Milwaukee Brewers shortstop Orlando Arcia entered Saturday night's game a .184 hitter but left PNC Park having recorded three hits that helped give the Brewers a 7-4 series clinching victory against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Arcia ended up a home run shy of the cycle. On the Pirates end, they got Brewers starting pitcher Jimmy Nelson to walk a season-high six batters and allow four hits while elevating his pitch count to 99 pitches over 5.1. Despite this, the Pirates scored one run off ... Read More
Pirates base running gaffes costly in loss to Brewers
Less than a week after earning a four-game road sweep against the Milwaukee Brewers, the Pittsburgh Pirates fell to the same Brewers 1-0 Friday night at PNC Park. This loss comes after a 1-5 mark during the team's last homestand, and now the Pirates fall to 67-65 on the season which is 2.5 games behind St. Louis for the second and final National League wild card spot. The Pirates did out-hit the Brewers in this game by a 7-3 margin, but it was what was done on the base paths that did the ... Read More
Column: Series sweep could be beginning of the end
Wednesday night's 6-5 Chicago Cubs victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates not only resulted in a sweep but confirmed what has been believed for a while. The Pittsburgh Pirates are not a playoff team. They have yet to prove otherwise. This second half has had more ups and downs than a roller coaster for the team, which statistically had the easiest second-half schedule this season. Recently the Pirates had a 5-1 road trip that transitioned to a return to PNC Park and a 1-5 homestand. It ... Read More
Cubs, Hendricks blank Pirates, 3-0
Chicago Cubs starting pitcher Kyle Hendricks has the lowest Earned Run Average among qualified pitchers and Tuesday night, the Pittsburgh Pirates found out why. All Hendricks (13-7) did was allow three hits in seven innings lowering his ERA to 2.09 as the Cubs bested the Pirates, 3-0. This victory put the Cubs at 21-6 in August, and the 21 wins is the most in a month since May 1977. Meanwhile, the Pirates now fall to 3-11 against the Cubs this season. All the runs needed for Kendrick ... 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 place Gerrit Cole on DL, recall Steven Brault
The Pittsburgh Pirates have announced starting pitcher Gerrit Cole has been placed on the 15-day disabled list retroactive to Aug. 25 with posterior inflammation of the right elbow. Left-handed pitcher Steven Brault, tonight’s starter against the Chicago Cubs, has been recalled from Triple-A Indianapolis in the corresponding move. LHP Steven Brault has been recalled from Triple-A Indianapolis and will start tonight in Chicago. — Pirates (@Pirates) August 29, 2016 Cole, who is 7-9 this ... Read More
Implications of Pirates’ sweep in Milwaukee
When looking at the results of the Pittsburgh Pirates' recent games, it’s completely understandable to do a double take. As hard as it may be to believe, the Pirates did indeed sweep the Milwaukee Brewers. Not only that, Pittsburgh did it on the road. The Brewers home ballpark has been a nightmare setting for the Pirates in recent years. The Bucs came into this series with a 17-64 record in Milwaukee since 2007 and were facing a Brewers team that had a record above the .500 mark at ... Read More
Pirates secure rare Miller Park sweep
After Francisco Cervelli caught the final strike in the ninth inning of Sunday afternoon's game, the Pittsburgh Pirates not only defeated National League Central rival Milwaukee Brewers 3-1, but clinched a road series sweep for the first time since 2004. While this is reason enough for the Pirates to be satisfied by their extended weekend, the sweep was well timed as now the Pirates are half a game behind the St. Louis Cardinals for a Wild Card Spot. Ivan Nova (10-6, 4.55 ERA) allowed a ... 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
Sixth inning keys Pirates’ 5-3 win vs. Brewers
Pittsburgh Pirates shortstop Jordy Mercer turns 30 Saturday, and he decided to give himself an early birthday present: a grand slam, which came in the six inning off Milwaukee Brewers starter Matt Garza. It was Mercer's 10th homer of the season. Mercer's blast helped the Pirates (65-61) secure a 5-3 victory over the Brewers. Garza (4-6, 4.89 ERA) had Mercer in an 0-2 count before the grand slam. This season, Alex Dickerson, Seth Smith and Adam Eaton are the only other Major League players ... Read More