Pittsburgh ... we're here. No, I haven't suddenly turned into Bray Wyatt (wrestling is still real to me, dammit!), rather it's the most important week for the Pirates in the 2016 season. Before heading into the All-Star break, the Pirates travel to St. Louis for four games before hosting the Chicago Cubs for three entering the mid-summer classic. Make or break time for the Pirates. Coming off a series sweep of the Oakland Athletics where the Pirates earned come-from-behind wins in all ... Read More
Pirates fall in Game 1 of three-game set at Wrigley
Pittsburgh Pirates starter Francisco Liriano once again found himself in trouble early on in Game 1 of a three-game series against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field. The 32-year-old yielded three home runs in the contest, leading to a 9-4 win for the Cubs, their fifth consecutive victory over the Pirates dating back to the 2015 National League Wild Card game. In the fourth inning, Liriano yielded a three-run home run to Cubs shortstop Addison Russell, who deposited his third home run of the ... Read More
Will the National League’s top-heavy lean affect Pirates?
In case you missed it, many teams got better in the National League this offseason. A lot better. If we take an early look at the landscape as we stand in frigid January temperatures, we can see a caste system of sorts taking shape. There are the perennial contenders out west. The San Francisco Giants got considerably better than they did last year by bringing in Jeff Samardzjia, Johnny Cueto and Denard Span. The Los Angeles Dodgers took a huge hit in losing Zack Greinke to the Arizona ... Read More
The rise and fall of the doubleheader
The Pittsburgh Pirates will play their first doubleheader of the year today against the Chicago Cubs, their third in as many years. Doubleheaders used to be as synonymous with baseball as hot dog cannons, bobbleheads and the seventh-inning stretch, but have long since faded from the game. The death of the doubleheader is nothing new to baseball, as they have mostly been used to make up a game that was postponed or suspended for generations. Many games get stacked on the same day as opposed to ... Read More
Pirates embrace Opening Day, give fans a reason to believe this year
Despite the snowfall, it is Opening Day for the 2013 Major League Baseball season. While the last two seasons are well documented -- they'll forever be known as the Collapse Part 1 and the Collapse Part 2 -- the Pirates are focused on this year only. After a longer than usual Spring Training in Bradenton, Fl., the Pirates are back to Pittsburgh and are set to take on the Cubs for a three-game set. While the season is a marathon, not a sprint, Pirates Manager Clint Hurdle didn't want to take ... Read More
The next six games are crucial for the Pirates
After a promising series against St. Louis, the Pirates went into Milwaukee confident, and came out without a victory. With A.J. Burnett, Jeff Karstens, and James McDonald being the three pitchers in Milwaukee this weekend, a sweep is the worst possible thing that could have happened to the Bucs. They fell one game into the wild card standings, and are now 1.5 behind the Los Angeles Dodgers. The wild card is looking like it's coming down to four teams. The Atlanta Braves and St. Louis ... Read More