The Pittsburgh Pirates will look to win its afternoon contest Thursday afternoon against the Chicago Cubs. If the Pirates do win it will avoid losing its first four-game series of the season. This afternoon, Charlie Morton will face Kyle Hendricks. Morton is 3-5 with a 4.71 ERA in 13 career starts against the Cubs. Morton won his last start, snapping a three-game losing streak. In the start, Morton allowed two runs on three hits over six innings of work against the Milwaukee ... Read More
Pirates battle against Arrieta, but lose to Cubs in extas
Anthony Rizzo's 12th-inning sacrifice fly was enough to lift the Chicago Cubs past the Pittsburgh Pirates by a 3-2 score Wednesday night. Cubs ace Jake Arrieta was attempting to become the first Cubs pitcher since Jon Lieber in 2001 to record 20 wins. He has thrown 17 straight quality starts and has thrown at least eight innings in his last four starts. His eight-game winning streak, however, was snapped as he had a no-decision. Pirates starter A.J. Burnett went 5.1 innings and escaped ... Read More
Pirates pregame 9/16: Arrieta faces Pirates on Clemente Day
Following a split of the day/night doubleheader, the Pittsburgh Pirates and Chicago Cubs will face off once again, this time in the third game of a four-game series. The Pirates have the unenviable task of facing Jake Arrieta tonight on Roberto Clemente Day. Arrieta is looking to be the first Cubs starting pitcher with 20 wins since Jon Lieber accomplished the feat in 2001. “When you’re connected to the game to win 20 games is still impressive," manager Clint Hurdle said. "It’s just so ... Read More
Lester uses complete game effort to shutout Pirates
J.A. Happ battled for 5.2 innings but did not receive any run support as the Pittsburgh Pirates fell to the Chicago Cubs in the second game of Tuesday's doubleheader by a 2-1 score. Happ's [5-2] biggest battle came in the fifth inning. David Ross led off with a double, one of his two hits in the game and Jon Lester hit a sacrifice fielder's choice. The throw to Ramirez at third was late as he did not get the tag down in time, something which was confirmed by video review. Dexter Fowler ... Read More
Pirates pregame 9/15: Doubleheader begins highly anticipated series
Sunny skies and at least 18 innings await the Pittsburgh Pirates and Chicago Cubs in today's day/night doubleheader. Gerrit Cole and J.A. Happ will throw for the Pirates against Jason Hammel and Jon Lester. Cole is 6-1 against the Cubs with a 2.93 ERA in seven career starts. He last pitched Sept. 6 against the St. Louis Cardinals allowing two hits in seven scoreless innings. "I'm getting to see him for the first time this year," Cubs manager Joe Maddon said. "This guy is a really good ... Read More
Bucs come back to beat Brewers in extras
Pittsburgh Pirates manager Clint Hurdle had a speaking engagement for 6:30 and dinner with his family two hours later. Both were in jeopardy. With Sunday afternoon's game in the 11th inning and runners on the corners with one out, the defense shifted into double play depth. “You’re gambling," Hurdle said. "You’ve got the game on the line.” The result was an inning-ending double play and Jared Hughes, pumped his fist from the mound after the play unfolded. “When the ball goes off the ... Read More
Diaz embraces Pirates debut
All of the hard work culminated into one moment for Pittsburgh Pirates catcher Elias Diaz. Diaz, the 14th ranked Pirates prospect heading into the season, saw his major league dream become a reality when he was one of the team's six September call-ups this season. Saturday night, Diaz saw another dream become a reality when he made a pinch-hit appearance in the eighth inning of the team's game against the Milwaukee Brewers. “It was amazing," Diaz said. "I feel great, I don’t have words ... 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
Pirates pregame: Marte provides update, Hurdle remembers 9/11
The Pittsburgh Pirates will look to avoid an eighth consecutive loss against the Milwaukee Brewers Friday night. Thursday, the Pirates fell 6-4 in 13 innings. A.J. Burnett made his return to action for the first time since July. He earned a no-decision after allowing three runs in five innings. Burnett allowed all three of his runs in the first inning, increasing his second-half ERA to 11.12. By the end of his start it was down to 9.00. The loss also ended a 19-game winning streak for the ... Read More