The Pittsburgh Pirates are looking to avoid a sweep against a National League Central foe in the St. Louis Cardinals. A loss would be the 12th in 16 games. In Sunday evening's game, Jonathon Niese (6-2, 3.93 ERA) will face Mike Leake (4-4, 4.22 ERA). Niese is 4-3 with a 3.45 ERA in career starts against the Cardinals. Niese has not lost a decision since May 9, which is also the last time he allowed more than two earned runs in an appearance. In his last start, Niese bested his former ... Read More
Pirates sweep doubleheader against Mets
Doubleheaders always bring the potential of unique accomplishments, and Tuesday's contests between the Pittsburgh Pirates and the New York Mets brought some of those into play. Both games ended the same, a 3-1 Pirates victory giving the home team nine consecutive wins over the Mets, the most in franchise history. Often times in doubleheaders, relief pitchers appear in one game, but both Mark Melancon and Neftali Feliz appeared in each of the victories. Feliz allowed the lone run in Game ... Read More
Pirates get much-needed win over Cardinals
The Pittsburgh Pirates needed to rebound after being swept by the Chicago Cubs. The Pirates were flat-out embarrassed by the Cubs, so when Pittsburgh crushed the St. Louis Cardinals 10-5 on Sunday to secure a series win, it provided a little vindication. Pittsburgh's Gerrit Cole (3-3) had a 33-pitch first inning — 12 pitches more than should have been necessary after he failed to locate a strikeout pitch to Matt Holliday. On that play, Pirates' catcher Chris Stewart couldn't block the pitch, ... Read More
Cervelli’s plate discipline becoming infectious
Francisco Cervelli is a player who came in with the Pittsburgh Pirates and made an impact that certainly exceeded fans expectations. He came in as a leader of the team and led all catchers in framing runs above average. But perhaps his patience was the biggest reason for success. "I just try to keep it simple and not do too much that way I can recognize pitches a little better," he said. It sounds very simple, especially when you can back it with a .290 batting average while playing in a ... Read More
Pirates struggle with runners in scoring position, drop series to Reds
On Sunday, the Cincinnati Reds' Jay Bruce hit a game-winning RBI triple in the bottom of the ninth inning off Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Arquimedes Caminero to give the Reds the 2-1 win and the series. Though the game wasn't high-scoring, there certainly were things to take from it. Pirates struggle with runners in scoring position Not to borrow from "Sesame Street," but this first point is brought to you by the number '34'—the number of Pirates who were left on base in the three-game ... Read More
Pirates ink extension with Chris Stewart
Several outlets have reported that the Pittsburgh Pirates have agreed to terms on a contract extension with catcher Chris Stewart. Robert Murray of Baseball Essential was the first to relay the news via a tweet. Source: #Pirates signing Chris Stewart to a two-year deal. Has a team option for a third year. — Robert Murray (@RobertMurrayBBE) January 14, 2016 The move is a surprising one. With Elias Diaz major-league ready and Reese McGuire making steady progress through the team's ... Read More
Pirates lose opener to Dodgers; lead over Cubs down to one game
The Los Angeles Dodgers have defended Dodgers Stadium well all season and did so once again on Friday night, winning 6-2 over the Pittsburgh Pirates. The loss snapped a six-game winning streak that the Pirates had over L.A. and dropped them to 21-6 against National League West opponents this season. Early inning woes again reared their head again as the Dodgers scored single runs in both the first and second inning of the contest. Pirates catchers have had trouble getting runners out ... Read More
The Pirates are ready for some football
Rick Sofield is a known New York Giants fan, so it came as no surprise that he flipped out when he saw Chris Stewart with a personalized Dallas Cowboys jersey hanging by his locker. "That son of a [gun] has a Dallas Cowboys jersey," an outraged Sofield said. Sofield immediately responded putting on a Giants shirt much to Stewart's chagrin. Week one of the NFL season is always a phenomenon all across he country and the Pirates certainly are not immune. "It’s a nice distraction for us ... Read More
Pirates pregame 9/12: Marte scratched, Hurdle sets rotation for Cubs
The Pittsburgh Pirates ended a seven-game losing streak with a 6-3 victory against the Milwaukee Brewers. The last time the Pirates won before last night's game was June 10. “We got the monkey off our back, now but it’s two teams that know each other very well now," Jordy Mercer said. "It’s the beauty of this game, anybody can beat anyone on any given day regardless of their record.” Chris Stewart came away with three RBI, his highest total since Aug. 20, 2013 when he also had three ... Read More
Stewart uses head to help Pirates win
Chris Stewart offered a point to the head on three different occasions for the Pittsburgh Pirates and twice, runs were scored. “That’s just for everybody, I want to let them know that it’s a smart hit," Stewart said. "The more smart hitting we do, the more runs we had. I did it a little bit last year but people are getting into this year. It’s a lot of fun but at the same time it gets a lot of runs across.” Because of this and a reluctance to give in to Milwaukee Brewers starter Jimmy ... Read More