The Pittsburgh Pirates have a chance to win its 14th series of the season with a win this afternoon against the Cleveland Indians. The Indians took game one of the series by a 5-2 series and the Pirates evened things up with a 1-0 victory yesterday. Gerrit Cole [11-3 2.20 ERA] will face Danny Salazar [7-3 3.80 ERA]. Cole is making his 17th start of the season and had a no-decision in his last start pitching 6.2 innings and allowing two earned runs. The Pirates won the game against the ... Read More
Pirates pregame 7/1: Martinez blasts Bucs; a look back at June
It was another extra inning game last night for the Pittsburgh Pirates and this one lasted 5.5 hours. In the end the Pirates defeated the Detroit Tigers 5-4 in 14 innings. Neil Walker's RBI double ended up being the game-winning hit as it brought Josh Harrison home from second base. In tonight's game A.J. Burnett will face Alfredo Simon. Burnett is making his 16th start of the season and his 6-3 earned a no-decision in his last start after allowing two runs [one earned] in six innings ... Read More
Pirates pregame 6/30: Cole compares to Verlander; Hurdle flashes back
The Pittsburgh Pirates make a return to Interleague play and will face the Detroit Tigers for three games on the road. The Tigers won two of three games that were played at PNC Park. Gerrit Cole will start for the Pirates against Justin Verlander. Cole is 6-1 with a 2.81 ERA in eight career starts against American League opponents including two victories this season. He pitched six-plus innings allowing a run against the Tigers this season. The outing was on the Pirates home opening day ... Read More
Pirates need to beat division foes to get over hump
Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Jared Hughes knows wins never come easy against fellow National League Central teams, and so far the Pirates have had a hard time getting those wins. The Pirates have been a woeful 14-20 against fellow National League Central teams this year. Breaking it down, the club is 2-4 against the Cardinals, 4-6 against the Cubs, 6-3 versus the Milwaukee Brewers and a dreadful 2-7 vs. the Cincinnati Reds. “There are a bunch of good teams in the NL Central,” Hughes said. ... Read More
Pirates pregame 6/26: Deolis Guerra next up in thin bullpen; Grilli makes Pittsburgh return
The Pittsburgh Pirates wrap up a six-game homestand with a three-game set starting tonight against the Atlanta Braves. Something will give as the Pirates have lost their past two games but are 9-0 against NL East opponents at PNC Park this season. Last night, the Pirates played for nearly five hours in a 5-4, 13-inning loss. "We just had a lot of bad luck last night and it seems like a lot of the balls we hit might usually leave the ballpark for home runs and instead landed on the ... Read More
Pirates pregame 5/27: team goes for sweep; Scahill appreciates trust
After 4-2 and 5-1 victories the past two days, the Pittsburgh Pirates hope to go for their second consecutive series sweep;this time against the Miami Marlins. With last night's victory, the Pirates starting pitching staff has each earned a victory as part of a five-game winning streak. Today’s starters: The Pirates will send Gerrit Cole to the mound to face left-handed starter Brad Hand. After winning his first four decisions of the season, Cole has won two of his past three. In ... Read More
Cole learns to trust off-speed pitches
Gerrit Cole had always been a pitcher that blew his fastball past hitters, however a conversation two years ago with former Pittsburgh Pirate John Buck changed this mindset. "He told me not to overthrow the breaking ball and not to overthrow the changeup," Cole said. This change in addition to injuries during the 2014 season allowed for Cole to place more trust in his off-speed pitches. Buck's remarks were echoed by pitching coach Ray Searage, who had similar observations after seeing ... Read More
Huntington discusses draft, Glasnow, Kingham
In what may be the last time he meets with reporters before the MLB Draft, Pittsburgh Pirates General Manager Neal Huntington discussed the class, minor league depth and addressed whether Chris Stewart was Gerrit Cole's personal catcher. The MLB Draft will be June 8-June 10, and for the second consecutive year, the Pirates will be picking late. “This is a really good class to be picking from the back end of the first round," Huntington said. "There’s a ton of gray at the top of the draft, ... Read More
Cole, Stewart keys in Pirates win
The battery of Gerrit Cole and Chris Stewart have joined forces five times this season however in Friday night's contest, they showed efforts on both sides of the ball. The Pittsburgh Pirates were able to win 4-1 in front of 33,337. "He knows the intent I have on different pitches and he’s on the same page with me in terms of that aspect," Cole said of his catcher. "He doesn’t let me shake sometimes when he wants a pitch and he thinks it is the right pitch. It actually gives me more ... Read More
Pirates pregame 5/22: team discusses inconsistency; Morton to return Monday
An eight game homestand continues for the Pittsburgh Pirates as the New York Mets come to town for a three game series. The Mets come into the series with a 24-18 overall which places them half a game behind first place in the National League East. Tonight’s starters: The Pirates will send right-handed starter Gerrit Cole to the mound against Noah Syndergaard. Cole is coming off a loss to the Chicago Cubs in which he allowed two runs on seven hits in six innings of work. Cole is 0-2 in ... Read More