The Pittsburgh Pirates needed to rebound after being swept by the Chicago Cubs. The Pirates were flat-out embarrassed by the Cubs, so when Pittsburgh crushed the St. Louis Cardinals 10-5 on Sunday to secure a series win, it provided a little vindication. Pittsburgh's Gerrit Cole (3-3) had a 33-pitch first inning — 12 pitches more than should have been necessary after he failed to locate a strikeout pitch to Matt Holliday. On that play, Pirates' catcher Chris Stewart couldn't block the pitch, ... Read More
Pirates’ comeback attempt falls short in St. Louis
The Pittsburgh Pirates fell by a 6-4 score Saturday afternoon when Matt Carpenter hit a walk-off two-run home run securing the victory for the St. Louis Cardinals. Jeff Locke had another quality start, allowing three runs in six innings of work and coming away with a no-decision. Locke teammates spotted him a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first. Carpenter led off the inning with a double, and Locke then walked both Stephen Piscotty and Matt Holliday. Randal Grichuk then singled two runs ... Read More
Jung Ho Kang returns to Pirates in big way
With the approach the Pittsburgh Pirates have taken this season, swinging at the first pitch is often frowned upon. Jung Ho Kang, in his 2016 debut, apparently didn't get the memo Friday night in a 4-2 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals. Kang, in his first game back from left knee surgery, swung at the first two pitches he saw, which resulted in a double play and a pop-out. His approach seemed to be unsuccessful. That is, until Cardinals' pitcher Tyler Lyons threw a sixth-inning pitch to ... Read More
Zika fears move Pirates series from Puerto Rico
As the 2016 baseball season continued, it appeared increasingly less likely that the series between the Pittsburgh Pirates and Miami Marlins which were to be played in Puerto Rico would be cancelled. Friday that was confirmed as Major League Baseball officially cancelled the games which were to be played at Hiram Bithorn Stadium because of the Zika virus. Recently, MLB representatives met with the Pirates and Marlins in order to update both teams on the risks with the Zika virus. At the ... Read More
What Kang’s return means for the Pirates
This afternoon, the Pittsburgh Pirates announced that they have have recalled infielder Jung Ho Kang from his Triple-A rehab stint in Indianapolis and have reinstated him from the 15-day disabled list. To make room for Kang on the active roster, the Pirates sent infielder Jason Rogers to Indianapolis. On Sept. 17, Kang injured his left knee on a slide from Chicago Cubs outfielder Chris Coghlan. Kang missed the remainder of the season, as well as the National League Wild Card game, and ... Read More
Viva la amore: Cervelli’s love advice spreads to fans
For anyone wondering who came up with Francisco Cervelli's "That's Amore" Pirates scoreboard segment, you have Chris Martin to thank. No, not that Chris Martin. This one is a production coordinator for game presentation. Game presentation manager Matt Zidik challenged his staff of four that included Martin, Paul Denillo, Jon Cofer and Martin Corbett to come up with creative new ideas. This one was the adventure of a lifetime that ended up with the final product titled "That's Amore" in which ... Read More
How does Pirates’ Locke compare with other teams’ fifth starters?
The Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitching staff has had an adventurous start to the 2016 season. After posting the second-best ERA in baseball last season, the Pirates find themselves with a current ranking of 19th on the backs of a 4.21 staff ERA. The reasons for this are myriad, but the fulcrum of Pirates fans' angst continues to be Jeff Locke. For better or worse, Locke's career resume to this point has left him as the designated punching bag for fans. Though the optimism that permeates ... Read More
Pirates come up short against Cubs, Jake Arrieta
Remember when Chicago Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta walked the first two batters he faced? Yeah, that was the highlight of Tuesday's night's game. Pittsburgh Pirates color commentator Steve Blass joked that the turning point of the game came during the National Anthem. Blass may not have been far off, as the Cubs defeated the Pirates, 7-1. Call it the "Arrieta Effect" — the Cubs' ace pitcher is now 6-0 on the season and has a 17-game winning streak, which is tied for the fourth-longest since ... Read More
Gerrit Cole’s off night costs Pirates
An 87 mile-per-hour fastball was the only thing needed to confirm that the Pittsburgh Pirates and Chicago Cubs are indeed in a rivalry. The game was long decided when Pirates pitcher Kyle Lobstein hit Cubs second baseman Ben Zobrist with a pitch in the seventh inning of a 7-2 Cubs win. An inning earlier, Starling Marte was hit by a pitch for the sixth time this season, a mark that ties Tampa Bay Rays outfielder Brandon Guyer for the Major League lead. After Zobrist was hit, home plate umpire ... Read More
Pirates pregame 5/2: Never too early for an important series
The Pittsburgh Pirates and Chicago Cubs currently represent the top two National League Central teams being separated by three games from each other. With that in mind, the Cubs come to PNC Park for a three-game series which may have large implications when it comes to early-season series. Last season, the Pirates posted an 8-11 mark against the Cubs and want to get off to a better start in order to avoid this possibility happening again. It has been a good start to the season for the ... Read More