The Pittsburgh Pirates had a chance to play spoiler for the St. Louis Cardinals' playoff hopes — they'd be eliminated with a loss and a San Francisco Giants win — but, despite a 3-0 lead before a Cardinal even stepped to the plate, Pittsburgh lost Saturday's game 4-3 at Busch Stadium. This defeat puts the Pirates at 78-82 on the season. Michael Wacha started for the Cardinals and pitched all of one inning. He threw 29 pitches and allowed the three runs on two hits. Those runs came when ... Read More
Ejections overshadow offensive slugfest
A back-and-forth Sunday afternoon contest that totaled over four hours of baseball culminated with a 10-7 Washington Nationals victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Pirates held a 7-5 lead going into the eighth inning with set-up man Felipe Rivero (1-5) on the mound against his former team. From the beginning, Rivero couldn't impose his will against those he previously called his teammates. Everything went down hill after a leadoff walk to Stephen Drew, which brought up pinch-hitter ... Read More
Pirates win in Cincinnati in extra innings
It took extra innings, but the Pittsburgh Pirates took the first of a three-game road series by a 9-7 score Friday night against the Cincinnati Reds. The game was tied at six heading into the 10th inning, when the Reds brought in closer Tony Cingrani. A total of eight Pirates batters would step up to face him. Cingrani (2-5) started the inning with a four-pitch walk to Jung Ho Kang, which was followed by a Sean Rodriguez single and a Francisco Cervelli bunt single that was upheld after a ... Read More
Cole’s return lasts two innings in loss
Gerrit Cole's return lasted two innings as the Pittsburgh Pirates dropped a 6-2 game to the Philadelphia Phillies. This extends their losing streak to four games and 12 of the past 14 with 10 consecutive road games to go. Cole (7-10) needed 55 pitches to get through those two innings and was erratic walking four batters and allowing four hits. Though the damage all came in a five-run second inning, Cole was actually given a 1-0 lead when Gregory Polanco reached base on a force play when ... Read More
Pirates’ three-run first inning propels team over Reds
After breaking an eight-game losing streak, the Pittsburgh Pirates extended their win streak to two with a 4-1 victory Thursday night against the Cincinnati Reds with a huge performance from Pittsburgh starter Ivan Nova. This victory brings the Pirates back to .500 with an even 69-69 record. For the second time as a Pirate, Nova (12-6) pitched a complete game, this time on 94 pitches — he could have pitched for “the Maddux,” a complete game with no runs allowed and under 100 pitches, but Nova ... Read More
Kang’s blast ends Pirates’ 8-game losing streak
Pittsburgh Pirates third baseman Jung Ho Kang will admit that this season has been a very disappointing one, but an eighth-inning home run ended the Pirates' eight-game losing streak and secured a 4-3 victory against the St. Louis Cardinals. Kang entered this Wednesday night contest having hit two home runs the night before against the Cardinals, and he added another, blasting a 1-2 pitch left in the upper-middle portion of the strike zone for his 17th home run of the season. Equally as ... Read More
Neal Huntington talks Nova, playoffs, Cole and more
Neal Huntington met with reporters prior to Sunday's Pittsburgh Pirates game against the Milwaukee Brewers. Here are some highlights of said press conference. On Neftali Feliz: "Feliz feels better today. It’s more muscular than connective tissue. That is our read right now. On Jake Brentz and Pedro Vasquez, the relievers the Pirates picked up in Caminero trade: “We had a list of players we agreed to when we traded Caminero there. We tracked them with multiple scouts and took different ... Read More
GM Huntington: “Triple-A is a place no one wants to be”
Predictably, prospect Josh Bell and pitcher Gerrit Cole were popular topics when Pittsburgh Pirates general manager Neal Huntington spoke to media Sunday. Below are some highlights of said press conference. On whether Bell's promotion had been planned or was in reaction to Kang's injury: “David Freese is now going to be the third baseman, and that opens up some at-bats at first base. Clint will make the decision on a daily basis with what gives him the best lineup to win that night. We ... Read More
Phelps golden against Pirates
Miami Marlins starting pitcher David Phelps was too much for the Pittsburgh Pirates' offense to handle, and the road team came away with a 3-1 victory Saturday night at PNC Park. Phelps, who tied a career-high with nine strikeouts, allowed two hits in six scoreless innings, good for a game score of 77. Phelps' strong pitching meant, for the first time, that the Pirates (62-58) lost a game started by Chad Kuhl. He had 10 ground ball outs while allowing three runs (two earned) on five hits ... Read More
Pirates fielding, offense go quiet in loss
A sloppy second inning caused the Pittsburgh Pirates to lose 4-0 to the San Diego Padres Wednesday night at PNC Park. The Padres have fared well at PNC Park posting a 34-16 record and winning all 14 series played at PNC Park before the Pirates swept last season's three-game series. Now the Padres have a chance for a series win of their own. With Ryan Vogelsong (1-2) on the mound, the Pirates committed two errors in the second inning. After a one-out double from Jabari Blash, Christian ... Read More