starling Marte says he’s moving to center field next season
All offseason, there's been talk of moves regarding Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder Andrew McCutchen. Now, it appears McCutchen is indeed being moved — just to a different position. Pirates outfielder Starling Marte told MLB Dominicana that he would be playing center field next season, moving over from left field. This means McCutchen and Gregory Polanco will be Pittsburgh's corner outfielders for the 2017 season. El OF @Starlingmart confirma que jugará en la pradera central para la próxima ... Read More
Pirates’ Marte cruises to 2nd Gold Glove Award
“And there was noooooo doubt about it,” former Pittsburgh Pirates broadcaster Lanny Frattare used to exclaim following a victory. With the season Starling Marte had in left field for the Pirates, there was no doubt about the 2015 Gold Glove winner taking home the award for the second year in a row. Once again, Marte used both his arm and glove to position himself among the league leaders in the outfield by leading all of Major League Baseball in outfield assists with 17. The 17 assists ... Read More
COLUMN: Pirates season doomed from the start
Heading into Tuesday night's games, the Pittsburgh Pirates had a magic number of two and were able to secure their fate for the 2016 season. Unfortunately for the Pirates, that magic number was what it took for them to be mathematically eliminated from playoff contention. First the Pirates fell 6-4 to the Chicago Cubs and the San Francisco Giants defeated the Colorado Rockies, 12-3. This sequence ends a streak of three consecutive seasons with playoff berths. Now the Pirates fall to ... Read More
Neal Huntington examines season, team’s future
For what is likely the final time this season, Pittsburgh Pirates general manager Neal Huntington met with reporters to discuss a myriad of topics relating to the past, present and future. Here's an edited transcript of what was said. On pitcher Gerrit Cole’s routine: “Really, his offseason routine has been a good one. We had the challenge in January (right rib inflammation) that we’ll address, but he was working. It’s hard to fault a guy for working when he got off track. Essentially knocked ... Read More
Pirates pregame: Pirates continue playoff push
After an 11-inning 6-5 victory Friday night, the Pittsburgh Pirates will host the second contest in a three-game series against the Washington Nationals. Ivan Nova (12-7, 4.19 ERA) will face the Nationals' Joe Ross (7-5, 3.48 ERA) in tonight's pitching match-up. Nova is coming off his worst start as a Pirate in which he pitched all of three innings allowing five runs on 10 hits against the Cincinnati Reds. PNC Park has treated Nova well as he is 3-0 with a 2.03 ERA in four total starts. He ... Read More
Stallings’ 11th-inning hit propels Pirates over Nationals
Jacob Stallings has been a known commodity among Pittsburgh fans because his father Kevin Stallings coaches the Pitt Panthers men's basketball team, but Friday night he was able to provide a more formal introduction where it was his bat that did the talking. With each remaining game turning into essentially a must-win scenario to keep any very, very slim playoff hopes alive, the Pirates returned to PNC Park following an 11-game road trip and beat the Washington Nationals 6-5 in 11 innings ... Read More
Pirates can’t sweep Brewers in 3-1 loss
All that separates the Pittsburgh Pirates from the end of regular season play is 10 games. And those 10 games are against teams that currently project as playoff teams — the Washington Nationals and Chicago Cubs concluding the home portion of the regular season-schedule and the St. Louis Cardinals on the road. So it would have been nice to get ‘W’ against a team that's 69-84. But the Pirates couldn't secure a second consecutive road sweep of the Milwaukee Brewers, with Pittsburgh falling 3-1 ... Read More