Pittsburgh Pirates fans gave a standing ovation when Francisco Cervelli stepped to the plate in the sixth inning of Wednesday afternoon's game. In what manager Clint Hurdle called a "must-win game," Cervelli's fourth inning grand slam helped the team defeat the St. Louis Cardinals, 7-2, and kept the Pirates division chances alive. “The understatement of the day would be that was a great swing," Hurdle said. "It’s been a while since he hit one.” Gerrit Cole [19-8] pitched seven innings ... Read More
Pirates pregame 9/30: Let’s play two part deux
The Pittsburgh Pirates are in must-win situation if it wants to keep its National League Central hopes alive. The St. Louis Cardinals defeated the Pirates by a 3-0 score Monday night and reducing its magic number to two meaning a win in either doubleheader game would result in the NL Central title. “We’ve been in a footrace the entire year, and I don’t think we’re scared of who’s behind us, we just go out and play hard," Cardinals closer Trevor Rosenthal said. The Pirates are not panicking ... Read More
Pirates fail to cash in; lose to Cardinals
It was a familiar sight for Pittsburgh Pirates fans as the team gave itself opportunities against the St. Louis Cardinals, but could not convert. The Pirates stranded 16 runners and left the bases loaded four times in a 3-0 loss Monday night. "We didn’t meet the demands of the game tonight," manager Clint Hurdle said. J.A. Happ ended his outing retiring the last 11 batters and faced the minimum amount of Cardinals through six innings. He threw 56 pitches, 43 of which were ... Read More
Pirates set to battle Cardinals pivotal NL Central series
Following an 8-2 road trip, the Pirates return home for a six-game homestand to conclude the regular season. An important three-game series against the St. Louis Cardinals is on tap first. Recalling the road trip, despite a setback Sunday, Tony Watson was pleased with the team's overall body of work. “It’s never easy going to the West Coast, especially this time of year and we faced some good arms, some Cy Young candidates obviously," Watson said. "We’ve had and will continue to have tough ... Read More
Pirates use two-out scoring, bullpen to earn victory
Aramis Ramirez slid safely into third base for his first triple since Aug. 2, 2014 and his Pittsburgh Pirates teammates were grinning ear-to-ear. Why were they smiling? For one Ramirez is not known for his speed, and secondly, the Pirates scored all of their runs on two-out hitting, with this fourth inning triple being one of those runs. The Pirates used this to defeat the Colorado Rockies by a 6-3 score Tuesday night reducing their magic number to one game. If the Pirates win Wednesday or ... Read More
Pirates best Rockies to open four-game series
Starling Marte fell a triple short of hitting for the cycle as the Pittsburgh Pirates won 9-3 Monday night against the Colorado Rockies. Marte started with a first inning home run, his second in as many games. The ball left the bat at 106 miles-per-hour and quickly departed into the left field seats. The homer, hit off Jon Gray [0-2], was his 18th of the season. Jordy Mercer came into the contest hitting .185 in the month of September but after Andrew McCutchen caught the 27th and final ... Read More
AM Joe: Bucs in Denver as manager Hurdle faces former squad
Good morning, Pittsburgh. Here's your day in sports for Sunday, September 20, 2015. What's on tap for today: The Penguins (0-0-0) will open their preseason with a 7:00 p.m. face-off against the Blue Jackets in Columbus, Ohio. 105.9 WXDX-FM The Pirates (89-60) are in Denver for the first of a three-game series against the Colorado Rockies (63-86). Pirates manager Clint Hurlde was the manager of the Rockies from 2002 to 2009 and took them all the way to the World Series in 2007 (right). A.J. ... Read More
Pirates maintain wild card lead; Melancon makes history
The pressure was on the Pittsburgh Pirates as a loss would result in a drop to third place in the National League Central. Instead, the Pirates defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers Saturday night by a 3-2 score. It has not been an easy week for the Pirates as the team lost four in a row and could not defeat Jon Lester, Jake Arrieta and Zack Greinke. Saturday, the Pirates drew Clayton Kershaw. An eighth inning Aramis Ramirez double, allowed for the Pirates to defeat Kershaw [14-7]. Kershaw ... Read More
Pirates allow six runs in fifth; lose to Cubs
Scoring four or more runs is normally a winning recipe for the Pittsburgh Pirates as the team entered play 69-13 when accomplishing this, however the Chicago Cubs were able to overcome this for a 9-6 victory Sunday afternoon. “If you come on the short end you want other teams to beat you," manager Clint Hurdle said. "We continued to get in our way. We didn’t play a very good game and we’ve been outplayed these past three games.” The game's result also was coupled with a left knee injury ... Read More
Report: Kang lost for season with left knee injury
Pirates infielder Jung Ho Kang will miss the rest of the 2015 season with multiple injuries to his left knee and leg, according to a report by Josh Yohe of DKPittsburghSports.com Kang's agent, Alan Nero, also released a statement through the team on his client's behalf this evening: "It is unfortunate that what would be considered heads up baseball would cause such a serious injury. That said, Coghlan was playing the game the way it should be played. I’m confident he meant no harm. I ... Read More