The Pirates have some decisions to make this offseason and it's not just for Russell Martin. Starters Francisco Liriano and Edinson Volquez are both free agents along with backup shortstop Clint Barmes. For Volquez and Liriano, this season aided their profiles as both came in to Pittsburgh — the island of misfit pitchers — with poor numbers and mechanical issues while they will go back on the market as renewed back-of-rotation starters thanks to the tutelage of Ray Searage and the ... Read More
Cutch and Liriano drop Pirates magic number to two
Francisco Liriano threw six shutout innings and Andrew McCutchen put the only run on the board to help the Pirates beat the Braves 1-0 on Monday night. Liriano had some control issues on the night allowing three hits and walking four, but was able to keep the Braves (76-80) off of the board. The only major threat came against him in the bottom of the first inning. Emilio Bonifacio walked to start the game and advanced to second and third on two stolen bases. Freddie Freeman then walked with ... Read More
Pirates continue hot hitting in 9-1 rout of Red Sox
Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said in his pregame press conference a couple of days ago that it's the teams that get hot at the right time that are the ones that have success in October. Well, the Pirates might be one of those teams as they continued their hot play with a 9-1 rout of the Red Sox on Wednesday night. The Pirates (81-70) scored early and often against Red Sox starter Clay Buchholz as they scored nine runs on ten hits against the Boston righty. Gregory Polanco got things ... Read More
Pirates Gameday 9/17: Pirates make move on Cardinals, Hurdle discusses a healthy Liriano
Good afternoon from PNC Park where the Pirates (80-70) look to clinch their second straight non-losing season against the Red Sox (66-85). Francisco Liriano (5-10, 3.53 ERA) will oppose Clay Buchholz (8-8, 5.19 ERA). Playoff Update -- The Pirates are now 2 1/2 games behind the Cardinals for first in the National League Central after St. Louis's loss to Milwaukee in extras last night. The Brewers remain 1 1/2 behind Pittsburgh for the second Wild Card. -- The Giants beat the Diamondbacks last ... Read More
Liriano pushes Pirates closer to Cardinals
Francisco Liriano threw his best outing of the season throwing eight innings of shutout ball in a 4-1 victory over the Phillies on Thursday night to inch them closer to the division-leading Cardinals. Liriano didn't allow a single Phillies baserunner — five total in the game — to reach third base. He did, however, escape a jam of first and second in the third inning with no out. Liriano struck out Phillies starter A.J. Burnett, retired Ben Revere on a lineout to left and struck out Maikel ... Read More
Heisey’s two home runs lift Reds past Pirates 3-2
Chris Heisey hit a game-tying two-run home run off of Francisco Liriano and a game-winning homer off of Jared Hughes as the Reds salvaged a game from the Pirates with a 3-2 victory on Sunday afternoon. Heisey's two-run shot in the fifth was the first major blip on Liriano's line as the Pirates starter allowed one hit -- a Todd Frazier single in the fourth-- through four innings. Liriano started the fifth with a walk to Ryan Ludwick and Heisey followed with the tying blow into the left field ... Read More
Cardinals score late, hold on to beat Pirates 3-2
Jared Hughes allowed three Cardinal runs in the seventh inning propelling them to a 3-2 victory over the Pirates on Monday night at PNC. The uncharacteristic inning by Hughes erased a strong outing by Francisco Liriano, who pitched six scoreless before being removed after one batter in the seventh with the Pirates (67-64) leading 1-0 on a Pedro Alvarez home run in the second. Liriano held a no-hitter through 4 2/3 innings before a Jhonny Peralta single snapped the bid. Liriano threw up ... Read More
Pirates woes continue in 11-3 loss to Braves
Francisco Liriano was unable to play stopper as he allowed nine runs --seven earned-- over four-plus innings of work as the Braves extended the Pirates losing streak to seven with a 11-3 victory over the Bucs on Tuesday night. The Braves (66-60) jumped on Liriano early and often as they scattered five runs against him over 4 innings of work. Justin Upton provided most of the damage with a three run home run to left in the third. Aaron Harang and Jason Hayward also provided RBI. The Braves ... Read More
Scherzer outduels Liriano as Tigers earn split
Max Scherzer threw one of his best outings of the season striking out 14 Pirates over eight innings of work as the Tigers defeated the Bucs 5-2 on Thursday afternoon to earn a series split. Scherzer and Pirates starter Francisco Liriano were locked in a pitchers duel through four innings before the Tigers (65-54) struck first in the fifth. J.D. Martinez sent a Liriano 1-1 slider over the left field fence. The homer was the first hit allowed by Liriano in the game. Liriano experienced his ... Read More
Liriano quiets Giants in Pirates 3-1 win
The Pirates have pulled to within one game of the NL Central lead with a 3-1 victory over the Giants on Tuesday night. The Pirates (57-49) scored early for a second night in a row against Tim Hudson as they scored once in the first and twice in the second. Josh Harrison started things off with a lead-off home run to right . They got another big blast in the second from Travis Snider when he followed an Ike Davis single with a home run to right to extend the lead to 3-0. From there, Hudson ... Read More