It was a game that mirrored Friday night's game, and, though Saturday's game took longer to determine a winner, the outcome was the same: a Pittsburgh Pirates win over the Oakland Athletics. Although, tonight, the final score was 4-2, and it took 10 innings. Tonight's win means the Pirates are now 4-4 on the season in extra inning games and have won two of their past three series (after dropping four in a row); this is the first time the Pirates have won a road series since a trip to St. ... Read More
Pirates allow 22 hits in 15-4 loss to Giants in Boscan’s first start
In an inning with a grand slam and a two-run home run, it was a walk that did the Pittsburgh Pirates in. In the fourth inning, starting pitcher Wilfredo Boscan engaged in an 11-pitch epic battle — the kind they write songs about — with San Francisco Giants shortstop Brandon Crawford. Crawford fouled off seven pitches and eventually drew a walk. The next batter the tired Boscan faced, Giants’ left fielder Angel Pagan, hit a grand slam. That fourth inning only got worse; the first seven batters ... Read More
Pirates’ GM Neal Huntington: ‘I need to do some things better this summer’
Pittsburgh Pirates general manager Neal Huntington had a busy week in Bradenton, FL with the MLB Draft but flew back into town to meet with some reporters and answer some questions. On the temptation to trade given pitching inconsistencies: “If you want to get involved now, there is a dramatic over-price, so our challenges have been all-over-the-map, which has made it so difficult. Any one of our five starters have had a good stretch and a not-so-good stretch. Almost all of our relievers have ... Read More
Catcher Erik Kratz returns to Pirates after Cervelli placed on DL
It happened innocently enough. Erik Kratz was standing in the on-deck circle at 7:30 PST Friday night in Fresno, CA, prepared to take his first at-bat. What wasn't normal was what came next: The catcher got called back into the dugout. He wasn't injured — far from it. He had just been acquired from the Los Angeles Angels by the Pittsburgh Pirates for $20,000. The mad dash began. He boarded three flights — one from Fresno to Salt Lake City, another from Salt Lake City to Minneapolis and ... Read More
Fifth inning does in Liriano, Pirates
Occasionally, an opposing pitcher has his way with a team, and there isn't much that can be done. This was the case Saturday night as Carlos Martinez and the St. Louis Cardinals bested the Pittsburgh Pirates, 5-1. Martinez (7-5) went a career-high 8.1 innings in this game, and his 122 pitches were the most by a Cardinals pitcher this season. He also kept the ball on the ground, getting 12 ground-ball outs. While Martinez kept things rather clean, it took a little time for his mound ... Read More