Thursday night, the Pittsburgh Pirates lost their third-consecutive game to the Miami Marlins, falling 4-3 in extra innings. But perhaps the biggest news from the game came with the injury report: Francisco Cervelli, Andrew McCutchen, David Freese and Jordy Mercer all left the game with various injuries. Cervelli injured his foot and left in the third inning, McCutchen left the game in the sixth inning with general thumb discomfort, Mercer was hit by a pitch on the elbow and left in the ninth ... Read More
Pirates lose second straight to Marlins
The Pittsburgh Pirates fell 3-2 Wednesday night to the Miami Marlins ensuring at best a series split. In the game, it was setup man Tony Watson (1-1) who allowed the game-winning run on an Adeiny Hechavarria double that scored former Pirate Miguel Rojas. The Marlins had a 2-0 lead Christian Yelich batted in a run with a fielder's choice and Jonathon Niese had a wild pitch to plate Martin Prado. Niese had a no-decision allowing the two runs on six hits in five innings. He did not have ... Read More
Matt Joyce thriving off bench for Pirates
Matt Joyce had a rare start Monday. He made it count. The Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder had three hits, three RBIs and scored twice. And his outing in the Pirates' win against the Atlanta Braves was capped when Joyce launched a home run into the right field bleachers in the bottom of the seventh inning. It was only his sixth start of the season, yet, he's made his presence felt. In mostly a pinch-hitting role, Joyce has a .372/.500/.767 line this season. His five home runs are ... Read More
Column: Hurdle’s advice motivates Pirates in win
There is always a saying Pittsburgh Pirates manager Clint Hurdle tells the media after games, and it certainly applied to Monday's 8-5 victories over the Atlanta Braves. "So what? Now what?" There was the classic debacle for a Pittsburgh sports fan about whether to watch this game or the Penguins-Lightning Eastern Conference game, and the Pirates attempted to make the decision easier. After three innings, the Pirates led 5-0, and the game appeared over. The Braves have won nine games ... Read More
Pirates beat Reds 4-1 Friday night after long road trip
It was a long 12 days away from PNC Park for the Pittsburgh Pirates, but a 4-1 victory Friday against the Cincinnati Reds has extended the Pirates' current win-streak to a season-high five games. The Pirates now improve to 14-9 on the season, while the Reds drop to 9-14. The win had four big takeaways: Nicasio has best start of season Seven games isn't a large sample size, but it was telling enough that, coming into this game, Juan Nicasio was 0-2 with a 5.12 ERA in 19.1 innings pitched ... Read More
Locke not at fault for Pirates’ 8-4 loss to Milwaukee
Forgive me if you have heard this script before: The Pittsburgh Pirates' offense comes together and solves a pitcher in the seventh inning, only to immediately blow the momentum. It happened against the Milwaukee Brewers on Friday night, just over 24 hours from when the same thing happened against the Detroit Tigers. Predictably, the outcome was similar, and the Pirates lost to the Brewers, 8-4. This defeat drops the Pirates to 5-6, their first time under .500 in 2016. The losses have ... Read More