Pittsburgh Pirates fans have seen this script before. A pitcher with a high ERA holding the Pirates at bay and stealing a series win. That would not be the case Sunday, as one swing of the bat changed the course of the game and re-energized the Pirates bats en route to a 10-2 victory Sunday against the Milwaukee Brewers. Andrew McCutchen's three-run home run was his second of the season and came on the first pitch of his at-bat against Kyle Lohse [0-2] which scored both Gregory Polanco and ... Read More
Pirates battle fall short late against Reds
Francisco Liriano allowed two hits in seven innings but came away with a no-decision after a 5-2 Opening Day loss to the Cincinnati Reds. “It’s great for Opening Day to come and it's just as great when it gets by you," Manager Clint Hurdle said to assembled media. "We always are challenged when we see Cueto… We made him pitch that was the one upside. I thought our guys went up there and battled. We showed some resiliency to come back and get two late.” Liriano, who was starting his second ... Read More
Pirates potential Opening Day lineup takes field in loss
The Pittsburgh Pirates used what many consider to be its Opening Day lineup in its 7-5 exhibition game loss Friday against the Philadelphia Phillies. Jeff Locke earned the start and allowed four runs, three of which were earned over the course of five innings. Locke threw 71 pitches and had one walk to go with four strikeouts. Locke gave up three of the runs in the first inning. Both Josh Harrison and Francisco Cervelli committed errors. Ryan Howard, Darin Ruf and Cody Asche each picked up ... 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
Burnett shaky in Pirates loss
The Pittsburgh Pirates continued their Spring Training scheduled with a 5-1 loss to the Boston Red Sox Thursday. The Pirates are now 4-4-2 on the spring. This contest marked the Pirates third sellout of the spring in five home games, and the 8,455 people in attendance represented the third-largest crowd at McKechnie Field. Clay Buchholz picked up the win for the Red Sox and is 2-0 this spring, while A.J. Burnett earned his first loss. Burnett pitched 2.1 innings and while he did not allow ... Read More
Pirates earn tie; Vance Worley wins ‘B’ game
The Pittsburgh Pirates moved to 3-2-2 in Spring Training after a 1-1 tie against the Minnesota Twins Monday at McKechnie Field. Gerrit Cole started the game for the Pirates throwing the first three innings and had inconsistencies allowing three walks and two hits. One of those hits was a one-out home run by one of the Twins two top prospects Miguel Sano. Cole did strike out two batters. Additionally, he doubled in a third inning plate appearance. Arquimedes Caminero had another solid ... Read More
Pirates fall to Yankees; Harrison injury ‘minor setback’
The Pittsburgh Pirates fell to 1-2 in Spring Training after a 2-1 loss Thursday to the New York Yankees (1-1-1) in front of a sellout crowd of 7,879. Fred Lewis (1-0) picked up the win for the Yankees and Deolis Guerra (0-1) suffered the loss for the Pirates. Taylor Garrison threw the ninth inning to earn the save. The Pirates lone run came in the bottom of the sixth inning when Jaff Decker singled in Willy Garcia who had a 2-for-2 day at the plate. Decker has a .600 batting average thus ... Read More
McCutchen finishes third in NL MVP voting
Pirates star center fielder Andrew McCutchen placed third in NL MVP voting behind Giancarlo Stanton and MVP Clayton Kershaw. The MVP is determined by members of the BBWAA. It is the first time since 1968 (Bob Gibson) that a pitcher has won an MVP award. Kershaw received 18/30 first place votes while Stanton received eight and McCutchen received four. McCutchen had another stellar year, despite a trip to the DL due to a rib injury, posting a slash line of .314/.410/.542 and an OPS of ... Read More
McCutchen, Walker win Silver Slugger Award
Andrew McCutchen and Neil Walker were announced as NL Silver Slugger Award winners on Thursday night presented by Louisville Slugger. The award goes to the best offensive player per position in both the National and American leagues. McCutchen won his third consecutive award after posting a slash line of .314/.410/.542 and an OPS of .952 with 25 home runs, 38 doubles, six triples and 83 RBI in 146 games this season. McCutchen is the first Pirate to post three straight seasons batting ... Read More