(Photo Credit: Matt Freed/Post-Gazette) PNC Park -- The Pirates (67 - 44) look to enact revenge on the Marlins (43 - 67) after dropping 2-of-3 in Miami a week and a half ago. Jeff Locke (9 - 3, 2.36 ERA) will face Henderson Alvarez (2 - 1, 2.61 ERA). Leading Off Francisco Liriano was named NL Player of the Week after going 2 - 0 in two starts last week, ranking among the league leaders with 14 innings pitched (2nd) and 14 strikeouts (T-4th). His 0.64 ERA (1 ER / 14 IN) was the lowest among ... Read More
Cole Solid, But Offense Stalls In 4-2 Loss
(Photo Credit: Gene J. Puskar) PNC Park – Gerrit Cole pitched a solid five innings of work, but he and reliever Justin Wilson couldn’t get out of the sixth as the Rockies scored three times en-route to a 4 – 2 victory on Friday night. Cole retired ten of the first eleven batters he faced with the only hit coming from a Troy Tulowitzki solo shot in the second inning. He would then allow two batters to reach with one out in the fourth before getting the next two batters to strike out. He ... Read More
Pirates Pull Within 1/2 Game Behind Cardinals With 9-2 Win
PNC Park – The Pirates started off their 5-game in four day stretch against the first place Cardinals with a dominating 9 - 2 victory Monday night bringing them to within a ½ game of the Cards for the NL Central Lead. Francisco Liriano helped his Cy Young chances by throwing 7 innings of two-hit, one run ball while striking out eight. He experienced a bit of trouble in the fourth when he allowed back-to-back singles with one out. He would then strike out Allen Craig and Yadier Molina to end the ... Read More
Pirate of the Week: Andrew McCutchen
For the second straight week Andrew McCutchen showed why he is the face of this Pirates franchise. The Pirates went 4-3 over the past seven days with McCutchen being a big part of the offense as usual. Here's the key games he produced in this week. 7/20 - 4-5, 1 2B, 1 HR, 1 RBI 7/22 - 2-5, 2 R, 2 HR, 4 RBI For the week, McCutchen ended up going 8-30 with 3 home runs, 5 RBIs, a double, and scored three runs. His 4 RBI night led the Pirates to victory over the Washington Nationals in ... Read More
Pedro Homers, Mercer Walks Off Mets 3 – 2
PNC Park – Jordy Mercer halted his mini-slump in grand fashion as he singled up the middle in the eleventh inning to walk-off the Mets 3 – 2 on Friday night. It was the first hit with runners in scoring position in three attempts in extra frames as the Pirates had the bases loaded in the ninth and first and second in the tenth. “You always want to be that guy -- you always want to get the game winning hit and you want to score the game winning run,” said Mercer. “You go through your ... Read More
Bucco Gameday: Hurdle Talks Derby, Walker
PNC Park -- The Pirates (54 – 36), fresh off of a 5 – 0 victory against Oakland on Wednesday, are back at PNC to finish the first half off against the Mets (40 – 48) in the first of three starting tonight. Charlie Morton (1 – 2, 3.38 ERA) will face Jeremy Hefner (4 – 6, 3.39 ERA). Leading Off -- Pedro Alvarez will now be participating in Mondays All-Star Home Run Derby (8pm, ESPN) due to Carlos Gonzalez pulling out due to a finger injury. He is unsure on who will be throwing to him ... Read More
Pirates Win In 14, Sweep Brewers 2 – 1
In a game that went 6+ hours and included a 2 hr 20 min rain delay in the second inning, The Pirates battled their way to a 14-inning victory thanks to a Russell Martin pinch-hit walk off single against the Milwaukee Brewers to complete a 3-game sweep by the score of 2 - 1. Charlie Morton and Kyle Lohse started the game at 1:35pm and lasted only two innings each as a storm system slowly came through causing a 2 hour, 20 minute rain delay. Before the delay, Morton and the Pirates allowed an ... Read More
Pirate Bats Stay Hot In 10 – 3 Victory Over Brewers
PNC Park -- The Pirates continued to break out the bats and Gerrit Cole recovered from a shaky first inning as the Buccos continued to exercise their demons against the Brewers 10 – 3 on Friday night. It was Gerrit Cole’s fourth victory in as many tries to start his ML career. It ended an eventful day that saw the organization introduce Austin Meadows earlier that afternoon. The Brewers got to Cole fast in the first as Nori Aoki walked on four pitches to start the game off and Jean Segura and ... Read More
Yinzer of the Week: Andrew McCutchen
The Pittsburgh Pirates have taken over the town of Pittsburgh now that the Penguins have been eliminated from the NHL playoffs. The Buccos won four of their six games this week, including two big wins against the defending World Series Champions. Everyone knows that there's one man on this roster who can step up and be labeled as a superstar, and, this week, he can add Yinzer of the Week to his repertoire. Andrew McCutchen has been heating up as of late, trying to overcome his slow start. The ... Read More
Pirates are proving to be a contender
The Major League Baseball Season is only 25 games old, but the Pirates are showing that they are good enough to battle with the elites of the National League. So far this season they have faced some pretty stiff competition, such as the Dodgers, Braves, and Reds. Last week they had a ten-game home-stand when the Reds, Cardinals, and the Braves came into town. Those 10 games were shortened to nine because of a rainout, but in those nine games the Buccos went 7-2. That’s pretty legit if you ... Read More