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
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
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
McCutchen, Mercer help Pirates end road skid
The Pittsburgh Pirates entered this game 2-8 in its last 10 road games, but that did not matter in a 5-1 defeat of the Los Angeles Dodgers Friday night. A three-run first inning set the Pirates on a path for victory against Dodgers starter Ross Stripling (3-4). After the Pirates successfully challenged a Josh Harrison lead-off single, Starling Marte's single set up the rest of the inning. Andrew McCutchen singled on a 1-2 Stripling pitch bringing home the first run of this game. The ... Read More
Nova’s performance, Kang’s catch secure Pirates win
Pittsburgh Pirates relief pitcher Neftali Feliz was in a jam when he allowed the first two Cincinnati Reds to reach base with Billy Hamilton at the plate. Hamilton hit a ball on a short hop that Pirates third baseman Jung Ho Kang quickly fielded. He got the out at third base and threw to Josh Harrison to get the out at second base. Kang did not have any chance to react until the 88 mph hit bounced into his glove but he quickly formulated a game plan. "I was thinking of throwing the ball ... Read More
Miller Park a house of horrors for Pirates
It is no secret that the Millwaukee Brewers have dominated the Pittsburgh Pirates at Miller Park in recent years. On paper, the Pirates have the easiest second-half schedule in Major League Baseball, but that includes this series and two more at Miller Park, not to mention several other National League Central opponents with many of these series occurring on the road. The Brewers once again handled the Pirates, this time by a 3-1 score Friday night, spoiling a good outing from Steven ... Read More
MLB Trade Rumors: What should Pirates do at trade deadline?
The 2016 Pittsburgh Pirates (52-48) find themselves in a tough position with the trade deadline fast approaching and the team's position in the standings a bit different than in the past three years. Currently, the Pirates are third in the NL Central and trail the division-leading Chicago Cubs by 8.5 games; Pittsburgh is an additional two games out of making the playoffs as a wild card. So, at the trade deadline, should the Pirates be buyers or sellers — or should they simply stand ... Read More
Column: Pirates put together a true complete game
Normally when a complete game is thrown, this emphasis and honor is thrown on a pitcher. but on this particular Wednesday night, there was more to it than the effort Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Gerrit Cole put forth. That is not to say Cole should not be commended for his efforts on this night, because he should, but he was certainly the beneficiary of some good offense and defense in a 10-1 victory over the Seattle Mariners. After all, in this day and age where pitch counts, ... Read More
Column: Three strikes eliminate Pirates chances of win
Baseball is a game where several elements can change the outcome of a game at any time. Saturday was one of those cases where the Pittsburgh Pirates did not do much right falling 6-0 to the Washington Nationals. This series loss is the first since June 20-23 against the San Francisco Giants and it was poor play all around which cost the Pirates. Strike one: Indifferent fielding/base running The image I will take from this game came in the fourth inning. By that point, this game had ... Read More
Bonnett, Johnson quietly ensure Pirates have good All-Star experience
The MLB All-Star Game is commonly referred to as three or four of the busiest days in a baseball season, so when Pittsburgh Pirates left fielder Starling Marte and closer Mark Melancon were named to the National League All-Star team, there was a lot of work to be done. Work that doesn’t actually even happen on the field. When Marte and Melancon were named to the All-Star team, clubhouse manager Scott “Bones” Bonnett and traveling secretary Greg Johnson had to immediately go to work, ... Read More