Get out the brooms, because the Pittsburgh Pirates just swept the Atlanta Braves. Sunday at PNC Park, the Pirates beat the Braves 6-5 in 10 innings after winning 6-4 on Saturday and 5-4 on Friday. Pittsburgh starting pitcher Gerrit Cole (6.55 ERA, 1.64 WHIP) turned in a pretty mediocre second start of the season, giving up three runs on eight hits in six innings. Two of those runs came as a result of home runs — Dansby Swanson launched a 390-foot one-run homer in the first inning and ... Read More
Column: Great, now what?
Mercifully, the Pittsburgh Pirates' season (78-83) ended Sunday afternoon after a 10-4 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals. Let's be honest for a second, what reason is there for you to waste your time with another recap about how the bullpen didn't hold up their end of the bargain? None? That's what I thought, too. So, let's take a look at what needs to change for next season. This season has been over for some time now, arguably when the offseason ended and both Jeff Locke and Jon ... Read More
Pirates-Cubs game ends tied after rain delay
The word “tie” is very, very rarely used in Major League Baseball. But, Thursday night at PNC Park in front of 19,991 fans, that's exactly what happened. The Pittsburgh Pirates and Chicago Cubs tied 1-1 after an extended rain delay (one hour and 23 minutes) in the Pirates' final home game of the 2016 season. It was the first tie in the majors since 2005. The game, which was called in the top of the sixth inning, was declared a tie and not suspended because the game has no effect on the ... Read More
Pirates’ defensive miscues helps Nationals clinch NL East
When Washington Nationals president of baseball operations and general manager Mike Rizzo hired Dusty Baker as the team's manager, fans were unsure of what to think. Baker had been out of baseball for two seasons and was tasked with getting a team considered a National League favorite back into the playoffs after a surprise absence in 2015. After Saturday night's 6-1 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates — and with a little help from a 10-7 Philadelphia Phillies victory over the New York ... Read More
Pirates defeat Brewers, 6-3, Tuesday night
The Pittsburgh Pirates opened up their series against the Milwaukee Brewers on Tuesday night with a 6-3 win. The Pirates (75-75) scored quickly in the first inning off the Brewers’ starting pitcher, Matt Garza (5-8, 4.52 ERA). Andrew McCutchen hit a double toward the deep left side of the field, scoring both Adam Frazier and Josh Bell. On the hill for Pittsburgh was 24-year-old Steven Brault (0-3, 4.26 ERA), who was starting his seventh game in a major league uniform. Brault looked solid ... Read More
Pirates sweep doubleheader
Taking both games of a doubleheader is a tough feat to accomplish, but with 10-4 and 7-3 wins, the Pittsburgh Pirates did so over the Cincinnati Reds. These two victories bring the Pirates to 74-74 and put them on a four-game winning streak. The Pirates never trailed in either game and, Sunday, will be going for their seventh series sweep and second consecutive four-game road series sweep of the season. The other came Aug. 25-28 against the Milwaukee Brewers. In Game 1, the Pirates ... Read More
Pirates continue to sink after loss to Reds
Tony Watson has had a rather consistent career as a relief pitcher, that is unless the Cincinnati Reds are the opponent. This was the case again Friday as the Pittsburgh Pirates were bested by these same Reds, 4-3. Jose Peraza was responsible for bringing home what proved to be the game-winning run with a sacrifice fly that brought Eugenio Suarez back to the Reds dugout with several high fives immediately following. This was set up by Suarez's lead-off single, a Ramon Cabrera sacrifice ... Read More
Pirates bested by Cubs in 13th inning
The Pittsburgh Pirates had the opportunities to extend their road win streak to nine games, but they fell 8-7 to the Chicago Cubs in 13 innings. It was a case of the Pirates running out of bullpen arms, and reliever Jeff Locke (9-8, 5.39 ERA) threw his highest pitch total since Aug. 3 as a result. Locke threw three innings, allowing two runs on seven hits. Eventually, Locke seemed to tire, and he didn't record a single out in the 13th inning before Chicago's Miguel Montero recorded the ... Read More
Pirates tie season best comeback in win
A simple look at the Miller Park scoreboard Saturday night after three innings couldn't have been encouraging for Pittsburgh Pirates fans. The Pirates trailed the Milwaukee Brewers by three runs. But the Pirates were able to come back, putting up crooked numbers in both the fourth and sixth innings to come away with a series-clinching 9-6 victory. Pittsburgh starting pitcher Jameson Taillon made his shortest career major league outing, three innings, after allowing five runs on seven ... Read More
Pirates ink Freese to two-year extension with club option for 2019
The Pittsburgh Pirates announced Monday that they've signed 1B/3B David Freese to a two-year extension beginning in 2017 with a club option for the 2019 season. As first reported by Jon Heyman, Freese will make $6.25 million in 2017, $4.25 million in 2018 and, in 2019, there will be a $6 million team option or a $500 thousand buyout. https://twitter.com/Pirates/status/767793604723081216 “David has been a consummate professional while producing offensively and playing solid defense at both ... Read More